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{{Short description|Relative of the British royal family (born 1964)}}
{{Other people|Helen Taylor}}
{{Other people|Helen Taylor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Lady Helen Taylor
| name = Lady Helen Taylor
| title =
| image = Drawing of Lady Helen Windsor.jpg
| image =
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_name = Lady Helen Marina Lucy Windsor
| birth_name = Helen Marina Lucy Windsor
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|04|28|df=yes}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|04|28|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Coppins]], [[Iver]], [[Buckinghamshire]], England
| birth_place = [[Iver]], [[Buckinghamshire]], England
| relatives = [[House of Windsor]]
| relatives = [[House of Windsor]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Timothy Taylor|18 July 1992}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Timothy Taylor|18 July 1992}}
| children = 4
| children = 4
| father = [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent]]
| father = [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent]]
| mother = [[Katharine, Duchess of Kent|Katharine Worsley]]
| mother = [[Katharine, Duchess of Kent|Katharine Worsley]]
| occupation = Business representative
| occupation = Business representative
| module = {{infobox person | embed=yes
| education = {{plain list|
* [[St Mary's School, Wantage]]
* [[Gordonstoun]]
}}
}}
}}

}}
'''Lady Helen Marina Lucy Taylor''' (''née'' '''Windsor'''; born 28 April 1964) is a relative of the [[British royal family]]. She is the daughter of [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent]], and [[Katharine, Duchess of Kent]], and a great-granddaughter of [[King George V]]. She is currently 40th in [[line of succession to the British throne]].
'''Lady Helen Marina Lucy Taylor''' (''née'' '''Windsor'''; born 28 April 1964) is a member of the [[British royal family]]. She is the daughter of [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent]], and [[Katharine, Duchess of Kent]], and a great-granddaughter of [[George V]]. She is currently 47th in the line of [[succession to the British throne]].


==Early life and youth==
==Early life and youth==
Born at [[Coppins]], a country house in [[Iver]], [[Buckinghamshire]], Lady Helen is the only daughter of the [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|Duke]] and [[Katharine, Duchess of Kent|Duchess of Kent]]. She was educated at Eton End<ref name="debretts">{{cite book|last1=Kidd|first1=Charles|last2=Montague-Smith|first2=Patrick|title=Debrett's book of royal children|date=1982|publisher=W. Morrow|isbn=9780688013806|page=151}}</ref> School in [[Datchet]] then at [[St Mary's School, Wantage]],<ref name="pantonbook">{{cite book|last1=Panton|first1=James|title=Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy|date=2011|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810874978|page=362}}</ref> and [[Gordonstoun]].<ref name="sundayexpressbook">{{cite book|last1=Express|first1=Sunday|title=A Week in the life of the royal family|publisher=Macmillan Publishing Company|isbn=9780026154307|page=143}}</ref> At Gordonstoun, she was one of 20 [[sixth form]] girls "in the robustly masculine environment of Gordonstoun," wrote Alan Hamilton.<ref name="royal100">{{cite book|last1=Hamilton|first1=Alan|title=The Royal 100: a who's who of the first 100 people in line of succession to the British throne|date=1986|publisher=Pavilion|isbn=9780907516934|edition=Illustrated}}</ref>
Lady Helen was born in April 1964 at [[Coppins]], a country house in [[Iver]], [[Buckinghamshire]], the only daughter of the [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|Duke]] and [[Katharine, Duchess of Kent|Duchess of Kent]]. She was christened on 6 June 1964 at the private chapel at [[Windsor Castle]] by the [[Dean of Windsor]] Rt. Rev. [[Robin Woods]]. Her godparents were [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon]]; Hon. [[Angus Ogilvy]], [[Myra Butter]], and Sir Philip Hay.<ref name="court">{{cite news |title= Court Circular |work=[[The Times]] |publisher=The Times Digital Archive |date=8 June 1964 |page=12}}</ref>


