Profile: Lady Helen Taylor
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Who: The Lady Helen Marina Lucy Taylor, the second child of The Duke and Duchess of Kent. Her brothers are George Windsor, Earl of St. Andrews and Lord Nicholas Windsor.
Her Story: Lady Helen (née Windsor) was born into the Kent branch of the British Royal Family. Her father is Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V and a cousin of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Helen was born and raised at Coppins, the Kents’ former country house in Iver, Buckinghamshire. The cozy home had once belonged to the beloved sister of King George V, Princess Victoria. She bequeathed the house to the king’s younger son, Prince George, the Duke of Kent, for his married life. Coppins became home for two generations of the family.
Helen attended St. Mary’s School, Wantage, on the outskirts of Ascot. After St. Mary’s came Gordonstoun, a school attended by three generations of British royalty including Prince Philip, Prince Charles and his two brothers, and Zara and Peter Phillips.
The impeccably stylish Lady Helen was not always as demure as she is now. In her younger days she dabbled in illegal substances and was dubbed the “wild child” of the Windsor family for her association with an upper crust circle of friends who liked to party a little too heartily.
Helen realized that she was going down a destructive path when one of her close friends died. Olivia Channon, granddaughter of Sir Henry “Chips” Channon, the politician and diarist, passed away after collapsing from a drug and alcohol overdose. It shocked Helen into turning away from the darker side of the circles in which she moved.
Happily, Helen found a ray of sunshine when she met art dealer Tim Taylor, whom she married on July 18, 1992. She looked every inch the princess bride as she emerged from St. George’s Chapel on the arm of her new husband. Her beautiful wedding gown – designed by Diana’s favorite, Catherine Walker – was topped off with the Kent Fringe Tiara.
Helen was always viewed by the media as the House of Windsor’s best-dressed lady. Coupled with Tim’s successful art career, Helen became an ambassador for the fashion house of Giorgio Armani and a consultant to top American designer Calvin Klein in 1999. Helen held a brief post as a representative for the luxury jeweler, Bulgari.
Helen gave birth to the couple’s first child, Columbus, in 1994. Two years later their second son, Cassius, made his debut. All was well for the Taylors, until Tim was diagnosed with with Hodgkin’s disease, a cancer that affects the lymph nodes, in 1999. Helen and Tim put on stiff upper lips, but behind closed doors, the couple’s nerves were wracked.
Happily, the cancer went into remission after several rounds of treatment. The Taylors were overjoyed at Tim’s new lease on life, and tried for a third child. Little Eloise was born in 2003, and she was followed a year later by Estella.
Tim has been in remission since 2000. Soon after her husband’s recovery, Helen became involved with Clic Sargent, the largest children’s cancer charity in the UK. She remains committed to the organization today.
The Details
Date of Birth: April 28th, 1964
Education: St Mary’s School, Wantage and Gordonstoun
Residence: Belgravia, London, UK
Children: 4; two boys and two girls – Columbus, Cassius, Eloise, and Estella.
