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Sumner Moore Kirby

Am 6. November 1934 heiratete einer der Erben des Vermögens von FW Woolworth and Co., Sumner Moore Kirby (1895-1945), zum dritten Mal. Die Braut war Prinzessin Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Moukhranskaya (1914-2010), die Tochter von Prinz Giorgi Bagration-Moukhransky und Elena Sigismundovna Zlotnitzkaya.

Bericht über Helens Geburt durch den amerikanischen Konsulardienst.

Das einzige Kind von Sumner und Leonida, Hélène Louise Kirby, auch bekannt als Helen/Helena/Elena, wurde am 26. Januar 1935 in Genf geboren.

Hochzeitsanzeige von Sumner M. Kirby und Prinzessin Leonida Bagration (1934)

Sumner und Leonida ließen sich am 18. November 1937 scheiden. Hélènes Vater starb am 7. April 1945 in einem Krankenhaus in Leau, in der Nähe des Konzentrationslagers Buchenwald, wohin er aus Frankreich deportiert worden war, nachdem er 1944 zusammen mit anderen US-amerikanischen und britischen Zivilisten vom Vichy-Regime verhaftet worden war. Sumner Moore Kirby war der Sohn von Fred Morgan Kirby (1861–1940) und Jessie Amelia Owen (1861–1933).

Hochzeitsanzeige von Sumner M. Kirby und Doris L. Wayland (1925)

Sumner M. Kirby war von April 1925 bis Oktober 1931 in erster Ehe mit Doris Landy Wayland (1901-1969) verheiratet. Doris Wayland war die Tochter von Samuel Ewing Wayland (1858-1928) und seiner Frau Blandina (geb. 1866; geborene Landy). Sumner und Doris hatten eine Tochter: Gloria Price Kirby (1928-2017; verheiratet mit Robert St Clair Conahay III). Im Januar 1932 heiratete Sumner Valentine Wagner als seine zweite Frau; das Paar ließ sich im Juli 1934 scheiden; sie hatten keine Nachkommen. Einige Monate später heiratete Kirby Leonida, die seine letzte Frau werden sollte. Leonida erhielt nach der Scheidung von Kirby und Bagration das Sorgerecht für ihre Tochter Hélène.

Prinzessin Leonida und ihre Tochter Hélène

In 1960, Hélène Louise Kirby became engaged to a Spanish lawyer, don Antonio Bermúdez de Castro y de Collantes. Antonio was a son of don Arturo Bermúdez de Castro y Blanco (killed at Madrid on 22 August 1936 during Spanish Civil War) and doña Dolores de Collantes y Menéndez de Luarca (died at Madrid on 15 December 1980). Antonio had three sisters (Maria de los Dolores, Cristina, and Maria Josefa [d.2014]) and one brother (Luis). The eldest sister, Maria de los Dolores, was married in 1949 to Juan Bautista de Castillejo y Carvajal, XI Conde de Villa Amena de Cozbíjar – she is currently the Dowager Duquesa de Montealegre.

Death announcement for don Antonio Bermúdez de Castro y de Collantes (1960)

Sadly, Antonio died on 10 October 1960. Among others, his obituary mentioned that he is survived by “su prometida [his fiancée], señorita Helene Kirby Bagration.“

(left to right) señora del Arenal, condesa de Albercón, duquesa de Franco, señora Mariam Martín-Barbadillo, duquesa de Montealegre, and Hélène Kirby (2014)

Three years later in 1963, Hélène became the godmother of her late fiancé’s newborn niece, Elena Bermúdez de Castro (third daughter of Luis Bermúdez de Castro y de Collantes [d.2015] and María de la Consolación “Cocolo” Fernández-Santa Eulalia y Palicio [d.2015]). Hélène remained close with the family of her late fiancée, particularly with Antonio’s sister Maria de los Dolores (duquesa de Montealegre) and the parents of Antonio’s niece/Hélène’s goddaughter Elena, Luis and Cocolo.

