Countess Ilona Edelsheim-Gyulai de Marosnémethi et Nádaska (14 January 1918 – 18 April 2013)Elhunyt Horthy Istvánné
was a Hungarian noblewoman and wife of

István Horthy István Horthy de Nagybánya (9 December 1904 – 20 August 1942) was a Hungarian politician and fighter pilot during World War II. He was briefly Vice-Regent of Hungary in 1942, and was the eldest son of Hungarian regent Miklós Horthy. Biog ...

, son of

Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...

and Deputy Regent of Hungary for a short time in 1942.

Biography

She was born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Austria-Hungary, the third daughter of Count Lipót Edelsheim-Gyulai and Gabriella Pejacsevich (). She spent her childhood in Felsőelefánt (today: ''Horné Lefantovce, Slovakia''), the family's estate in the former

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary (, "Upland"), is the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been called ''Felső-Magyarország'' ( literally: "Upper Hungary"; ). During the ...

, though during her early life it was part of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. She married István Horthy in April 1940. Their only son, István Horthy Jr. was born in 1941. Her husband died in an unexplained airplane crash over the Eastern Front in August 1942. In 1954 she married Colonel John Wallace Guy Bowden of the

Queen's Own Hussars The Queen's Own Hussars (QOH), was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed from the amalgamation of the 3rd The King's Own Hussars and the 7th Queen's Own Hussars at Candahar Barracks, Tidworth in 1958. The regiment served in Aden and ...

; during the early 1960s they lived in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, Iraq, where Bowden was a British military attaché, and in the mid 60's they moved to Portugal. Bowden died in 2002. She worked as a nurse for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She also had a role in rescuing

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. After the unsuccessful desertion attempts and

Operation Panzerfaust Operation Panzerfaust () was a military operation undertaken in October 1944 by the German to ensure the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary would remain a German ally in World War II. When German leader Adolf Hitler received wo ...

, she emigrated with her father-in-law, the Regent. She wrote her memoir with the title of ''Becsület és kötelesség'' ("Honor and Duty"). She lived in England until her death in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

, aged 95.

References

Horthy Istvánné gróf Edelsheim-Gyulai Ilona a kiralyihagyomanyőrzők honlapján
*

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110131095144/http://www.historia.hu/archivum/2000/0008sp_keret.htm Az „irigyelt házasság, majd a hontalanság" című cikk a História honlapján. {{DEFAULTSORT:Edelsheim-Gyulai, Ilona 1918 births 2013 deaths Noblewomen of the Kingdom of Hungary Nobility from Budapest Hungarian emigrants to the United Kingdom

Ilona ''Ilona'' is a feminine given name used primarily in Hungary and Finland, as well as in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe. The name Ilona is the Hungarian form of the Greek name Helenē (Ἑλένη), which is commonly interpreted to mean ...

Hungarian expatriates in Czechoslovakia