Mary of Teck

Queen of the United Kingdom from 1910 to 1936

For other people named May or Mary of Teck, see Lady May Abel Smith and Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort (sportswoman).

Mary of Teck

Formal portrait, 1920s

* Queen consort of the United Kingdom
and the British Dominions
* Empress consort of India

Tenure| 6 May 1910 – 20 January 1936
Coronation| 22 June 1911
Imperial Durbar| 12 December 1911

Born| Princess Victoria Mary of Teck
(1867-05-26)26 May 1867
Kensington Palace, London, England
Died| 24 March 1953(1953-03-24) (aged 85)
Marlborough House, London, England
Burial| 31 March 1953

North Nave Aisle, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle

Spouse|

George V

(m. 1893; died 1936)​

Issue|

* Edward VIII
* George VI
* Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood
* Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
* Prince George, Duke of Kent
* Prince John

| Names

Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes
House| Teck
Father| Francis, Duke of Teck
Mother| Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge
Signature|

Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 1867 - 24 March 1953) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 January 1936 as the wife of King-Emperor George V.

Born and raised in London, Mary was the daughter of Francis, Duke of Teck, a German nobleman, and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, a granddaughter of King George III. She was informally known as "May", after the month of her birth. At the age of 24, she was betrothed to her second cousin once removed Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the eldest son of the Prince of Wales and second in line to the throne. Six weeks after the announcement of the engagement, he died unexpectedly during a pandemic. The following year, she became engaged to Albert Victor's only surviving brother, George, who subsequently became king. Before her husband's accession, she was successively Duchess of York, Duchess of Cornwall, and Princess of Wales.

As queen consort from 1910, Mary supported her husband through the First World War, his ill health, and major political changes arising from the aftermath of the war. After George's death in 1936, she became queen mother when her eldest son, Edward VIII, ascended the throne. To her dismay, he abdicated later the same year in order to marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. She supported her second son, George VI, until his death in 1952. Mary died the following year, ten weeks before her granddaughter Elizabeth II was crowned. An ocean liner, a battlecruiser, and a university were named in her honour.

## Early life

[edit]

Mary as an infant with her parents Teck-Cambridge Family

Francis, Duke of Teck

Children
Mary, Queen of the United Kingdom
Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge
Prince Francis of Teck
Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone

Adolphus Cambridge,
1st Marquess of Cambridge

Children
George Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge
Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort
Lady Helena Gibbs
Lord Frederick Cambridge
Grandchildren
Lady Mary Whitley

Alexander Cambridge,
1st Earl of Athlone

Children
Lady May Abel Smith
Rupert Cambridge, Viscount Trematon
Prince Maurice of Teck

* v
* t
* e

Princess Victoria Mary of Teck was born on 26 May 1867 at Kensington Palace, London, in the room where Queen Victoria, her first cousin once removed, had been born 48 years and two days earlier. Queen Victoria came to visit the baby, writing that she was "a very fine one, with pretty little features and a quantity of hair".[1]

The princess's father was Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, the son of Duke Alexander of Württemberg by his morganatic wife, Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde. Her mother was Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, a granddaughter of King George III and the third child and younger daughter of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel.[2] The infant was baptised in the Chapel Royal of Kensington Palace on 27 July 1867 by Charles Thomas Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury.[a] From an early age, she was known to her family, friends and the public by the diminutive name of "May", after her birth month.[4]

May's upbringing was "merry but fairly strict".[1][5] She was the eldest of four children and the only daughter. She "learned to exercise her native discretion, firmness, and tact" by resolving her three younger brothers' petty boyhood squabbles.[6] They played with their cousins, the children of the Prince of Wales, who were similar in age.[7] She grew up at Kensington Palace and White Lodge, in Richmond Park, which was granted by Queen Victoria on permanent loan. She was educated at home by her mother and governess (as were her brothers until they were sent to boarding schools).[8] The Duchess of Teck spent an unusually long time with her children for a lady of her time and class,[5] and enlisted May in various charitable endeavours, which included visiting the tenements of the poor.[9]

Although May was a great-grandchild of George III, she was only a minor member of the British royal family. Her father, the Duke of Teck, had no inheritance or wealth and carried the lower royal style of Serene Highness because his parents' marriage was morganatic.[10] The Duchess of Teck was granted a parliamentary annuity of £5,000 and received about £4,000 a year from her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge,[11] but she donated lavishly to dozens of charities.[1] Prince Francis was deeply in debt and moved his family abroad with a small staff in 1883, in order to economise.[12] They travelled throughout Europe, visiting their various relations. For a time they stayed in Florence, Italy, where May enjoyed visiting the art galleries, churches and museums.[13] She was fluent in English, German, and French.[1]

In 1885, the family returned to London and lived for some time in Chester Square.[1] May was close to her mother and acted as an unofficial secretary, helping to organise parties and social events. She was also close to her aunt Augusta, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and wrote to her every week. During the First World War, the Crown Princess of Sweden helped pass letters from May to Augusta, who lived in enemy territory in Germany until her death in 1916.[14]

