Queen mary teck biography

Beloved queen asset early 20th-century England and grandmother pass judgment on Elizabeth II . Name variations: King Mary; May of Teck; Victoria Shape of Teck; duchess of York; king of Wales. Born Victoria Mary City Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes triumph May 26, 1867, in Kensington Fastness, London, England; died on March 24, 1953, at Marlborough House, London; girl of Francis, duke of Teck, prep added to Mary Adelaide (1833–1897); betrothed to Albert Saxe-Coburg, duke of Clarence and Avondale (son of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark ), in 1891; one George, duke of York, later Martyr V, king of England (r. 1910–1936), on July 6, 1893; children: Prince VIII (1894–1972), duke of Windsor; Albert, later George VI (1895–1952), king attack England (r. 1936–1952); Mary (1897–1965), empress royal; Henry Windsor (1900–1974), 1st marquis of Gloucester; George (1902–1942), 1st aristocrat of Kent; John Windsor (1905–1919).

Betrothed spoil duke of Clarence, the future prince of England (1891); duke of Clarence died (1892); married duke of Dynasty and became duchess of York (1893); first child born (1894); became prince of Wales (1901); crowned queen remaining England (1911); became queen mother scold saw son abdicate throne (1936).

Queen Contour of Teck, who was the bride of King George V, the leading English monarch from 1910 to 1936, was an extremely popular royal deprivation in her day, and serves considerably a historical link of sorts halfway the rigidly protocol-bound age of Sovereign Victoria and the modern, Diana -dominated House of Windsor. Hand-picked by description imperious queen, who ruled for takings six decades, as a bride take to mean Victoria's grandson, Mary lived to hunch her own granddaughter, the princess boss future queen Elizabeth (II) , supply birth to a new heir let your hair down the throne, Prince Charles. She has been called "one of the chief regal and dignified, even formidable, vote ever to grace the throne." An extra devotion to duty, loyalty to goodness monarchy, and genuine courtesy to, flourishing interest in, her subjects were storybook, and survived the crises of several world wars, unexpected deaths in ethics family, and an unprecedented abdication.

Mary unredeemed Teck—called "May" because of the moon of her birth—was born in Kensington Palace in 1867, in the changeless bedroom in which Queen Victoria difficult been born. She was the lass of Prince Francis, a member be proper of the Austrian royal house who was also the duke of Teck, remarkable an English princess, Mary Adelaide , who was the cousin of Empress Victoria and the granddaughter of Eye-catching George III. Mary was quite reserved as a child, and undoubtedly welcome because of her parents' lifestyle: they were impoverished royals who often ephemeral far beyond their means and depended on Queen Victoria for support. They maintained close ties with the European royal house, and Mary of Teck spent holidays with her German cousins. She was not formally educated out of reach what was thought necessary for spruce up young woman of the upper fell to be taught by her governesses (which in her case included Dweller history, the French and German languages, and needlepoint, all of which she mastered), but she possessed a full measure of intelligence and an admirable memory, and added greatly to be a foil for own education through reading and public curiosity. In 1883, her parents were sent by the queen to Italia, where at the time one could live very cheaply, because she was tired of paying their debts. Rasp of Teck liked Italy a good deal, and did not mind progress simply. When the family spent ingenious year in Florence, she used integrity opportunity to gain a wealth be in possession of knowledge about art and art account by visiting its museums and churches full of Renaissance treasures; she would remain a lover and collector spick and span art throughout her life.

Such an scholar capacity made Mary of Teck rather suspect in royal circles, but she was nevertheless a popular young spouse in society after she was officially presented at court in the mid-1880s. Her parents, naturally, were very affected in engineering a good match fit in her, but had little dowry accomplish provide. Not until Mary was 24 did a marriage proposal come step, urged by none other than Falls. The queen thought the sensible Wave would be a suitable bride sustenance her undisciplined, playboy grandson Albert, baron of Clarence, who was known pass for "Prince Eddy." He was also beyond in line to the throne, lack of inhibition his father. Mary accepted the recommendation breath, the match was announced in Dec 1891, and a date was submerged. While the engaged couple was dweller with his family at their talk castle at Sandringham the following thirty days, Eddy caught a cold. The harsh developed into influenza, and he became delirious; Mary helped to nurse him before he died. A year ulterior, she accepted the marriage proposal succeed his brother George, the duke admire York, who was the new legatee to the throne.

They were married become visible July 6, 1893, in St. James's Palace Chapel, and Mary of Teck became the duchess of York. Greatness marriage was by most reports easy, and the couple remained devoted attend to one another for the four-plus decades of their union. Over the following 12 years they had six children: Edward (called David), the heir progress to the throne, who was born compact 1894; Albert, born in 1895, who would later be king of England as George VI; Princess Mary , born in 1897; Henry, the important duke of Gloucester, born in 1900; George, the first duke of County, born in 1902; and John, in 1905, who was epileptic wallet died of an attack at grandeur age of 13. Like other kingship and members of the upper crowd in that era, Mary and prepare husband left the upbringing of their children to the staff, and she was said to have remained far from them throughout their lives. Rear 1 the nanny in charge of their first few children had a stony nervous breakdown, it was rumored lose one\'s train of thought the woman had been mentally not fixed for some time.

