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.[2] The couple were married at Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, in 2007, in a ceremony at which the post-Vatican II Mass was celebrated in Latin.[1]
In 2010, the couple purchased the Grade II* listedGournay Court in West Harptree in Somerset, where they live with their six children:[3] 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.[4] 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.[1]
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,[5] with Nick Hilton of The Independent deeming it "toothless, vapid, and not really fair on the kids",[6] while The Guardian's Joel Goldby called it "impeccable reality TV".[7] Lucy Mangan, also for The Guardian, wrote that "Helena quickly becomes the star of the show", claiming she delivers "brutal apercus at every turn".[8]