## Engagements

[edit]

Victoria Mary ("May") with Prince Albert Victor, 1891

In 1886, May was a debutante in her first season and was introduced at court. Her status as the only unmarried British princess who was not descended from Queen Victoria made her a suitable candidate for the royal family's most eligible bachelor, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale,[1] her second cousin once removed and the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.[b]

On 3 December 1891 at Luton Hoo, then the country residence of Danish Ambassador Christian Frederick de Falbe, Albert Victor proposed marriage to May and she accepted.[1] The choice of May as bride for the Duke owed much to Queen Victoria's fondness for her, as well as to her strong character and sense of duty. However, Albert Victor died six weeks later, in a recurrence of the worldwide 1889–1890 pandemic.[15]

Albert Victor's brother, Prince George, Duke of York, now second in line to the throne, evidently became close to May during their shared period of mourning, and Queen Victoria still thought of her as a suitable candidate to marry a future king.[16] The public was also anxious that the Duke of York should marry and settle the succession.[1] In May 1893, George proposed, and May accepted. They were soon deeply in love, and their marriage was a success. George wrote to May every day they were apart and, unlike his father, never took a mistress.[17]

## Duchess of York

[edit]

See also: Wedding of Prince George and Princess Victoria Mary and Wedding dress of Princess Victoria Mary of Teck

Princess Victoria Mary shortly before her marriage to the Duke of York in 1893 Wedding photo of Prince George, Duke of York, and Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, 6 July 1893

Mary married Prince George, Duke of York, in London on 6 July 1893 at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace. The couple lived in York Cottage on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, and in apartments in St James's Palace. York Cottage was a modest house for royalty, but it was a favourite of George, who liked a relatively simple life.[18] They had six children: Edward, Albert, Mary, Henry, George, and John.

The children were put into the care of a nanny, as was usual in upper-class families at the time. The first nanny was dismissed for insolence and the second for abusing the children. This second woman, anxious to suggest that the children preferred her to anyone else, would pinch Edward and Albert whenever they were about to be presented to their parents so that they would start crying and be speedily returned to her. On discovery, she was replaced by her effective and much-loved assistant, Charlotte Bill.[19]

Sometimes, Mary and George appear to have been distant parents. At first, they failed to notice the nanny's abuse of their sons Edward and Albert,[20] and their youngest son, John, was housed in a private farm on the Sandringham Estate, in Charlotte Bill's care, perhaps to hide his epilepsy from the public. Despite Mary's austere public image and her strait-laced private life, she was a caring mother and comforted her children when they suffered from her husband's strict discipline.[17]

Edward wrote fondly of his mother in his memoirs: "Her soft voice, her cultivated mind, the cosy room overflowing with personal treasures were all inseparable ingredients of the happiness associated with this last hour of a child's day ... Such was my mother's pride in her children that everything that happened to each one was of the utmost importance to her. With the birth of each new child, Mama started an album in which she painstakingly recorded each progressive stage of our childhood".[21] He expressed a less charitable view, however, in private letters to his wife after his mother's death: "My sadness was mixed with incredulity that any mother could have been so hard and cruel towards her eldest son for so many years and yet so demanding at the end without relenting a scrap. I'm afraid the fluids in her veins have always been as icy cold as they are now in death."[22]

The Duke and Duchess of York carried out a variety of public duties. In 1897, Mary became the patron of the London Needlework Guild in succession to her mother. The guild, initially established as The London Guild in 1882, was renamed several times and was named after Mary between 1914 and 2010.[23] Samples of her own embroidery range from chair seats to tea cosies.[24]

The Duchess of Cornwall and York in Ottawa, 1901

On 22 January 1901, Queen Victoria died, and Mary's father-in-law ascended the throne as Edward VII. For most of the rest of that year, George and Mary were known as the "Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York". For eight months they toured the British Empire, visiting Gibraltar, Malta, Egypt, Ceylon, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, South Africa and Canada. No royal had undertaken such an ambitious tour before. She broke down in tears at the thought of leaving her children, who were to be left in the care of their grandparents, for such a long time.[25]

## Princess of Wales

[edit]

On 9 November 1901, nine days after arriving back in Britain and on the King's 60th birthday, George was created Prince of Wales. The family moved their London residence from St James's Palace to Marlborough House. As Princess of Wales, Mary accompanied her husband on trips to Austria-Hungary and Württemberg in 1904. The following year, she gave birth to her last child, John. It was a difficult labour, and although she recovered quickly, her newborn son developed respiratory problems.[26]

