Helen Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, ( Lady Helen Magdalen Gordon-Lennox; 13 December 1886 – 13 June 1965) was a British aristocrat and courtier. She was
Mistress of the Robes
The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, who would, by appointment, attend on the Queen (whether queen regnant or a queen consort). Queens dowager retained their own mistresses of the robes. In ...
to
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...
from 1937–64.
Early life
She was the second daughter of
Charles Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara (later the 7th
Duke of Richmond
Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families.
The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles ...
), and his second wife, Isabel Sophie Craven, herself the second daughter of William George Craven (a grandson of
William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven) and Lady Mary Yorke (second daughter of
Charles Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke). From her father's first marriage to
Amy Mary Ricardo, she had three half-brothers and two half-sisters,
including
Charles Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond
Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond, 8th Duke of Lennox, 3rd Duke of Gordon (30 December 1870 – 7 May 1935), known as Lord Settrington 1870–1903, and as Earl of March 1903–1928, was a British Peerage, peer and politician.
B ...
,
Lady Evelyn Gordon-Lennox (wife of
Sir John Cotterell, 4th Baronet),
Lady Violet Gordon-Lennox (wife of
Henry Brassey, 1st Baron Brassey, of
Apethorpe),
,
and
Lord Bernard Charles Gordon-Lennox.
Career
She was
Mistress of the Robes
The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, who would, by appointment, attend on the Queen (whether queen regnant or a queen consort). Queens dowager retained their own mistresses of the robes. In ...
to
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...
, from 1937 to 1964 and was appointed a Dame Grand Cross of the
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...
in 1938.
Profile of Helen Percy, Duchess of Northumberland
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Personal life
She was married on 18 October 1911 to Earl Percy, who succeeded his father as 8th Duke of Northumberland
Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...
in 1918, whereupon she became known as the Duchess of Northumberland. The couple had six children:
* Henry George Alan Percy, 9th Duke of Northumberland (1912–1940), who was killed in action
Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...
on 21 May 1940.Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton
Air Commodore Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton and 11th Duke of Brandon, (3 February 1903 – 30 March 1973) was a Scottish aristocrat, politician, and aviator. He was the first man to fly over Mount Everest.
When Rudolf Hess, t ...
, in 1937.John Egerton, 6th Duke of Sutherland
John Sutherland Egerton, 6th Duke of Sutherland, (10 May 1915 – 21 September 2000) was a British peer from the Egerton family. He was styled Viscount Brackley until 1944, when he became the 5th Earl of Ellesmere on inheriting his father's sub ...
, in 1939 in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
.Baron Stratheden
Baron Stratheden, of Cupar in the County of Fife, and Baron Campbell, of St Andrews in the County of Fife, are two titles in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The titles were created in 1836 and 1841 respectively. The barony of Stratheden was c ...
and Campbell, in 1979.Alnwick
Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116.
The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northumberland, Helen Percy, Duchess of
1886 births
1965 deaths
Helen
Dames Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Daughters of British dukes
Helen
Mistresses of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Place of birth missing
Place of death missing
Burials at Westminster Abbey