Bob Gregory and Princess Baba
Toronto Daily Star, July 14 1938
A British wrestling heritage website has an entry on Bob Gregory and his princess bride. In 1937, he met and married Valerie Brooke, the youngest daughter of Charles Vyner Brooke, an Englishman who was the last Rajah of Sarawak. Ms. Brooke had appeared in the movie The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), billed as Princess Baigum.
She preferred to be called Princess Baba, but her father, disapproving of the marriage, claimed she had no right to the title of Princess and cut off her allowance. Gregory, who was a wealthy man, offered to buy her an island of her own where the two of them could rule. He could afford it, but he had trouble finding an island that was willing to install them as rulers.
The courtship and marriage of the wrestler and his princess generated tremendous publicity in Britain, as did their separation and divorce in 1940. She went on to marry three more times and passed away in 1993 at the age of 77. I couldn't find out when he passed away.
There are a number of pictures of the two of them on the Internet, including a Maple Leaf wrestling web site and some photos from Life magazine.
Created September 24, 2025.