Die unsterbliche Helen Lewis:
Die amerikanische Schönheit, die Herzogin von Croÿ und dann Schwiegertochter von Admiral Miklós Horthy wurde
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| Helen, Herzogin von Croÿ (geb. Lewis) |
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| Helens Mutter Jane „Jennie“ Bromley Lindsay Lewis im Jahr 1941. |
Am 22. Oktober 1924 wurde Helen Lindsay Lewis (geb. 14. Februar 1898 in Albany, New York) die zweite Frau von Herzog Karl Rudolf von Croÿ (1889-1974). Helen war die Tochter von Thompson Howard Lewis (1869-1947), der für die Mutual Life Insurance Company in New York arbeitete, und seiner Frau Jane „Jennie“ Bromley Lindsay (1871 – ?), der Tochter von David Lindsay und Ella Augusta Bromley (1847-1910). Das Paar heiratete in einer Zeremonie in München. Für Helen war es die erste Ehe; für Karl Rudolf war es die zweite. Von 1913 bis 1922 war er mit Nancy Leishman (1894-1983) verheiratet. Aus seiner ersten Ehe hatte der Herzog von Croÿ drei Kinder: Carl (1914–2011), Antoinette (1915–2011) und Marie-Luise (geb. 1919).  |
| Elizabeth, Baroness du Moray (geb. Lewis) |
Herzogin Helen von Croÿ hatte eine jüngere Schwester, Elizabeth Willoughby Lewis (geb. 9. Juli 1901 in Albany, NY). 1928 hatte sich Elizabeth mit Baron Jean Le Couteulx du Moray (1886-1946), dem Sohn von Baron Jacques Le Couteulx du Moray, verlobt. Obwohl Elizabeth nicht in Jean verliebt war und ihre Verlobung mindestens einmal gelöst wurde, waren sowohl Elizabeths Schwester Helen als auch ihr Schwager Karl Rudolf sehr daran interessiert, dass die Verbindung zustande kam. Der Herzog und die Herzogin von Croÿ überzeugten Elizabeth, die Hochzeit durchzuziehen, und die jüngere Miss Lewis wurde am 21. März 1929 in Paris ordnungsgemäß mit Baron Jean Le Couteulx du Molay (1886-1946) vereint. Zufällig war der Baron du Moray drogenabhängig, und er und Elizabeth ließen sich am 16. April 1935 scheiden.
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| Helena, Herzogin von Croÿ |
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| Karl Rudolf, Herzog von Croÿ |
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.
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| Helen, Duchess of Croÿ |
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| 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).
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| Admiral Miklós Horthy de Nagybány, Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary |
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| Magdolna Purgly de Jószáshely |
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| 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.
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| 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.”
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| 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.”
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| 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.
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