Her married name was Helen Carte. Throughout the 1890s, Richard's health was declining, and Helen assumed more and more of the responsibilities for the opera company and other family businesses. In his 1922 memoir, Henry Lytton said of Carte:
The couple's London home included the first private elevator. James McNeill Whistler, a client of Carte's agency and friend of the Cartes, made an etching of Helen in 1887 or 1888, "Miss Lenoir", and later helped to decorate the Cartes' home. Although some sources refer to Mrs. Carte as "Helen D'Oyly Carte", this is incorrect, as D'Oyly was a given name, not a surname.