From October 1905 the Prince and Princess of Wales undertook another eight-month tour, this time of India, and the children were once again left in the care of their grandparents.[27] They passed through Egypt both ways and on the way back stopped in Greece. The tour was almost immediately followed by a trip to Spain for the wedding of King Alfonso XIII to Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, at which the bride and groom narrowly avoided assassination.[c] Only a week after returning to Britain, Mary and George went to Norway for the coronation of George's brother-in-law and sister, King Haakon VII and Queen Maud.[28]

## Queen and empress consort

[edit]

Portrait by William Llewellyn, c. 1911

On 6 May 1910, Edward VII died. Mary's husband ascended the throne and she became queen consort. When her husband asked her to drop one of her two official names, Victoria Mary, she chose to be called Mary, preferring not to be known by the same style as her husband's grandmother, Queen Victoria.[29] She was the first British queen consort born in Britain since Catherine Parr assumed the title in July 1543.[1] Mary was crowned alongside her husband at a coronation on 22 June 1911 in Westminster Abbey. Later in the year, the King and Queen travelled to India for the Delhi Durbar held on 12 December 1911, and toured the sub-continent as Emperor and Empress of India, returning to Britain in February.[30]

The beginning of Mary's period as consort brought her into conflict with her mother-in-law, Queen Alexandra. Although the two were on friendly terms, Alexandra could be stubborn; she demanded precedence over Mary at the funeral of Edward VII, was slow in leaving Buckingham Palace, and kept some of the royal jewels that should have been passed to the new queen.[31]

During the First World War, Queen Mary instituted an austerity drive at the palace, where she rationed food, and visited wounded and dying servicemen in hospital, which caused her great emotional strain.[32] After three years of war against Germany, and with anti-German feeling in Britain running high, the Russian imperial family, which had been deposed by a revolutionary government, was refused asylum.[33] News of the tsar's abdication provided a boost to those in Britain who wished to replace their own monarchy with a republic.[34] The war ended in 1918 with the defeat of Germany and the abdication and exile of the kaiser.

The Queen with her daughter Mary during the First World War

Two months after the end of the war, Prince John died at the age of thirteen. Queen Mary described her shock and sorrow in her diary and letters, extracts of which were published after her death: "our poor darling little Johnnie had passed away suddenly ... The first break in the family circle is hard to bear but people have been so kind & sympathetic & this has helped us [the King and me] much."[35]

The Queen's staunch support of her husband continued during the later half of his reign. She advised him on speeches and used her extensive knowledge of history and royalty to advise him on matters affecting his position. He appreciated her discretion, intelligence, and judgement.[36] She maintained an air of self-assured calm throughout all her public engagements in the years after the war, a period marked by civil unrest over social conditions, Irish independence, and Indian nationalism.[37]

In the late 1920s, George became increasingly ill with lung problems, exacerbated by his heavy smoking. Mary paid particular attention to his care. During his illness in 1928, one of his doctors, Sir Farquhar Buzzard, was asked who had saved the King's life. He replied, "The Queen".[38] In 1935, George and Mary celebrated their silver jubilee, with celebrations taking place throughout the British Empire. In his jubilee speech, George paid public tribute to his wife, having told his speechwriter, "Put that paragraph at the very end. I cannot trust myself to speak of the Queen when I think of all I owe her."[39]

## Queen mother

[edit]

George V died on 20 January 1936, after his physician, Lord Dawson of Penn, gave him an injection of morphine and cocaine that may have hastened his death.[40] Queen Mary's eldest son ascended the throne as Edward VIII. She was then to be known as Her Majesty Queen Mary.

Within the year, Edward's intention to marry his twice-divorced American mistress, Wallis Simpson, led to his abdication. Mary disapproved of divorce as it was contrary to the teaching of the Anglican Church, and thought Simpson wholly unsuitable to be the wife of a king. After receiving advice from British prime minister Stanley Baldwin, as well as the Dominion governments, that he could not remain king and marry Simpson, Edward abdicated.

Though loyal and supportive of her son, Mary could not comprehend why Edward would neglect his royal duties in favour of his personal feelings.[41] Simpson had been presented formally to both King George V and Queen Mary at court,[42] but Mary later refused to meet her either in public or privately.[43] She saw it as her duty to provide moral support for her second son, the reserved Prince Albert, Duke of York. Albert ascended the throne on Edward's abdication, taking the name George VI. When Mary attended the coronation of George VI, she became the first British dowager queen to do so.[d] Edward's abdication did not lessen her love for him, but she never wavered in her disapproval of his actions.[17][45]

Queen Mary with her granddaughters, Princesses Margaret (front) and Elizabeth, May 1939

After her reign, Mary returned to live in her main London residence Marlborough House, where she had also lived as Princess of Wales. Mary took an interest in the upbringing of her granddaughters Elizabeth and Margaret. She took them on various excursions in London, to art galleries and museums. (The princesses' own parents thought it unnecessary for them to be burdened with a demanding educational regime.)[46] In May 1939, Mary was in a car crash: her car was overturned but she escaped with minor injuries and bruises.[47]