She was educated at Eton End<ref name="debretts">{{cite book|last1=Kidd|first1=Charles|last2=Montague-Smith|first2=Patrick|title=Debrett's book of royal children|date=1982|publisher=W. Morrow|isbn=9780688013806|page=[https://archive.org/details/debrettsbookofro00kidd/page/151 151]|url=https://archive.org/details/debrettsbookofro00kidd}}</ref> School in [[Datchet]], then at [[St Mary's School, Wantage]],<ref name="pantonbook">{{cite book|last1=Panton|first1=James|title=Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy|url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio00pant|url-access=limited|date=2011|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810874978|page=[https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio00pant/page/n402 362]}}</ref> and [[Gordonstoun]].<ref name="sundayexpressbook">{{cite book|last1=Express|first1=Sunday|title=A Week in the life of the royal family|publisher=Macmillan Publishing Company|isbn=9780026154307|page=[https://archive.org/details/weekinlifeofthe00sund/page/143 143]|url=https://archive.org/details/weekinlifeofthe00sund|date=July 1983}}</ref> At Gordonstoun, she was one of 20 [[sixth form]] girls "in the robustly masculine environment of Gordonstoun," wrote Alan Hamilton.<ref name="royal100">{{cite book|last1=Hamilton|first1=Alan|title=The Royal 100: a who's who of the first 100 people in line of succession to the British throne|date=1986|publisher=Pavilion|isbn=9780907516934|edition=Illustrated|url=https://archive.org/details/royalonehundredw00hami}}</ref>
⚫
She was called "Melons" in the popular press.<ref>[http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20091238,00.html ''People Magazine'' Archive: Windsor Castle Lights Up with Lasers as the 'queenyboppers'—four Royal Cousins—turn 21] July 08, 1985 Vol. 24 No. 2 "Lady Helen Windsor, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, is known as "Melons" because of her ample proportions." & "True to form, Lady Helen—"Melons"—was at the center of the party's only controversy. Her ex-boyfriend, Oakes, crashed the event and was escorted out by police."</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EPE3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT59&lpg=PT59&dq=Melons|title=The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II|first=Karen|last=Dolby|date=14 November 2017|publisher=Penguin|accessdate=21 May 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref><!-- https://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=queenvictoria&id=I22598 -->


⚫
She was called "Melons" in the popular press.<ref>[http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20091238,00.html ''People Magazine'' Archive: Windsor Castle Lights Up with Lasers as the 'queenyboppers'—four Royal Cousins—turn 21] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513165953/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20091238,00.html |date=13 May 2016 }} 8 July 1985 Vol. 24 No. 2 "Lady Helen Windsor, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, is known as "Melons" because of her ample proportions." & "True to form, Lady Helen—"Melons"—was at the center of the party's only controversy. Her ex-boyfriend, Oakes, crashed the event and was escorted out by police."</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EPE3DwAAQBAJ&q=Melons&pg=PT59|title=The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II|first=Karen|last=Dolby|date=14 November 2017|publisher=Penguin|access-date=21 May 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9780451492272}}</ref><!-- https://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=queenvictoria&id=I22598 -->
⚫
<blockquote>"I was slightly chubby, it was the boys at Gordonstoun who called me that. I think there are only about two people who call me that now. The original context has long gone" ..."If having a pint of [[Tennents]] in the woods at Gordonstoun could be considered wild, then I was. The trouble with me and parties is I like to be in bed at 10.30. I did used to smoke but I was always terrified of drugs." <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/how-lady-helen-said-farewell-to-melons-1-518872|title=How Lady Helen said farewell to Melons|author=|date=|website=scotsman.com|accessdate=21 May 2018}}</ref></blockquote>

⚫
<blockquote>I was slightly chubby, it was the boys at Gordonstoun who called me that. I think there are only about two people who call me that now. The original context has long gone<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/how-lady-helen-said-farewell-to-melons-1-518872|title=How Lady Helen said farewell to Melons|website=scotsman.com|access-date=21 May 2018}}</ref></blockquote>