(Left to right) Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, Hélène Kirby, Mr and Mrs William Rahn, Grand Duchess Leonida and Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia (1965)

In 1965, Hélène Kirby and Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, the nephew of Helene’s stepfather Grand Duke Vladimir, began a relationship. The couple apparently met in Paris. On 25 August 1965 the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner carried a photo of Friedrich Wilhelm, Hélène, Grand Duke Wladimir, Grand Duchess Leonida, and Mr and Mrs William Rahn (an American couple from Madrid) during a brief visit to Alaska. The relationship between the Hélène Kirby and Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia had already ended by 1966.

Engagement of Hélène Kirby and Juan Pérez de Guzmán y Castillejo, II conde de Hoochstrate (1966)

On 30 October 1966, the Imperial Chancellery of the Russian Imperial House announced the engagement of Hélène Kirby and Juan Pérez de Guzmán y Castillejo, II conde de Hoochstrate. Juan was the son of José María Pérez de Guzmán y Sanjuan (1895-1943), I conde de Hoochstrate, and María de la Concepción Castillejo y Wall (1899-1986), V condesa de Torreblanca. Juan’s maternal aunt doña Dolores Castillejo y Wall (d.1983), Dowager Duquesa de Almenera Alta y de Escolano, was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. The wedding between Hélène Kirby and the Conde de Hoochstrate was scheduled to take place on 19 January 1967 at Madrid.

Hélène’s second fiancé: Juan Pérez de Guzmán y Castillejo, conde de Hoochstrate (1976)

For whatever reason, the union never materialised. Juan Pérez de Guzmán y Castillejo (d.2015), conde de Hoochstrate, later married María Cristina de Armiñán Jordán. Hélène Kirby has never married.

Hélène Kirby, Countess Dvinskaya, at the wedding of her half-sister Grand Duchess Maria (1976)

Hélène Kirby was granted the title Countess Dvinskaya with the style of Illustrious Highness in 1976 by her stepfather, Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia. This was the same year that Hélène’s younger half-sister Grand Duchess Maria of Russia married Prince Franz-Wilhelm of Prussia. Hélène became the godmother of her nephew, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, in May 1981.

Pictured: Hélène Kirby holding her godson, one of the Princes of Bulgaria, and King Simeon II of the Bulgarians. Shown behind Hélène is Queen Mother Geraldine of the Albanians. In the background are several Bagration relatives.

Hélène Kirby photographed behind the Countess of Barcelona (1960s)

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Hélène Kirby has remained close to the Bulgarian, Georgian, and Spanish royal families over the decades. She served as godmother to one of King Simeon and Queen Margarita’s sons. In 2002, Hélène attended the wedding of the king’s only daughter Princess Kalina, together with her friend the Duchess of Franco. Hélène is a friend of Infanta Pilar of Spain, with whom she has collaborated in promoting the fundraising events for the charity Rastrillo Nuevo Futuro for many years. In 2009, Hélène was present at the wedding of her first cousin once removed, Prince David Bagration-Moukhransky, and Princess Anna Bagration-Gruzinskaya – the wedding of the century in Georgia which united two branches of the Bagrationi family.

Hélène Kirby, Countess Dvinskaya, attends the memorial service for her mother Grand Duchess Leonida (2010)

Gloria Price Kirby on the occasion of her marriage to Robert St Clair Conahay III (1948)

Im Mai 2010 starb Hélènes Mutter, Großherzogin Leonida, im Alter von 95 Jahren in Madrid. Hélène hatte ihre Mutter, ihren Stiefvater, Großherzog Vladimir, und ihre jüngere Halbschwester mütterlicherseits, Großherzogin Maria, lange Zeit unterstützt. 2017 verstarb Hélènes ältere Halbschwester väterlicherseits, Gloria Price Kirby, in Tanger. Hélène pflegte enge Beziehungen zu Gloria und zu Glorias Kindern, Hélènes Nichte und Neffen.