Helen Azalea "Poppy" Baring (8 November 1901 – 15 October 1979) was one of the

Bright Young Things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a group of Bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in London during the Roaring Twenties. The name was given to them by the tabloid press. They threw flamboyant fancy dress part ...

of the 1920s. She had been the prospective bride of two princes, both times judged not suitable to the match.

Biography

Baring was born on 8 November 1901, the daughter of Sir Godfrey Baring, 1st Baronet of Nubia House, Cowes, Isle of Wight and Eva Hermione Mackintosh.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003 She was the sixth generation in direct descent from United States Senator

William Bingham William Bingham (March 8, 1752February 7, 1804) was an American statesman from Philadelphia. He was a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788 and served in the United States Senate from 1795 to 1801. Bingham was o ...

, once America's richest man, and his wife Anne Willing Bingham. Their daughter married Baring in the first great international social match between an American bride and an English groom. In 1921 Albert, Duke of York (the future king

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

), fell in love with Baring, but she had the reputation of being "fast" and fun-loving. He proposed marriage, she accepted, but Queen Mary made it clear that the match was impossible. Six years later, Baring had an affair with

Prince George, Duke of Kent Prince George, Duke of Kent (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George ...

, but this time it was the King, George V, who objected to their romance because Poppy was not "suitable". Nevertheless, Poppy Baring was Prince George's mistress for many years. Her close friend was

Lois Sturt Lois Ina Morgan, Viscountess Tredegar (''née'' Sturt, 25 August 1900 – 18 September 1937) was one of the Bright Young Things of the 1920s. Later the lover of the Earl of Pembroke and the Duke of Kent, she married Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tr ...

. In October 1925, Baring assisted at the small, and apparently secret, wedding ceremony of

Francis Hastings, 16th Earl of Huntingdon Francis John Clarence Westenra Plantagenet Hastings, 16th Earl of Huntingdon (30 January 1901 – 24 August 1990), styled Viscount Hastings until 1939, was a British artist, academic, and later a Labour parliamentarian. Background and educa ...

, to Christina Casati, daughter of

Luisa Casati Luisa, Marchesa Casati Stampa di Soncino (born Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman; 23 January 1881 – 1 June 1957), was an Italian heiress, socialite, and patroness of the arts in early 20th-century Europe. Early life Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman wa ...

. After the marriage, Baring and

Napier Sturt, 3rd Baron Alington Captain Napier George Henry Sturt, 3rd Baron Alington (1 November 1896 – 17 September 1940) was a British peer, the son of Humphrey Sturt, 2nd Baron Alington. He was born in November 1896 in the St. Marylebone district of London. He succeeded ...

(Lois' brother) accompanied the grooms to Dover. In 1927 Baring established a dress shop named "Poppy's" in Down Street where she sold the latest fashions. On 17 December 1928 she married William Piers "Peter" Thursby, an Eton cricketer, son of Reverend Harvey William Gustavus Thursby and Margaret Emily Mount. Raymund de Trafford was also a close friend of Baring, and went to stay with her soon after his release from prison in 1942. She died in 1979 at her home in

Sandwich, Kent Sandwich is a town and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, south-east England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour and has a population of 4,985. Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval build ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baring, Poppy 1901 births 1979 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople 20th-century English businesswomen

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...

Daughters of baronets English people of American descent English socialites Mistresses of Prince George, Duke of Kent People from Cowes