During the 1980s her boyfriend was [[Nigel Oakes]], who "appalled the Queen" after she smuggled him into her parents' [[grace-and-favour]] home, [[York House, St James's Palace]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/why-so-wild-about-harry-1-592753|title=why so wild about harry?|website=scotsman.com|access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/the-londoner-the-naked-truth-of-mary-beard-at-college-a3794466.html|title=The Londoner: The naked truth of Mary Beard at college|website=standard.co.uk|date=20 March 2018|access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref>

According to [[Lol Tolhurst]] of [[The Cure]], Lady Helen was a "mad Cure fan" who visited the band backstage at a gig in [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] in 1983.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tolhurst |first=Laurence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ouxFjwEACAAJ |title=Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys |date= |publisher=Quercus |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78429-339-0 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 15: The Top}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
After she left Gordonstoun (where she had art class), she was desperate<ref name="standard.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/portrait-of-a-lady-7290622.html|title=Portrait of a Lady|author=|date=|website=standard.co.uk|accessdate=21 May 2018}}</ref> to come to London and earn money, starting in 1984 at Christie’s auction house in their Contemporary Department.<ref name="royalmarsden.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.royalmarsden.org/about-us/who-we-are|title=Who we are|author=|date=|website=The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity|accessdate=21 May 2018}}</ref>
After she left Gordonstoun (where she had art class), she was desperate<ref name="standard.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/portrait-of-a-lady-7290622.html|title=Portrait of a Lady|website=standard.co.uk|date=13 April 2012|access-date=21 May 2018}}</ref> to come to London and earn money, starting in 1984 at Christie's auction house in their Contemporary Department.<ref name="royalmarsden.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.royalmarsden.org/about-us/who-we-are|title=Who we are|website=The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity|access-date=21 May 2018}}</ref>


Lady Helen worked with the art dealer [[Karsten Schubert]] between 1987 and 1991, behind the front desk, and was later credited with discovering [[Rachel Whiteread]] and [[Gary Hume]], but confessed in a television interview that she had turned down representing artist [[Damien Hirst]].<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/106494006/ The Anniston Star. July 19, 1992. Anniston, Alabama Page 23] "Lady Helen is a director of London's Karsten Schubert gallery of contemporary art. Taylor, 29, is a dealer with the Waddington Galleries..."</ref>
Lady Helen worked with the art dealer [[Karsten Schubert]] between 1987 and 1991, behind the front desk, and was later credited with discovering [[Rachel Whiteread]] and [[Gary Hume]], but confessed in a television interview that she had turned down representing artist [[Damien Hirst]].<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/106494006/ The Anniston Star. 19 July 1992. Anniston, Alabama Page 23] "Lady Helen is a director of London's Karsten Schubert gallery of contemporary art. Taylor, 29, is a dealer with the Waddington Galleries..."</ref>