During the Second World War, George VI wished his mother to be evacuated from London. Although she was reluctant, she decided to live at Badminton House, Gloucestershire, with her niece Mary, Duchess of Beaufort, the daughter of her brother Adolphus.[48] Her personal belongings were transported from London in seventy pieces of luggage. Her household, which comprised fifty-five servants, occupied most of the house, except for the Duke and Duchess's private suites, until after the war. The only people to complain about the arrangements were the royal servants, who found the house too small.[49]

From Badminton, in support of the war effort, Queen Mary visited troops and factories and directed the gathering of scrap materials. She was known to offer lifts to soldiers she spotted on the roads.[50] In 1942, her son George, Duke of Kent, was killed in an air crash while on active service. Mary finally returned to Marlborough House in June 1945, after the war in Europe had resulted in the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Mary was an eager collector of objects and pictures with a royal connection.[51] She paid above-market estimates when purchasing jewels from the estate of Dowager Empress Marie of Russia[52] and paid almost three times the estimate when buying the family's Cambridge Emeralds from Lady Kilmorey,[53] the mistress of her late brother Prince Francis.[54] After Francis's death, Mary had intervened to ensure his will was sealed by a court to cover his affair with Kilmorey. This set a precedent for royal wills to be sealed.[55] In 1924, the famous architect Sir Edwin Lutyens created Queen Mary's Dolls' House for her collection of miniature pieces.[56] She has sometimes been criticised for her aggressive acquisition of objets d'art for the Royal Collection. On several occasions, she would express to hosts, or others, that she admired something they had in their possession, in the expectation that the owner would be willing to donate it.[57]

Mary's extensive knowledge of, and research into, the Royal Collection helped in identifying artefacts and artwork that had gone astray over the years.[58] The royal family had lent out many pieces over previous generations. Once she had identified unreturned items through old inventories, she would write to the holders, requesting that they be returned.[59] In addition to being an avid collector, Mary also commissioned many gifts of jewellery, including rings which she presented to her ladies-in-waiting on the occasion of their engagements.[60]

## Final year and death

[edit]

Main article: Death and funeral of Mary of Teck

Queen Mary's funeral carriage. Her coffin was draped in her personal banner of arms.[61]

In 1952, George VI died, the third of Mary's children to predecease her; her eldest granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth, ascended the throne as Queen Elizabeth II. The death of a third child profoundly affected her. Mary remarked to Princess Marie Louise: "I have lost three sons through death, but I have never been privileged to be there to say a last farewell to them."[62]

On the accession of Elizabeth II, there was some dispute regarding the dynasty to which descendants of Elizabeth and her husband Phillip would belong. Mary expressed to Prime Minister Winston Churchill her aversion to the idea of the House of Mountbatten succeeding the House of Windsor as the royal dynasty.[63]

Mary died on 24 March 1953 in her sleep at the age of 85, ten weeks before her granddaughter's coronation.[64] She had let it be known that should she die, the coronation should not be postponed.[65] Her remains lay in state at Westminster Hall, where large numbers of mourners filed past her coffin. She is buried beside her husband in the nave of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.[66]

Mary's will was sealed in London after her death. Her estate was valued at £406,407 (or £13 million in 2023 when adjusted for inflation).[67][68]

## Legacy

[edit]

Actresses who have portrayed Queen Mary include Dame Flora Robson (in A King's Story, 1965), Dame Wendy Hiller (on the London stage in Crown Matrimonial, 1972),[69] Greer Garson (in the television production of Crown Matrimonial, 1974), Judy Loe (in Edward the Seventh, 1975), Dame Peggy Ashcroft (in Edward & Mrs. Simpson, 1978), Phyllis Calvert (in The Woman He Loved, 1988), Gaye Brown (in All the King's Men, 1999), Miranda Richardson (in The Lost Prince, 2003), Margaret Tyzack (in Wallis & Edward, 2005), Claire Bloom (in The King's Speech, 2010), Judy Parfitt (in W.E., 2011), Valerie Dane (in the television version of Downton Abbey, 2013), Dame Eileen Atkins (in Bertie and Elizabeth, 2002 and The Crown, 2016), Geraldine James (in the film version of Downton Abbey, 2019), and Candida Benson (in The Crown, 2022).

