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 Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke ...

, and

Katharine, Duchess of Kent Katharine, Duchess of Kent, (born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley, 22 February 1933) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V. The Duchess of Kent converted to Roman Ca ...

, and a great-granddaughter of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

Early life and youth

Born at

Coppins Coppins is a country house north of the village of Iver in Buckinghamshire, England, formerly a home of members of the British royal family, including Princess Victoria, Prince George, Duke of Kent, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent and Prince ...

, a country house in

Iver Iver is a large civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park. Geography, transport and economy Part of the 43-square- ...

, Buckinghamshire, Lady Helen is the only daughter of the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

and

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom ...

. She was educated at Eton End School in

Datchet Datchet is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England, located on the north bank of the River Thames. Historically part of Buckinghamshire, and the Stoke Hundred, the village was eventuall ...

, then at

St Mary's School, Wantage St Mary's School was an independent day and boarding girls' school located in Wantage, Oxfordshire, England. In 2007 it merged with Heathfield School to become Heathfield St Mary's School (later reverted to Heathfield) and the Wantage site was ...

, and

Gordonstoun Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is locate ...

. At Gordonstoun, she was one of 20

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

girls "in the robustly masculine environment of Gordonstoun," wrote Alan Hamilton. She was called "Melons" in the popular press.

"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"

During the 1980s her boyfriend was

Nigel Oakes Nigel John Oakes (born July 1962) is a British businessman, and the founder and CEO of Behavioural Dynamics Institute and SCL Group (formerly Strategic Communication Laboratories), the parent company of Cambridge Analytica and her sister Aggregat ...

, who "appalled the Queen" after she smuggled him into her parents'

grace-and-favour ''Grace & Favour'' (American title: ''Are You Being Served? Again!'') is a British sitcom and a spin-off of ''Are You Being Served?'' that aired on BBC1 for two series from 1992 to 1993. It was written by ''Are You Being Served?'' creators and ...

home, York House, St James's Palace. According to drummer Lol Tolhurst, Lady Helen was a "mad Cure fan" who visited the band backstage in the early 80s.

Career

After she left Gordonstoun (where she had art class), she was desperate to come to London and earn money, starting in 1984 at Christie's auction house in their Contemporary Department. Lady Helen worked with the art dealer

Karsten Schubert Karsten Schubert (12 August 1961 – 30 July 2019) was a German art dealer and publisher working in London. Career Before opening his own gallery, Schubert worked at the Lisson Gallery. Karsten Schubert London Schubert ran Karsten Schubert Lon ...

between 1987 and 1991, behind the front desk, and was later credited with discovering

Rachel Whiteread Dame Rachel Whiteread (born 20 April 1963) is an English artist who primarily produces sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993. Whiteread was one of the Young British Ar ...

and

Gary Hume Gary Stewart Hume (born 9 May 1962) is an English artist. Hume's work is strongly identified with the YBA who came to prominence in the early 1990s. Hume lives and works in London and Accord, New York.

, but confessed in a television interview that she had turned down representing artist

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...

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

Marriage and children

At 19, Lady Helen met Timothy Verner Taylor (b. 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 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, Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the O ...

. The bride wore a Catherine Walker design. Giorgio Armani provided an outfit for her wedding. In 1998, her husband was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Lady Helen and her husband have four children, who immediately follow her in the

Line of succession to the British throne Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, gender, legitimacy and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 a ...

: * Columbus George Donald Taylor (born 6 August 1994) * Cassius Edward Taylor (born 26 December 1996) who studied Arts Management at Goldsmiths * Eloise Olivia Katherine Taylor (born 2 March 2003) * Estella Olga Elizabeth Taylor (born 21 December 2004)

Charity work

She is a patron of the

CLIC Sargent Young Lives vs Cancer, the operating name for "CLIC Sargent", is a charity in the United Kingdom formed in 2005. Young Lives vs Cancer is the UK's leading cancer charity for children, young people and their families. Its care teams provide speci ...

children's cancer charity. She is a trustee of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. She is on the Advisory Board of the

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, ...

after being a trustee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Helen, Lady 1964 births Living people British people of Austrian descent British people of Danish descent British people of German descent British people of Greek descent British people of Russian descent Daughters of British dukes

Helen Taylor 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 George V. Early l ...

People educated at Gordonstoun People educated at Heathfield School, Ascot People educated at St Mary’s School, Wantage