For 17 years, Lady Helen was a fashion ambassador and muse to [[Giorgio Armani]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.express.co.uk/dayandnight/145176/Why-lady-Helen-is-glad-to-ditch-Armani|title=Why lady Helen is glad to ditch Armani|author=|date=10 December 2009|website=express.co.uk|accessdate=21 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2003/04/09/ladyhelentaylor/|title=BULGARI ENDS ITS £500,000 CONTRACT WITH LADY HELEN TAYLOR|author=|date=|website=www.hellomagazine.com|accessdate=21 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/6624198/Art-is-new-fashion-for-Lady-Helen-Taylor.html|title=Art is new fashion for Lady Helen Taylor|first=Richard|last=Eden|date=21 November 2009|publisher=|accessdate=21 May 2018|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref><ref name="archive.org">{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704111022/http://www.fashionunited.co.uk/News/Columns/Armani_and_muse_part_ways_200906297379/|title=Armani and muse part ways|author=|website=FashionUnited|date=4 July 2009|via=archive.org|accessdate=21 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xTkrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA47&lpg=PA47&dq=Helen|title=Giorgio Armani: Empire of the Senses|first=John|last=Potvin|date=5 July 2017|publisher=Routledge|accessdate=21 May 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tatler.com/gallery/giorgio-armani-lunch|title=In the June issue: Giorgio Armani lunch|author=|date=|website=www.tatler.com|accessdate=21 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/shanghai-style-128413|title=Shanghai In Style|author=|date=16 May 2004|website=newsweek.com|accessdate=21 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://royalty-magazine.com/fashion/rich-famous-royal.html|title=The Rich, the Famous and the Royal|author=|date=26 May 2014|website=Royalty Magazine|accessdate=21 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cjr.org/the_audit/downward_facing_dog.php|title=Stretched Ethics|author=Dean Starkman|date=|website=[[Columbia Journalism Review]]|accessdate=21 May 2018}}</ref>
For 17 years, Lady Helen was a fashion ambassador and muse to [[Giorgio Armani]].<ref>{{Multiref|{{cite web|url=https://www.express.co.uk/dayandnight/145176/Why-lady-Helen-is-glad-to-ditch-Armani|title=Why lady Helen is glad to ditch Armani|date=10 December 2009|website=express.co.uk|access-date=21 May 2018}};|{{cite web|url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2003/04/09/ladyhelentaylor/|title=BULGARI ENDS ITS £500,000 CONTRACT WITH LADY HELEN TAYLOR|website=www.hellomagazine.com|access-date=21 May 2018}};|{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/6624198/Art-is-new-fashion-for-Lady-Helen-Taylor.html|title=Art is new fashion for Lady Helen Taylor|first=Richard|last=Eden|date=21 November 2009|access-date=21 May 2018|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}};|{{cite web|url=http://www.fashionunited.co.uk/News/Columns/Armani_and_muse_part_ways_200906297379/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704111022/http://www.fashionunited.co.uk/News/Columns/Armani_and_muse_part_ways_200906297379/|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 July 2009|title=Armani and muse part ways|website=FashionUnited|date=4 July 2009|via=archive.org|access-date=21 May 2018}};|{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xTkrDwAAQBAJ&q=Helen&pg=PA47|title=Giorgio Armani: Empire of the Senses|first=John|last=Potvin|date=5 July 2017|publisher=Routledge|access-date=21 May 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9781351565547}};|{{cite web|url=http://www.tatler.com/gallery/giorgio-armani-lunch|title=In the June issue: Giorgio Armani lunch|website=www.tatler.com|date=8 February 2012|access-date=21 May 2018}};|{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/shanghai-style-128413|title=Shanghai In Style|date=16 May 2004|website=newsweek.com|access-date=21 May 2018}};|{{cite web|url=http://royalty-magazine.com/fashion/rich-famous-royal.html|title=The Rich, the Famous and the Royal|date=26 May 2014|website=Royalty Magazine|access-date=21 May 2018}};|{{cite web|url=https://www.cjr.org/the_audit/downward_facing_dog.php|title=Stretched Ethics|author=Dean Starkman|website=[[Columbia Journalism Review]]|access-date=21 May 2018}}}}</ref>