Many places and buildings have been named in Mary's honour, including Queen Mary University of London,[70] Queen Mary Reservoir in Surrey,[71] and Queen Mary College in Lahore.[72]

Sir Henry "Chips" Channon wrote that Queen Mary was "above politics ... magnificent, humorous, worldly, in fact nearly sublime, though cold and hard. But what a grand Queen."[73]

## Titles, honours and arms

[edit]

Main article: List of titles and honours of Mary of Teck

Queen Mary's arms were the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom impaled with her family arms – the arms of her grandfather Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, in the 1st and 4th quarters, and the arms of her father, Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.[74][75] The shield is surmounted by the imperial crown, and supported by the crowned lion of England and "a stag Proper" as in the arms of Württemberg.[75]

|  |  |

|
|
|

Coat of arms of Mary, Duchess of York  | Coat of arms of Mary, Princess of Wales  | Coat of arms of Queen Mary  | Royal cypher of Queen Mary

## Issue

[edit]

This section is an excerpt from George V § Issue.[edit]

Name  | Birth  | Death  | Marriage  | Their children

|
|
|
|

Date  | Spouse
Edward VIII
(later Duke of Windsor)  | (1894-06-23)23 June 1894  | 28 May 1972(1972-05-28) (aged 77)  | 3 June 1937  | Wallis Simpson | None
George VI | (1895-12-14)14 December 1895  | 6 February 1952(1952-02-06) (aged 56)  | 26 April 1923  | Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon | Elizabeth II
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Mary, Princess Royal | (1897-04-25)25 April 1897  | 28 March 1965(1965-03-28) (aged 67)  | 28 February 1922  | Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood | George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood
The Hon. Gerald Lascelles
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester | (1900-03-31)31 March 1900  | 10 June 1974(1974-06-10) (aged 74)  | 6 November 1935  | Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott | Prince William of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Prince George, Duke of Kent | (1902-12-20)20 December 1902  | 25 August 1942(1942-08-25) (aged 39)  | 29 November 1934  | Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark | Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
Prince Michael of Kent
Prince John | (1905-07-12)12 July 1905  | 18 January 1919(1919-01-18) (aged 13)  | None  | None

## Ancestry

[edit]

Ancestors of Mary of Teck

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Duke Louis of Württemberg[2]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. Duke Alexander of Württemberg|

|  |  |
| 9\. Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg

| 2\. Francis, Duke of Teck|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. Count László Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde

| 5\. Countess Claudine Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde[2]|

|  |  |
| 11\. Baroness Ágnes Inczédy de Nagy-Várad

| 1\. Mary of Teck|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. George III of the United Kingdom

| 6\. Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge|

|  |  |
| 13\. Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

| 3\. Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel

| 7\. Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel|

|  |  |
| 15\. Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## See also

[edit]

* Crown of Queen Mary
* Household of George V and Mary
* List of covers of Time magazine (1920s), (1930s)

