Father: Francis, Duke of Teck
Mother: Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge,
granddaughter of George III
Husband: George V
Married: 1893
Age: 26
Children: Edward VIII, George VI, Mary (1897-1965),
Henry (1900-1974), George Edward (1902-1942),
John (1905-1919)
Died: 1953
Age: 86
Queen Mary was one of the most intellectual royals of recent times, and took a keen interest in state affairs. She was also the first Queen consort to attend the coronation of her successors. Her valuable collection of jewels built up over her years as queen are now priceless.
Early Life
Victoria Mary of Teck was born on 26 May, 1867 at Kensington Palace, London. Her father was His Serene Highness Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, the son of Duke Alexander of W�rttemberg. Her mother was Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Teck (nee Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the youngest daughter of HRH Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge). As such she was styled Her Serene Highness Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, and known as May by her family.
Although her mother was a grandchild of King George III, Princess May was only a minor member of the British Royal Family. Her father, The Duke of Teck was the product of morganatic marriage, and had no inheritance or wealth and carried the lower royal rank of Serene Highness. The Duchess of Teck was however granted a Parliamentary Annuity of �4000 per annum plus �4000 from her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge. Despite this, the family were deep in debt and had to flee abroad to avoid their creditors in 1883. The Tecks travelled throughout Europe, visiting their various relatives and staying in Florence, Italy for a time. There Princess May enjoyed visiting the art galleries, churches and museums.
In 1885, the Tecks returned to London and were given use of White Lodge in Windsor as a residence. Princess May was close to her mother, and acted as an unofficial secretary, helping to organise parties and social events. May was also close to her aunt, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenberg-Strelitz (nee Princess Augusta of Cambridge). May wrote to her aunt every week without fail. During World War I, the Swiss Embassy helped pass letters from Mary to her aunt, who lived in Germany.
Engagement
In 1891, Princess May was engaged to His Royal Highness Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, the eldest son of Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. Princess May was chosen as a bride for Albert Victor, due mainly to Queen Victoria's fondness of May, as well as her strong character and sense of duty. However Prince Albert Victor died of pneumonia six weeks later.
Despite this setback, Queen Victoria still favoured Princess May as a suitable candidate to marry a future King, so she persuaded Albert Victor's brother, His Royal Highness Prince George, Duke of York to propose to May. George dully proposed and May excepted. Despite being an arranged marriage, May and George soon were deeply in love. George never took a mistress, and wrote to May every day.
Their marriage took place on July 6, 1893 at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace in London.
Duchess of York
After her marriage, Princess May was now styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York. The Duke and Duchess of York lived in York Cottage, a small house on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. They also had apartments in St James's Palace, London. York Cottage was a modest house for royalty, but was a favourite of George, who liked a simple life.
The Duchess of York was not considered to be emotionally attached to her children. The Royal Nanny looking after Princes Edward and Albert was found to be abusing the children. The nanny would pinch Edward before he was to be presented to the Duke and Duchess, causing them to dismiss him. Albert was generally ignored, and he turned into a shy, stammering man as a result. Despite this the Duke and Duchess were loving parents, and always looked for their children to do their best.
As Duke and Duchess of York, George and May carried out a variety of public duties. In 1900, they toured the British Empire. Visiting Australia, the Duke and Duchess opened the first session of the Australian Parliament, when the Commonwealth of Australia was created.
Princess of Wales
On January 22, 1901 , Queen Victoria died, and the Duchess of York's father in law, Albert Edward ascended the throne as King Edward VII. For the rest of that year, May was styled Duchess of Cornwall and York, until November 9, [1901]] when George was created Prince of Wales, and she was then styled Princess of Wales.
King Edward VII wished his son to be more prepared for the role of King, given Queen Victoria's exclusion of Edward from state affairs. However the Prince of Wales was not of the highest intellect, and it was up to May to help him read and understand the state papers sent by the King.
Queen Mary
On May 6, 1910, King Edward VII died, and the Prince and Princess of Wales ascended the throne. May choose the regal name of Mary for her reign. This was to keep with Queen Victoria's wishes that no British Queen be named Victoria after her death. George and Mary's coronation at Westminster Abbey took place on June 22, 1911. They later travelled to India for the Delhi Durbar on December 11, 1911. The King and Queen toured the country visiting their new subjects as their Emperor and Empress.
The beginning of Mary's reign as Queen Consort, saw her come into conflict with the new dowager Queen Alexandra. Although the two Queens were friendly and close, Alexandra was stubborn in many ways. 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.
Queen Mary's staunch support of her husband become stronger during his reign. She advised him on speeches, and used her extensive knowledge of history and royalty to advise him on matters of state. She travelled with the King to Delhi, India for the Delhi Durbar where she was presented to the people of India as their Empress.
History remembers Mary as an inattentive mother. She failed to notice the neglect of a nanny of the young Princes Edward and Albert, and her youngest son Prince John was kept away on the Sandringham Estate so the public would not see his epilepsy. However Mary was a caring mother in many respects and taught her children history and music. Edward, in his memoirs, wrote of the fondness and kindness of Mary as a mother.
In 1935, George V and Queen Mary celebrated their silver jubilee, with celebrations taking place throughout the British Empire. However George was now very ill, leaving Mary to nurse the ailing King.
Dowager Queen
King George V died on January 20, 1936, and Mary's son Prince Edward, Prince of Wales ascended the throne as King Edward VIII. Although loyal and supportive to her son, she could not understand why Edward would neglect his position in order to marry Wallis Simpson. Mary refused to meet or acknowledge Wallis either in public or private. When Edward decided to abdicate, Mary provided moral support for the shy and stammering Prince Albert, Duke of York, now expected to ascend the throne in Edward's place. With Albert on the throne as George VI, Mary provided support to the new King and Queen, even attending their coronation, the first dowager Queen to do so.
During World War II, George VI wished his mother to evacuate London, although she was reluctant to do so. She decided to go live with her niece, Mary, Duchess of Beaufort, the daughter of her brother Adolphus at Badminton. There Queen Mary supported the war effort by visiting troops and factories and helping gather scrap materials. She was known to offer lifts to soldiers she spotted on the roads.
In 1952, Mary's son, George VI died, and her granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth ascended the throne. Mary died the next year before she got the chance to see Elizabeth II's coronation. Her dying wish was that the coronation not be postponed and to go ahead as planned. After her death, Queen Mary lay in state at Westminster Hall, where crowds of mourners filed past her coffin. She is buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Teck