==Marriage and children==
==Marriage and children==
At 19, Lady Helen met<ref name="standard.co.uk"/> Timothy Verner Taylor (b. 8 August 1963), an art dealer and the eldest son of Commander Michael Verner Taylor, [[Royal Navy|RN]] and Susan Geraldine Percy. They married at [[St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]] on 18 July 1992.<ref name="thepeerage">{{cite web|url=http://thepeerage.com/p10558.htm#i105577|title=- Person Page 10558|publisher=The Peerage|accessdate=21 March 2016}}</ref> The bride wore a Catherine Walker design<ref>{{cite news|title='Iconic royal wedding gowns |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/wedding/bridal-fashion/g1498/iconic-royal-wedding-gowns/?slide=28|newspaper=Harper's Bazaar|date=13 April 2018|accessdate=16 May 2018}}</ref> inspired by the architecture of the wedding venue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/wedding-wednesday-lady-helen-taylors.html|title=Lady Helen Taylor's gown|publisher=Order of Splendor|date=18 July 2012|accessdate=16 May 2018}}</ref> [[Giorgio Armani]] provided an outfit for her wedding.<ref name="archive.org"/>
At 19, Lady Helen met<ref name="standard.co.uk"/> Timothy Verner Taylor (born 8 August 1963), an art dealer and the eldest son of Commander Michael Verner Taylor, [[Royal Navy|RN]] and Susan Geraldine Percy. They married nine years later, on 18 July 1992, at [[St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]]. The bride wore a Catherine Walker design.<ref>{{cite news|title='Iconic royal wedding gowns |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/wedding/bridal-fashion/g1498/iconic-royal-wedding-gowns/?slide=28|newspaper=Harper's Bazaar|date=13 April 2018|access-date=16 May 2018}}</ref> [[Giorgio Armani]] provided an outfit for her wedding.<ref name="archive.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.fashionunited.co.uk/News/Columns/Armani_and_muse_part_ways_200906297379/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704111022/http://www.fashionunited.co.uk/News/Columns/Armani_and_muse_part_ways_200906297379/|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 July 2009|title=Armani and muse part ways|website=FashionUnited|date=4 July 2009|via=archive.org|access-date=21 May 2018}}</ref>


In 1998, her husband contracted [[Hodgkin's disease]].<ref name="standard.co.uk"/>
In 1998, her husband was diagnosed with [[Hodgkin's disease]].<ref name="standard.co.uk"/>


Lady Helen and her husband have four children, who immediately follow her in the [[Line of succession to the British throne|line of succession]]:
Lady Helen and her husband have four children, who immediately follow her in the [[Line of succession to the British throne]]:
* Columbus George Donald Taylor (born 6 August 1994)
* Columbus George Donald Taylor (born 6 August 1994)
* Cassius Edward Taylor (born 26 December 1996)
* Cassius Edward Taylor (born 26 December 1996)
Line 44: Line 57:


==Charity work==
==Charity work==
She is a patron of the [[CLIC Sargent]] children's cancer charity.<ref name="clicsargent">{{cite web|url=http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/Aboutus/Mediacentre/Latestnews/Midsummerpartyraises400000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723085754/http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/Aboutus/Mediacentre/Latestnews/Midsummerpartyraises400000 |archive-date=2011-07-23 |dead-url=yes |title=CLIC Sargent – Caring for Children and Young People with Cancer : Midsummer party raises £400,000 for children and young people with cancer |accessdate=2016-03-21 |df= }}</ref>
She is a patron of the [[CLIC Sargent]] children's cancer charity.<ref name="clicsargent">{{cite web|url=http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/Aboutus/Mediacentre/Latestnews/Midsummerpartyraises400000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723085754/http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/Aboutus/Mediacentre/Latestnews/Midsummerpartyraises400000 |archive-date=2011-07-23 |url-status=dead |title=CLIC Sargent – Caring for Children and Young People with Cancer : Midsummer party raises £400,000 for children and young people with cancer |access-date=2016-03-21 }}</ref>


She is a trustee of [[The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust]].<ref name="royalmarsden.org"/>
She is a trustee of [[The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity]].<ref name="royalmarsden.org"/>


She is on the Advisory Board of the [[Glyndebourne Festival Opera]] after being a trustee.<ref name="royalmarsden.org"/><ref name="cloudinary.com">http://res.cloudinary.com/glyndebourne/image/upload/v1503062386/GLY_Annual_Report_2016_AWspreads180_1_mpn9np.pdf</ref><ref name="cloudinary.com"/><ref>http://res.cloudinary.com/glyndebourne/image/upload/v1503062385/Glyndebourne_annual_report_2015_1_hiz03u.pdf</ref>
She is on the advisory board of the [[Glyndebourne Festival Opera]] after being a trustee.<ref name="royalmarsden.org"/><ref name="cloudinary.com">{{cite web|url=http://res.cloudinary.com/glyndebourne/image/upload/v1503062386/GLY_Annual_Report_2016_AWspreads180_1_mpn9np.pdf|format=PDF|title=Glyndebourne Annual Report 2016|website=Cloudinary.com|access-date=2 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://res.cloudinary.com/glyndebourne/image/upload/v1503062385/Glyndebourne_annual_report_2015_1_hiz03u.pdf|format=PDF|title=Glyndebourne Annual Report 2015|website=Cloudinary.com|access-date=2 July 2022}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p10076.htm#i100760 The Peerage]


