This princess presented the trophies at Wimbledon long before Kate but most people have never heard of her

We’re used to seeing royals at Wimbledon, with the Princess of Wales now patron of the All England Club. But rewind nine decades and another royal was a familiar face on Centre Court. A princess known to her family as Thora regularly appeared on Pathe newsreels presenting trophies and cheering on the tennis stars of the day. She was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, a keen sportswoman and a royal who witnessed first-hand the transformation of the monarchy from the Victorian age into the modern era.

An unusual nickname for an unusual princess

Her story began much like those of so many of Queen Victoria’s descendants. Born at Frogmore House on 3 May 1870, she was christened Victoria Louise Sophia Augusta Amelia Helena. As was almost compulsory among Victoria’s grandchildren, she was given her grandmother’s name. She was the third child and first daughter of Princess Helena, Queen Victoria’s third daughter, and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, who had been permitted to marry Helena in 1866 on the condition that the couple lived permanently in Britain. Thora therefore grew up in England, surrounded by her many royal cousins.

One of those cousins would shape the course of her life. Like every other granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Thora was considered a potential royal bride from an early age. The groom her family had in mind was George, the second son of the future Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark. But his mother had other ideas.

Alexandra never forgave Prussia for the Schleswig-Holstein wars, in which her native Denmark had suffered defeat. Thora’s paternal lineage was therefore always going to be an obstacle. The Princess of Wales, still regarded as one of Europe’s great beauties, was also dismissive of her niece’s appearance, nicknaming her “Snipe”. Writing to her son, Alexandra mocked the prospect of the match, remarking: “Well, it would be a pleasure to welcome that ‘beauty’ as your bride.”

From potential bride to overlooked bridesmaid

Instead of becoming George’s wife, Thora was one of the bridesmaids when he married Mary of Teck in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace on 6 July 1893. At just 23, she still hoped she might one day become a royal bride herself.

Those hopes gradually faded. Another prospective suitor, Prince Ernest of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, instead married her cousin, Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh, and as Thora approached her thirtieth birthday she remained unmarried.

Even so, Queen Victoria never entirely gave up on finding her granddaughter a husband. In 1899, the Queen wrote to her eldest daughter about another possible match with Prince Johannes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Religion proved an insurmountable obstacle, however, as he was Roman Catholic, and the marriage never materialised. Instead, Thora settled into a life devoted to her mother, her grandmother and public service.

She spent much of Queen Victoria’s final years by her side, helping organise and record some of the monarch’s memoirs and diaries. Those writings would later be edited with the assistance of Princess Beatrice. At the same time, Thora became increasingly involved with many of the charitable organisations supported by her mother, beginning a lifetime of public service.

A princess with a passion for sport

Yet hers was far from a sheltered existence. Thora loved the outdoors and developed a lifelong passion for sport, particularly tennis.

She became a familiar sight at the All England Championships at Wimbledon and later at other major tournaments, including the Davis Cup, where she presented trophies on several occasions. Golf was another favourite pastime, shared with her brother Prince Albert.

She also remained deeply devoted to her family. When her brother Prince Christian Victor died during the Boer War, Thora accompanied her mother to South Africa to visit his grave.

During the First World War she helped organise concerts to entertain troops, but the conflict also changed her own identity. In 1917, King George V ordered members of the Royal Family to relinquish their German titles. The name Schleswig-Holstein, which had caused so much resentment for Queen Alexandra, disappeared from her style. The cousin once rejected as a potential bride became simply Her Highness Princess Helena Victoria.

The Second World War brought further upheaval. Thora had been living with her sister, Princess Marie Louise, at Schomberg House in London, but as the conflict intensified the sisters moved to the countryside for safety. They eventually returned to discover their home had been damaged, forcing them to settle instead in Berkeley Square.

Despite these disruptions, her charitable work never faltered. A surprising amount of newsreel footage survives showing Princess Helena Victoria opening hospitals, attending charitable events and presenting prizes at the sporting occasions she loved.

She became godmother to Prince William of Gloucester, the eldest son of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, at his christening in 1942. Five years later she watched him serve as a page boy at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in Westminster Abbey. It would prove to be her final major public appearance.

Princess Helena Victoria died on 13 March 1948 and was buried at Frogmore, where her story had begun almost 78 years earlier.

“I know you of all others would be able to realise what the loss of darling Grandmama is to me,” she wrote shortly after Queen Victoria’s death in response to a letter of condolence.

In many ways, the loss of her beloved grandmother marked the beginning of a new chapter. Helena Victoria moved from the intimate world of Queen Victoria’s court into a monarchy that was becoming increasingly modern. It is easy to dismiss her as a forgotten Victorian princess, but she quietly bridged two very different royal eras. Through her charity work, her love of sport and her steadfast sense of duty, she built a meaningful public life of her own. By the time she died, she was remembered not simply as Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, but as a princess who embraced change with quiet dignity and earned the lasting respect of her family.