La inmortal Helen Lewis:
La bella americana que se convirtió en duquesa de Croÿ y luego en nuera del almirante Miklós Horthy
 |
| Helena, duquesa de Croÿ (de soltera Lewis) |
 |
| La madre de Helen, Jane "Jennie" Bromley Lindsay Lewis en 1941. |
El 22 de octubre de 1924, Helen Lindsay Lewis (nacida en Albany, Nueva York, el 14 de febrero de 1898) se convirtió en la segunda esposa del duque Karl Rudolf de Croÿ (1889-1974). Helen era hija de Thompson Howard Lewis (1869-1947), que trabajaba para la Mutual Life Insurance Company en Nueva York, y su esposa Jane “Jennie” Bromley Lindsay (1871 – ?), hija de David Lindsay y Ella Augusta Bromley (1847-1910). La pareja se casó en una ceremonia celebrada en Múnich. Este fue el primer matrimonio de Helen; para Karl Rudolf, fue el segundo. Desde 1913 hasta 1922 estuvo casado con Nancy Leishman (1894-1983). De su primer matrimonio, el duque de Croÿ tuvo tres hijos: Carl (1914-2011), Antoinette (1915-2011) y Marie-Luise (n. 1919).  |
| Isabel, baronesa du Moray (de soltera Lewis) |
La duquesa Helen de Croÿ tenía una hermana menor, Elizabeth Willoughby Lewis (nacida en Albany, Nueva York, el 9 de julio de 1901). En 1928, Elizabeth se había comprometido con el barón Jean Le Couteulx du Moray (1886-1946), hijo del barón Jacques Le Couteulx du Moray. Aunque Elizabeth no estaba enamorada de Jean y su compromiso se rompió al menos una vez, tanto la hermana de Elizabeth, Helen, como su cuñado Karl Rudolf estaban muy interesados en que la unión se llevara a cabo. El duque y la duquesa de Croÿ convencieron a Elizabeth para que siguiera adelante con la boda y la señorita Lewis más joven se unió debidamente con el barón Jean Le Couteulx du Molay (1886-1946) el 21 de marzo de 1929 en París. Resultó que el barón du Moray era drogadicto y él e Elizabeth se divorciaron el 16 de abril de 1935.
 |
| Helena, duquesa de Croÿ |
 |
| Karl Rudolf, duque de Croy |
In 1930, a divorce action was initiated by Duchess Helen of Croÿ to terminate her marriage with Duke Karl Rudolf. According to press reports at the time, one of the reasons that Helen cited for ending the union was that an Austrian Archduchess (who was never named) had been soliciting the attentions of the Duke of Croÿ. Interestingly, even though the contents of the case were sealed, it was alleged that one of the reasons that the marriage of Duke Karl Rudolf and his first wife Nancy ended in 1922 was due to the interference of the very same archduchess. Karl Rudolf and Helen, the Duke and Duchess of Croÿ, were divorced in 1931; they had no children.
 |
| Helen, Duchess of Croÿ |
 |
| Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya II |
On 22 December 1956, Helen Lewis, former Duchess of Croÿ, married Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya II (1907-1993) in Edinburgh, Scotland. By this time, Helen had reinvented herself as Helen Margot Lindsay-Lewis (b.Puerto Madryn, Argentina 14 February 1916); the new bride thus made herself almost twenty years younger. Helen’s second husband was the youngest child of Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (1868-1957), the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, and Magdolna Vilma Benedikta Purgly de Jószáshely (1881-1959).
 |
| Admiral Miklós Horthy de Nagybány, Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary |
.jpg) |
| Magdolna Purgly de Jószáshely |
 |
| Countess Maria Consuelo Károlyi de Nagykároly |
In 1927, Miklós II married Countess Maria Consuelo Károlyi de Nagykároly (1905-1976); the couple had two children: Zsófia Horthy de Nagybanya (1928-2004) and Nicolette Horthy de Nagybanya (1929-1990). Miklós and Maria Consuelo eventually divorced; it was after this marital rupture that Miklós married Helen Lewis.
 |
| Helen Lewis, Duchess of Croÿ, Mrs Miklós Horthy de Nagybanya II |
Helen and Miklós Horthy did not have any children. On 23 March 1993, Miklós passed away in Portugal at the age of eighty-five. For decades, genealogists had an impossible time attempting to find when Helen Lewis had died. Due to her seemingly “immortal” status, the former Duchess of Croÿ was deemed to be a “Vampire of the Gotha.”
 |
| Helen’s Hungarian sister-in-law: Countesss Ilona Edelsheim-Gyulai de Marosnémethi et Nádaska |
In 2016, Dutch royal historian and genealogist Netty Leistra discovered that Helen had passed away in December 1976 at Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Helen would have been seventy-eight years-old. Countess Ilona Edelsheim-Gyulai de Marosnémethi et Nádaska, the sister-in-law of Miklós and wife of his brother István, recalled in her memoirs: “They did not always live in complete harmony, but when Helen got sick, Nicky [Miklós] nurtured her devotedly, and when she died, he became completely shattered.”
 |
| The resting place of Miklós Horthy II |
After his death, Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya II was buried at the Horthy family crypt at Kenderes, Hungary. The final resting place of Helen Lewis is not known.
Source:
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment