Helena Rees-Mogg

The Honourable Lady Rees-Mogg
Born	Helena Anne Beatrice Wentworth Fitzwilliam de Chair
Alma mater	University of Bristol
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg ​ (m. 2007)​
Children	6
Parents	Somerset de Chair Lady Juliet Wentworth-Fitzwilliam
Relatives	Peter Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 8th Earl Fitzwilliam (maternal grandfather) Dudley de Chair (paternal grandfather) Lord Nicholas Hervey (half-brother) Lawrence Clarke (half-nephew) Theo Clarke (half-niece)

Helena Anne Beatrice Wentworth Fitzwilliam de Chair, Lady Rees-Mogg (born 1977), is a British heiress and television personality. She is married to Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, former Conservative Member of Parliament for North East Somerset and Secretary of State for Business and Trade.

Early life and family

De Chair is the only daughter of Conservative MP Somerset de Chair and Lady Juliet Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, the only child and sole heiress of the very wealthy 8th Earl Fitzwilliam (d. 1948), who died in a small aircraft crash when she was aged 13. Also killed was his intended second wife, Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington, a daughter-in-law of the 10th Duke of Devonshire and a sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The de Chair family, settled in England since the end of the seventeenth century, was of Huguenot descent and could trace their ancestry to Rene de la Chaire, whose grandson, Jean de la Chaire, was ennobled as a marquis in 1600 by Henry IV of France. They rose to gentry status through generations of clergymen. Her half-brother was Lord Nicholas Hervey. She is the aunt of former Olympic athlete Lawrence Clarke and former Conservative MP Theo Clarke.

She grew up at her family's estate of Bourne Park, near Canterbury, Kent.

Education

She studied chemistry at the University of Bristol. After her studies, de Chair began working for Argus Media as a journalist.

Family

In 2006, de Chair became engaged to the Rt Hon. Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, future Conservative politician and son of former Times editor Lord Rees-Mogg. De Chair had first met Rees-Mogg when they were children, and they began dating the year before their engagement, after Rees-Mogg had gained the blessing of her mother. The couple were married at Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, in 2007, in a ceremony at which the post-Vatican II Mass was celebrated in Latin.

Since 2010, the Rees-Mogg family has lived at Gournay Court in Somerset.

In 2010, the couple purchased the Grade II* listed Gournay Court in West Harptree in Somerset, where they live with their six children: Peter, Mary, Thomas, Anselm, Alfred, and Sixtus.

Wealth and inheritance

De Chair's mother, Lady Juliet Tadgell, inherited the estates of de Chair's grandfather, Peter Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 8th Earl Fitzwilliam in 1948 when he died in a plane crash at age 38. The estate, with an estimated net worth of £45million, has since passed into a trust and incorporates Wentworth-Fitzwilliam's vast art collection, including four paintings by George Stubbs and six by Anthony van Dyck, as well as properties in England, Ireland and the United States. De Chair is the sole heiress to her mother's estate.

Media

Along with her husband and children, de Chair stars in a reality television show about her family, Meet the Rees-Moggs, which premiered on Discovery+ on 2 December 2024. The season consists of five 40-45 minute long episodes. The show received mixed reviews, with Nick Hilton of The Independent deeming it "toothless, vapid, and not really fair on the kids", while The Guardian's Joel Goldby called it "impeccable reality TV". Lucy Mangan, also for The Guardian, wrote that "Helena quickly becomes the star of the show", claiming she delivers "brutal apercus at every turn".