Lady Helena Gibbs

Princess Helena
Spouse	John Evelyn Gibbs
Father	Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge
Mother	Lady Margaret Grosvenor
Born	(1899-10-23)23 October 1899
Died	22 December 1969(1969-12-22) (aged 70)

Teck-Cambridge Family

Francis, Duke of Teck

Adolphus, Marquess of Cambridge

Alexander, Earl of Athlone

Lady Helena Gibbs (Helena Frances Augusta) (23 October 1899 – 22 December 1969), born Princess Helena of Teck, was a descendant of the British Royal Family, great-great-granddaughter of King George III, and a niece of Queen Mary, the consort of King George V. During World War I, the British Royal Family relinquished their Germanic titles, and Princess Helena assumed the style Lady Helena Cambridge.

Early life

Princess Helena as a child, 1903

Princess Helena was born at Grosvenor House, Mayfair, Westminster. Her father was Prince Adolphus of Teck (later the 2nd Duke of Teck), the eldest son of Prince Francis, Duke of Teck and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. Her mother was Lady Margaret Grosvenor, the third daughter of the 1st Duke of Westminster. 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 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 who were British subjects, including Helena.

In response to this, Helena's father renounced his title of Duke of Teck in the Kingdom of Württemberg and the style His Highness. Adolphus, along with his brother, Prince Alexander of Teck, 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. Helena was entitled to the style of The Lady Helena Cambridge as a daughter of a marquess.

Marriage

Lady Helena married Colonel John Evelyn Gibbs (22 December 1879 London-11 October 1932 Tetbury), a veteran of the Boer Wars and World War I, on 2 September 1919 at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The couple had no children together. Lady Helena survived her husband by 37 years and died at Badminton House, home of her sister.