Lady 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. She is currently 47th in the line of succession to the British throne.

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

Lady Helen Taylor
Born
Helen Marina Lucy Windsor

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

Early life and youth

Born at Coppins, a country house in Iver, Buckinghamshire, Lady Helen is the only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent. She was educated at Eton End[1] School in Datchet, then at St Mary's School, Wantage,[2] and Gordonstoun.[3] At Gordonstoun, she was one of 20 sixth form girls "in the robustly masculine environment of Gordonstoun," wrote Alan Hamilton.[4]

She was called "Melons" in the popular press.[5][6]

"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" [7]

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.[8][9]

According to drummer Lol Tolhurst, Lady Helen was a "mad Cure fan" who visited the band backstage in the early 80s.[10]

Career

After she left Gordonstoun (where she had art class), she was desperate[11] to come to London and earn money, starting in 1984 at Christie's auction house in their Contemporary Department.[12]

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.[13]

For 17 years, Lady Helen was a fashion ambassador and muse to Giorgio Armani.[14]

Marriage and children

At 19, Lady Helen met[11] 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. The bride wore a Catherine Walker design.[15] Giorgio Armani provided an outfit for her wedding.[16]

In 1998, her husband was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease.[11]

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) 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 children's cancer charity.[17]

She is a trustee of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.[12]

She is on the advisory board of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera after being a trustee.[12][18][19]

References
  1. Kidd, Charles; Montague-Smith, Patrick (1982). Debrett's book of royal children. W. Morrow. p. 151. ISBN 9780688013806.
  2. Panton, James (2011). Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy. Scarecrow Press. p. 362. ISBN 9780810874978.
  3. Express, Sunday (July 1983). A Week in the life of the royal family. Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 143. ISBN 9780026154307.
  4. 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.
  5. 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."
  6. Dolby, Karen (14 November 2017). The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II. Penguin. ISBN 9780451492272. Retrieved 21 May 2018 – via Google Books.
  7. "How Lady Helen said farewell to Melons". scotsman.com. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  8. "why so wild about harry?". scotsman.com. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  9. "The Londoner: The naked truth of Mary Beard at college". standard.co.uk. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  10. Tolhurst, Laurence (2016). Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys. Quercus. pp. Ch. 17. ISBN 978-1-78429-339-0.
  11. "Portrait of a Lady". standard.co.uk. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  12. "Who we are". The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  13. 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. "'Iconic royal wedding gowns". Harper's Bazaar. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  16. "Armani and muse part ways". FashionUnited. 4 July 2009. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2018 – via archive.org.
  17. "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.
  18. "Glyndebourne Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Cloudinary.com. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  19. "Glyndebourne Annual Report 2015" (PDF). Cloudinary.com. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
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