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Her three godparents were Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII and May's future father-in-law), and her maternal grandmother, Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge.[3]
2. ^ May's maternal grandfather, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, was a brother of Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent, who was the father of Queen Victoria, Albert Victor's paternal grandmother.
3. ^ The driver of their coach and over a dozen spectators were killed by a bomb thrown by an anarchist, Mateo Morral.
4. ^ According to custom, crowned heads did not attend coronations of other kings and queens.[44]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Queen Mary: A Lifetime of Gracious Service", The Times, p. 5, 25 March 1953
2. ^ a b c "The Ancestry of the Princess May", Bow Bells: A Magazine of General Literature and Art for Family Reading, 23 (288), London: 31, 7 July 1893
3. ^ The Times (London), Monday, 29 July 1867 p. 12 col. E
4. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 24
5. ^ a b Pope-Hennessy, p. 66
6. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 45
7. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 55
8. ^ Pope-Hennessy, pp. 68, 76, 123
9. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 68
10. ^ Pope-Hennessy, pp. 36–37
11. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 114
12. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 112
13. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 133
14. ^ Pope-Hennessy, pp. 503–505
15. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 201
16. ^ Edwards, p. 61
17. ^ a b c Prochaska, Frank (January 2008) [September 2004], "Mary (1867–1953)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34914, retrieved 1 May 2010 (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
18. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 291
19. ^ Wheeler-Bennett, pp. 16–17
20. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 393
21. ^ Windsor, pp. 24–25
22. ^ Ziegler, p. 538
23. ^ Queen Mother's Clothing Guild official website, retrieved 1 May 2010
24. ^ e.g. Mary, Queen of England (1943), Chair seat, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Queen Mary (1909), Tea cosy, Springhill, County Londonderry: National Trust
25. ^ Edwards, p. 115
26. ^ Edwards, pp. 142–143
27. ^ Edwards, p. 146
28. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 407
29. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 421
30. ^ Pope-Hennessy, pp. 452–463
31. ^ Edwards, pp. 182–193
32. ^ Edwards, pp. 244–245
33. ^ Edwards, p. 258
34. ^ Edwards, p. 262
35. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 511
36. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 549
37. ^ Edwards, p. 311
38. ^ Gore, p. 243
39. ^ The Times (London), Wednesday, 25 March 1953 p. 5
40. ^ Watson, Francis (1986), "The Death of George V", History Today, 36: 21–30, PMID 11645856
41. ^ Airlie, p. 200
42. ^ Windsor, p. 255
43. ^ Windsor, p. 334
44. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 584
45. ^ Edwards, p. 401 and Pope-Hennessy, p. 575
46. ^ Edwards, p. 349
47. ^ "Find Queen Mary Has No Broken Bones; But Physicians Reveal Painful Injury to Her Eye". The New York Times. 25 May 1939. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
48. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 596
49. ^ Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003), "Duke of Beaufort, 'Seat' section", Burke's Peerage & Gentry, 107th edition, vol. I p. 308
50. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 600
51. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 412
52. ^ Clarke, William (1995), The Lost Fortune of the Tsars
53. ^ Leigh, David (26 March 2007). "Secret wills of the royals - a tale of mistresses, jewels and cover-ups". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
54. ^ Thomson, Mark (29 August 2005), Document – A Right Royal Affair, BBC Radio 4
See also Kilmorey Papers (D/2638) (pdf), Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.
55. ^ Leigh, David (26 March 2007), "Secret wills of the royals - a tale of mistresses, jewels and cover-ups", The Guardian, retrieved 7 April 2023
56. ^ Pope-Hennessy, pp. 531–534
57. ^ Rose, p. 284
58. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 414
59. ^ Windsor, p. 238
60. ^ "S. J. Rood – a brief history", S. J. Rood – Jewellers, retrieved 4 December 2018
61. ^ "Queen Mary laid to rest in Windsor", BBC On This Day: 31 March 1953; retrieved 19 October 2010.
62. ^ Marie Louise, p. 238
63. ^ Bousfield, Arthur; Toffoli, Garry (2002), Fifty Years the Queen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Dundurn Press, p. 101, ISBN 1-55002-360-8
64. ^ "1953: Queen Mary dies peacefully after illness", BBC News, 24 March 1953, retrieved 29 May 2018
65. ^ Pope-Hennessy, p. 621
66. ^ Royal Burials in the Chapel by location, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, archived from the original on 22 January 2010, retrieved 1 May 2010
67. ^ United Kingdom Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth "consistent series" supplied in Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2024). "What Was the U.K. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
68. ^ Evans, Rob; Pegg, David (18 July 2022), "£187m of Windsor family wealth hidden in secret royal wills", The Guardian, retrieved 19 July 2022
69. ^ "Dame Wendy Hiller", The Guardian, 16 May 2003, retrieved 1 May 2010
70. ^ Moss, G. P.; Saville, M. V. (1985), From Palace to College – An illustrated account of Queen Mary College, University of London, pp. 57–62, ISBN 0-902238-06-X
71. ^ "History of the Queen Mary Reservoir – Sunbury Matters", Village Matters, February 2014, retrieved 25 April 2014
72. ^ Introduction, Queen Mary College, Lahore, archived from the original on 5 April 2023, retrieved 29 October 2014
73. ^ Channon, Sir Henry (1967), Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon, Edited by Robert Rhodes James, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, p. 473
74. ^ Maclagan, Michael; Louda, Jiří (1999), Line of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe, London: Little, Brown & Co, pp. 30–31, ISBN 1-85605-469-1
75. ^ a b Pinches, John Harvey; Pinches, Rosemary (1974), The Royal Heraldry of England, Heraldry Today, Slough, Buckinghamshire: Hollen Street Press, p. 267, ISBN 0-900455-25-X

### Works cited

[edit]

* Airlie, Mabell (1962), Thatched with Gold, London: Hutchinson
* Edwards, Anne (1984), Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor, Hodder and Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-24465-8
* Gore, John (1941), King George V: A Personal Memoir, London: John Murray
* Marie Louise, Princess (1959), My Memories of Six Reigns, Penguin Books
* Pope-Hennessy, James (1959), Queen Mary, London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.
* Prochaska, Frank (January 2008) [September 2004], "Mary (1867–1953)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34914, retrieved 1 May 2010 (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
* Rose, Kenneth (1983), King George V, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-78245-2
* Wheeler-Bennett, Sir John (1958), King George VI, London: Macmillan
* Windsor, HRH The Duke of (1951), A King's Story, London: Cassell and Co
* Ziegler, Philip (1990), King Edward VIII, London: Collins, ISBN 0-00-215741-1

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Queen Mary of the United Kingdom.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Mary of Teck.

* Queen Mary at the official website of the Royal Collection Trust
* Portraits of Queen Mary at the National Portrait Gallery, London
* Newspaper clippings about Mary of Teck in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

Mary of Teck

House of Teck

Born: 26 May 1867 Died: 24 March 1953

Royal titles
Preceded by

Alexandra of Denmark

|  Queen consort of the United Kingdom
and the British Dominions;
Empress consort of India
1910–1936  | Vacant

Title next held by

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Honorary titles
Preceded by

The Prince of Wales

|  Grand Master of the Order of the British Empire
1936–1953  | Succeeded by

The Duke of Edinburgh

Articles and topics related to Mary of Teck

* v
* t
* e

Mary of Teck

Queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, Empress consort of India (1910–1936)

