Lady Helena Gibbs (Helena Frances Augusta; née Cambridge; 23 October 1899 – 22 December 1969), born Princess Helena of Teck, was a relative of the British royal family, great-great-granddaughter of King George III, and a niece of Queen Mary and King George V. During the First World War, the British royal family and their near relatives (including the House of Teck), relinquished their

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

titles, and Princess Helena assumed the style ''Lady Helena Cambridge''.

Early life

Princess Helena was born at Grosvenor House,

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

, Westminster. Her father was

Prince Adolphus of Teck Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, (Adolphus Charles Alexander Albert Edward George Philip Louis Ladislaus; 13 August 1868 – 24 October 1927), born Prince Adolphus of Teck and later the Duke of Teck, was a relative of the Britis ...

(later the 2nd Duke of Teck and after 1917 the 1st Marquess of Cambridge), the eldest son of

Prince Francis, Duke of Teck , house = Teck , father = Duke Alexander of Württemberg , mother = Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde , birth_name = Count Francis von Hohenstein , birth_date = , birth_place = Esseg, Slavonia, Austrian Emp ...

and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (editor). Burke's Guide to the Royal Family, Burke's Peerage, London, 1973, pp. 289, 291, 293. Her mother was

Lady Margaret Grosvenor Margaret Evelyn Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge (8 April 1873 – 27 March 1929) was the sixth child and third daughter of the 1st Duke of Westminster and the wife of the 1st Marquess of Cambridge. She was known before her marriage as The La ...

, the third daughter of the

1st Duke of Westminster Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, (13 October 1825 – 22 December 1899), styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845, Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869, and known as The Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an ...

. She was the couple's second daughter. In 1919, a newspaper article included her mother's description about her upbringing that was in "the simplest fashion" with the desire that she "should be regarded as ordinary members of the English titled and untitled aristrocracy". As a child of Prince Adolphus of Teck, she was styled "Her Serene Highness Princess Helena of Teck" at birth.

Lady Helena Cambridge

During World War I, anti-German feeling in the United Kingdom led King George V to change the name of the royal house from the Germanic

House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (; german: Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) is a European royal house. It takes its name from its oldest domain, the Ernestine duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, its members later sat on the thrones of Belgium, B ...

to the more English sounding House of Windsor. The King also renounced all his Germanic titles for himself and all members of the British royal family. In response to this, Helena's father renounced his title of

Duke of Teck Duke of Teck is a title which was created twice in Germanic lands. It was first borne from 1187 to 1439 by the head of a cadet line of the German ducal House of Zähringen, known as the "first House of Teck". The ''caput'' of his territory was T ...

in the Kingdom of Württemberg and the style ''His Highness''. Adolphus, along with his brother,

Prince Alexander of Teck Major General Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone (Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George; born Prince Alexander of Teck; 14 April 1874 – 16 January 1957), was a British Army commander and major-general who served as Governor- ...

, adopted the name Cambridge, after their grandfather, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge. He was subsequently created Marquess of Cambridge, Earl of Eltham, and Viscount Northallerton in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

. Helena was entitled to the style of "Lady Helena Cambridge" as a daughter of a

marquess A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

. Lady Helena was in attendance for the 1919 wedding of

Princess Patricia Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay, (born Princess Patricia of Connaught; 17 March 1886 – 12 January 1974) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay, she relinquished her title of a British prin ...

to Alexander Ramsay.

Marriage

Helena married Colonel John Evelyn Gibbs (22 December 1879 London – 11 October 1932 Tetbury), a veteran of the Boer Wars and World War I and grandson of famed Victorian businessman William Gibbs, on 2 September 1919 at

St. George's Chapel St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...

, Windsor Castle. While Gibbs was a commoner, the marriage was approved by the King, although it was later determined that King's Consent was not required. The King was originally to be present for the wedding, but later was not able to attend and instead sent a telegram of congratulations on the day after the wedding. Upon the announcement of her engagement to Gibbs, '' Country Life'' placed her on the cover of their August 2, 1919 magazine frontpiece. The wedding was covered in a multi-page article with photographs in '' The Sketch'' a British illustrated journal and also in the '' Tatler'' in the week following the wedding. The wedding, which her parents wished to be a "quiet, ordinary wedding", hosted between four and five hundred people, and the party following the wedding was held at Frogmore Cottage. She wore a simple necklace of small pearls for the wedding, a dress of white Royal beaute material, and had six bridesmaids, including

Lady May Cambridge Lady May Helen Emma Abel Smith (formerly Lady May Cambridge, ''née'' Princess May of Teck; 23 January 1906 – 29 May 1994) was a relative of the British royal family. She was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and a niece of Queen Mar ...

. The best man was Lancelot Gibbs, the brother of the bridgegroom. In 1921, Lady Helena Gibbs helped open a children's home in Kingsdown in honor of her late sister-in-law, Victoria Gibbs. She also served as honorary host of a 1931 flower show in Montpellier. Helena survived her husband by 37 years and died at

Badminton House Badminton House is a large country house and Grade I Listed Building in Badminton, Gloucestershire, England, which has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century. The house, which has given its name to th ...

, home of her sister. Her funeral service was in Gloucestershire at the Church of St. Mary, Tetbury on December 27, 1969.

Ancestry

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Helena 1899 births 1969 deaths

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * ...

People from Mayfair Daughters of British marquesses