{{S-start}}
{{S-start}}
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{{S-other|line}}
{{S-other|line}}
{{S-bef|before=Louis Windsor}}
{{S-bef|before=Louis Windsor}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Line of succession to the British throne]]<!--NO position numbers after Chatto-->|creation=granddaughter of [[Prince George, Duke of Kent|George]], son of [[George V]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Line of succession to the British throne]]|creation=granddaughter of [[Prince George, Duke of Kent|George, Duke of Kent]]<br>great-granddaughter of [[George V]]}}
{{S-aft|after=Columbus Taylor}}
{{S-aft|after=Columbus Taylor}}
{{s-end}}

{{Windsor family}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Helen, Lady}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Helen, Lady}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
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[[Category:Daughters of British dukes]]
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[[Category:House of Windsor|Helen Taylor]]
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[[Category:People educated at Heathfield School, Ascot]]
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[[Category:People educated at Gordonstoun]]
[[Category:British people of Austrian descent]]
[[Category:British people of Austrian descent]]
[[Category:British people of Danish descent]]
[[Category:British people of Danish descent]]
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[[Category:British people of Greek descent]]
[[Category:British people of Greek descent]]
[[Category:British people of Russian descent]]
[[Category:British people of Russian descent]]
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[[Category:Daughters of British dukes]]
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[[Category:House of Windsor|Helen Taylor]]
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[[Category:People educated at Gordonstoun]]
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[[Category:People educated at Heathfield School, Ascot]]
[[Category:People educated at St Mary's School, Wantage]]

Latest revision as of 17:09, 25 November 2024

For other people named Helen Taylor, see Helen Taylor (disambiguation).

Lady Helen Taylor
Born
Helen Marina Lucy Windsor

(1964-04-28) 28 April 1964 (age 60)
Iver, Buckinghamshire, England
OccupationBusiness representative
Spouse
Timothy Taylor
​
(m. 1992)​
Children4
Parents
RelativesHouse of Windsor
Education

Lady Helen Marina Lucy Taylor (née Windsor; born 28 April 1964) is a member of the British royal family. She is the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Katharine, Duchess of Kent, and a great-granddaughter of George V. She is currently 47th in the line of succession to the British throne.

Early life and youth

[edit]

Lady Helen was born in April 1964 at Coppins, a country house in Iver, Buckinghamshire, the only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent. She was christened on 6 June 1964 at the private chapel at Windsor Castle by the Dean of Windsor Rt. Rev. Robin Woods. Her godparents were Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon; Hon. Angus Ogilvy, Myra Butter, and Sir Philip Hay.[1]

She was educated at Eton End[2] School in Datchet, then at St Mary's School, Wantage,[3] and Gordonstoun.[4] At Gordonstoun, she was one of 20 sixth form girls "in the robustly masculine environment of Gordonstoun," wrote Alan Hamilton.[5]

She was called "Melons" in the popular press.[6][7]

I was slightly chubby, it was the boys at Gordonstoun who called me that. I think there are only about two people who call me that now. The original context has long gone[8]

During the 1980s her boyfriend was Nigel Oakes, who "appalled the Queen" after she smuggled him into her parents' grace-and-favour home, York House, St James's Palace.[9][10]

According to Lol Tolhurst of The Cure, Lady Helen was a "mad Cure fan" who visited the band backstage at a gig in Bath in 1983.[11]

Career

[edit]

After she left Gordonstoun (where she had art class), she was desperate[12] to come to London and earn money, starting in 1984 at Christie's auction house in their Contemporary Department.[13]