Family|

* George V (husband)
* Edward VIII (son)
* George VI (son)
* Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (daughter)
* Henry, Duke of Gloucester (son)
* George, Duke of Kent (son)
* Prince John (son)
* Francis, Duke of Teck (father)
* Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge (mother)
* Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge (brother)
* Prince Francis of Teck (brother)
* Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone (brother)
* Descendants
* House of Windsor

Events|

* Wedding
* wedding dress
* Coronation
* Crown
* Honours
* Medal
* The Marys of the Empire
* Delhi Coronation Durbar
* Honours
* Hunting trip in Nepal
* Silver Jubilee
* Medal
* Death and funeral

Related|

* Household
* Titles and honours

Depictions|

| Film and television|

* Edward the Seventh (1975)
* Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978)
* The Woman He Loved (1988)
* All the King's Men (1999)
* Bertie and Elizabeth (2002)
* The Lost Prince (2003)
* Wallis & Edward (2005)
* The King's Speech (2010)
* W.E. (2011)
* The Crown (2016)
* Downton Abbey (2019)

|

Documentaries|

* With Our King and Queen Through India (1912)
* King George and Queen Mary (2012)

Namesakes|

* Queen Mary University of London
* Queen Mary College, Lahore
* King Edward VII and Queen Mary School
* Queen Mary Hospital (Hong Kong)
* Queen Mary Hospital (Hanmer Springs)
* Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton
* Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup
* Queen Mary's Hospital, Carshalton
* Queen Mary's Hospital for the East End
* Queen Mary Maternity Centre
* Queen Mary Reservoir
* Queensway tunnel
* Queen Mary Road
* Queen Mary's Dolls' House
* HMS Queen Mary
* TS Queen Mary
* RMS Queen Mary
* RMS Queen Mary 2

* v
* t
* e

English, Scottish and British royal consorts

| Royal consorts in England until 1603| Royal consorts in Scotland until 1603

|

* Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
* Æthelflæd of Damerham
* Ælfgifu
* Ælfthryth
* Ælfgifu of York
* Sigrid the Haughty/Świętosława
* Ealdgyth
* Emma of Normandy
* Edith of Wessex
* Edith of Mercia
* Matilda of Flanders
* Matilda of Scotland
* Adeliza of Louvain
* Matilda of Boulogne
* Geoffrey Plantagenet
* Eleanor of Aquitaine
* Margaret of France
* Berengaria of Navarre
* Isabella of Angoulême
* Blanche of Castile
* Eleanor of Provence
* Eleanor of Castile
* Margaret of France
* Isabella of France
* Philippa of Hainault
* Anne of Bohemia
* Isabella of Valois
* Joan of Navarre
* Catherine of Valois
* Margaret of Anjou
* Elizabeth Woodville
* Anne Neville
* Elizabeth of York
* Catherine of Aragon
* Anne Boleyn
* Jane Seymour
* Anne of Cleves
* Catherine Howard
* Catherine Parr
* Guildford Dudley

* Gruoch
* Ingibiorg Finnsdottir
* Margaret of Wessex
* Ethelreda of Northumbria
* Sybilla of Normandy
* Maud of Northumbria
* Ermengarde de Beaumont
* Joan of England
* Marie de Coucy
* Margaret of England
* Yolande de Dreux
* Elizabeth de Burgh
* Joan of the Tower
* Margaret Drummond
* Euphemia de Ross
* Anabella Drummond
* Joan Beaufort
* Mary of Guelders
* Margaret of Denmark
* Margaret Tudor
* Madeleine of Valois
* Mary of Guise
* Francis II of France
* Henry Stuart
* James Hepburn
* Anne of Denmark

* Royal consorts in England and Scotland after the Union of the Crowns from 1603

* Anne of Denmark
* Henrietta Maria of France
* Catherine of Braganza
* Mary of Modena
* George of Denmark and Norway

* British royal consorts after the Acts of Union 1707

* George of Denmark and Norway
* Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach
* Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
* Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
* Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
* Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
* Alexandra of Denmark
* Mary of Teck
* Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
* Philip of Greece and Denmark
* Camilla Shand

Spouses of debatable or disputed rulers are in italics

* v
* t
* e

House of Windsor

Generations are numbered by their descent from George V and Mary of Teck

1st generation|

* Edward VIII
* George VI
* Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood
* Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
* Prince George, Duke of Kent
* Prince John

2nd generation|

* Elizabeth II
* Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
* Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
* Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
* Prince William of Gloucester
* Prince Michael of Kent
* Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester

3rd generation|

* Charles III*
* Anne, Princess Royal*
* Prince Andrew, Duke of York*
* George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews
* Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh*
* Lady Helen Taylor
* Lord Nicholas Windsor
* Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster
* Lady Davina Windsor
* Lord Frederick Windsor
* Lady Rose Gilman
* Lady Gabriella Kingston

4th generation|

* William, Prince of Wales*
* Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex*
* Princess Beatrice*
* Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick
* Princess Eugenie*
* Lady Marina Windsor
* Lady Amelia Windsor
* Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor*
* Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden
* Albert Windsor
* James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex*
* Leopold Windsor
* Lady Cosima Windsor
* Maud Windsor
* Louis Windsor
* Isabella Windsor

5th generation|

* Prince George of Wales*
* Princess Charlotte of Wales*
* Prince Louis of Wales*
* Prince Archie of Sussex*
* Princess Lilibet of Sussex*

*Descendant of Elizabeth II and therefor a member of the house of Mountbatten-Windsor, yet officially considered members of the house of Windsor

* v
* t
* e

Princesses of Wales and Duchesses of Cornwall

* Joan, Countess of Kent (1361–1376)
* Lady Cecily Neville (1460; disputed)
* Lady Anne Neville (1470–1471)
* Infanta Catherine of Aragon (1501–1502)
* Princess Caroline of Ansbach (1714–1727)
* Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1736–1751)
* Princess Caroline of Brunswick (1795–1820)
* Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1863–1901)
* Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (1901–1910)
* Lady Diana Spencer (1981–1996)
* Camilla Shand* (2005–2022)
* Catherine Middleton (2022–present)

* Though legally Princess of Wales, she did not use the title

* v
* t
* e

Duchesses of Rothesay

* Marjorie Douglas (1400-1402)
* Princess Caroline of Ansbach (1714-1727)
* Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (1736-1751)
* Princess Caroline of Brunswick (1795-1820)
* Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1863-1901)
* Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (1901-1910)
* Lady Diana Spencer (1981-1996)
* Camilla Shand (2005-2022)
* Catherine Middleton (2022-present)

* v
* t
* e

Duchesses of York

* Infanta Isabella of Castile (1372–1392)
* Lady Joan Holland (1393–1402)
* Philippa de Mohun (1402–1415)
* Lady Cecily Neville (1425–1460)
* Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk (1478–1481)
* Anne Hyde (1660–1671)
* Princess Mary of Modena (1673–1685)
* Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia* (1791–1820)
* Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (1893–1910)
* Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1923–1936)
* Sarah Ferguson (1986–1996)

* titled Duchess of York and Albany

* v
* t
* e

British princesses by marriage

The generations include wives of princes descended from George I, who formalised the use of the titles prince and princess for members of the British royal family.

1st generation|

* Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach

2nd generation|

* Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

3rd generation|

* Maria Walpole
* Anne Luttrell

4th generation|

* Duchess Caroline of Brunswick
* Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia
* Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
* Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
* Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
* Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel
* The Princess Mary*

5th generation|

* Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg

6th generation|

* Princess Alexandra of Denmark
* Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia
* Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia
* Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont
* Princess Thyra of Denmark

7th generation|

* Princess Victoria Mary of Teck
* Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife*
* Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein
* Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia

8th generation|

* Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
* Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott
* Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark

9th generation|

* Birgitte van Deurs Henriksen
* Katharine Worsley
* Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz

10th generation|

* Lady Diana Spencer
* Camilla Shand
* Sarah Ferguson
* Sophie Rhys-Jones

11th generation|

* Catherine Middleton
* Meghan Markle

*also a British princess in her own right
Princesses whose titles were removed due to loss of husband's eligibility or divorce are shown in italics.

* v
* t
* e

Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by marriage

1st generation|

* Princess Maria Antonia Koháry of Csábrág and Szitnya*
* Princess Louise of Orléans

2nd generation|

* Princess Alexandrine of Baden
* Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom
* Maria II, Queen of Portugal and the Algarves
* Princess Clémentine of Orléans
* Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria**
* Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen**

3rd generation|

* Princess Alexandra of Denmark***
* Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia***
* Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia***
* Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont***
* Princess Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
* Princess Maria Pia of Savoy
* Princess Louise of Belgium
* Princess Leopoldina of Brazil
* Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma
* Princess Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz
* Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria**

4th generation|

* Princess Victoria Mary of Teck***
* Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife***
* Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg***
* Princess Amélie of Orléans
* Archduchess Karoline Marie of Austria
* Princess Mathilde of Bavaria
* Princess Giovanna of Savoy
* Princess Astrid of Sweden**
* Lilian Baels**

5th generation|

* Countess Viktoria-Luise of Solms-Baruth
* Princess Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern
* Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela
* Fabiola de Mora y Aragón
* Paola Ruffo di Calabria**
* Léa Wolman**

6th generation|

* Miriam Ungría y López
* María del Rosario Nadal y Fuster de Puigdórfila
* Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz**
* Claire Coombs**

7th generation|

* Kelly Rondestvedt^

* *princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld by marriage until 1826
* **also a princess of Belgium by marriage
* ***also a British princess by marriage
* ^did not have a royal or noble title by birth

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*[m.]: married
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*[c.]: circa