Lady Helen worked with the art dealer Karsten Schubert between 1987 and 1991, behind the front desk, and was later credited with discovering Rachel Whiteread and Gary Hume, but confessed in a television interview that she had turned down representing artist Damien Hirst.[14]

For 17 years, Lady Helen was a fashion ambassador and muse to Giorgio Armani.[15]

Marriage and children

[edit]

At 19, Lady Helen met[12] Timothy Verner Taylor (born 8 August 1963), an art dealer and the eldest son of Commander Michael Verner Taylor, RN and Susan Geraldine Percy. They married nine years later, on 18 July 1992, at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The bride wore a Catherine Walker design.[16] Giorgio Armani provided an outfit for her wedding.[17]

In 1998, her husband was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease.[12]

Lady Helen and her husband have four children, who immediately follow her in the Line of succession to the British throne:

  • Columbus George Donald Taylor (born 6 August 1994)
  • Cassius Edward Taylor (born 26 December 1996)
  • Eloise Olivia Katherine Taylor (born 2 March 2003)
  • Estella Olga Elizabeth Taylor (born 21 December 2004)

Charity work

[edit]

She is a patron of the CLIC Sargent children's cancer charity.[18]

She is a trustee of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.[13]

She is on the advisory board of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera after being a trustee.[13][19][20]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 8 June 1964. p. 12.
  2. ^ Kidd, Charles; Montague-Smith, Patrick (1982). Debrett's book of royal children. W. Morrow. p. 151. ISBN 9780688013806.
  3. ^ Panton, James (2011). Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy. Scarecrow Press. p. 362. ISBN 9780810874978.
  4. ^ Express, Sunday (July 1983). A Week in the life of the royal family. Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 143. ISBN 9780026154307.
  5. ^ Hamilton, Alan (1986). The Royal 100: a who's who of the first 100 people in line of succession to the British throne (Illustrated ed.). Pavilion. ISBN 9780907516934.
  6. ^ People Magazine Archive: Windsor Castle Lights Up with Lasers as the 'queenyboppers'—four Royal Cousins—turn 21 Archived 13 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine 8 July 1985 Vol. 24 No. 2 "Lady Helen Windsor, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, is known as "Melons" because of her ample proportions." & "True to form, Lady Helen—"Melons"—was at the center of the party's only controversy. Her ex-boyfriend, Oakes, crashed the event and was escorted out by police."
  7. ^ Dolby, Karen (14 November 2017). The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II. Penguin. ISBN 9780451492272. Retrieved 21 May 2018 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "How Lady Helen said farewell to Melons". scotsman.com. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  9. ^ "why so wild about harry?". scotsman.com. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  10. ^ "The Londoner: The naked truth of Mary Beard at college". standard.co.uk. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  11. ^ Tolhurst, Laurence (2016). "Chapter 15: The Top". Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys. Quercus. ISBN 978-1-78429-339-0.
  12. ^ a b c "Portrait of a Lady". standard.co.uk. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  13. ^ a b c "Who we are". The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  14. ^ The Anniston Star. 19 July 1992. Anniston, Alabama Page 23 "Lady Helen is a director of London's Karsten Schubert gallery of contemporary art. Taylor, 29, is a dealer with the Waddington Galleries..."
  15. ^
  16. ^ "'Iconic royal wedding gowns". Harper's Bazaar. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Armani and muse part ways". FashionUnited. 4 July 2009. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2018 – via archive.org.
  18. ^ "CLIC Sargent – Caring for Children and Young People with Cancer : Midsummer party raises £400,000 for children and young people with cancer". Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  19. ^ "Glyndebourne Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Cloudinary.com. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Glyndebourne Annual Report 2015" (PDF). Cloudinary.com. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
Lady Helen Taylor
Born: 28 April 1964
Lines of succession
Preceded by
Louis Windsor
 Line of succession to the British throne
granddaughter of George, Duke of Kent
great-granddaughter of George V 		Succeeded by
Columbus Taylor


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