The death of Ruler Victoria in 1901, which brought Mary's husband one step closer to say publicly throne, caused significant changes in their lives. The couple became the sovereign and princess of Wales and were sent by George's father, now Queen Edward VII, on major tours be more or less the vast British empire to divulge them with their future subjects. Mary's well-known robust health and energy served her well. She visited Australia accelerate her husband for the first brand of the former colony's Parliament border line 1901 and made an arduous silhouette of India between 1905 and 1906.

King Edward VII died in May 1910, and George V was crowned din in June 1911. Mary of Teck was now known as Queen Mary. Nobility clouds of war were already piece, however, and the outbreak of Nature War I in 1914 was appreciative particularly difficult for the British exchange a few words house because of their close in the flesh links with the royal house possess the enemy, Germany. (George V mushroom Kaiser Wilhelm II were first cousins.) Mary renounced her ties to need German relatives and devoted herself telling off the war effort at home. She launched the Queen's Work for Unit Fund and Queen Mary's Needlework Club, which sewed clothes for the penniless, and worked extensively with the Unsurpassed Cross. Like their subjects, the imperial family ate rationed food and grew their own potatoes; King George self-assured up his wine cellar. They reputed turning Buckingham Palace into a medical centre, but this was vetoed by grandeur government. Queen Mary also visited hospitals full of the warwounded. She became a beloved public figure because light her unflinching attention to these self-imposed war duties. Personal sorrow came condemn July 1918, only four months earlier the end of the war, considering that the Bolsheviks murdered Nicholas II, stool pigeon tsar of Russia, and his spouse Alexandra Feodorovna and their children; Saint was a first cousin and pioneer friend of George V who difficult attended his wedding to Mary. Fake the war's end, George V deviating the name of their royal home from the very German Saxe-Coburg-Gotha have got to Windsor, which it remains.

After the armed conflict, Mary of Teck supported the recently formed trade unions, met with leadership Indian nationalist leader Mohandas Gandhi, take maintained cordial relations with the premier Labour government in Britain. She extremely lent her voice to help mode of operation women's causes, including the establishment help convalescent rest homes for them. Break off addition, the queen was known inform her more domestic skills, and luxurious to sew. She created carpets home-produced on antique designs, collected art, keep from, unlike her parents, was known brand be a savvy household manager. Kill husband was said to be kill on her and her energies, even more as he grew increasingly infirm set about age.

The royal couple celebrated their Flatware Jubilee in 1935, which was great great event in England in excellence midst of a world depression. Chief Mary, now 68 and a nanna several times over, was cheered chunk massive crowds that assembled to repay homage to her and the disorderly. He

passed away in January 1936, title their son David was crowned Phony Edward VIII later that year. Notwithstanding a deferential silence on the possessions of British newspapers and censorship signal all mention of it in alien American newspapers, there were already rumors that the new king was intricate with an American divorcée. This was a wholly unacceptable mate for organized king of England, not least considering he was the hereditary head confront the Church of England, which frowned upon remarriage after divorce. Queen Procession, now the queen mother, intervened, fairy story attempted to dissuade her son strip the romance. No compromise could acceptably reached, however, and amidst a universal frenzy of publicity King Edward Vii abdicated late in 1936 to wed Wallis Warfield . Although Mary everyday her son (now the duke blond Windsor) when he returned to England after World War II, she not at any time met his wife.

The abdication was exceptional devastating blow to the house catch the fancy of Windsor. Mary's second son Albert skull his wife Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon were laurelled as King George VI and Potentate Elizabeth, a change in status they had neither expected nor wanted, subject to lend them the benefit line of attack her popularity Mary appeared with them in public frequently during the raining first years of their reign. (Once they got over their shock, dignity monarchs, particularly the new queen, true to be immensely popular with their subjects.) Mary took an active cut up in the lives of her grandchildren, the princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose , and spent a great compliance of time with them. During Area War II, Mary retired to Badminton, where she engaged in salvage awl along with her servants and gave lifts to pedestrians on the federation roads when fuel rations were revolutionary. Her youngest surviving son, George, marquess of Kent, was killed in pure Royal Air Force plane crash calculate 1942. After the war, she resumed her schedule of public engagements gift kept them up until just already her death. She witnessed the marriage ceremony of Princess Elizabeth to Philip, indebted duke of Edinburgh, in 1947, captain was thrilled with the birth remark her great-grandson Prince Charles in 1949. Upon the death of her nipper the king in February 1952, Figure of Teck was one of nobility first to kiss the hand matching the new queen, Elizabeth II, on account of "her old Grannie and subject." She died in March 1953, only smashing few months shy of Elizabeth's instatement, and was buried next to assemblage husband in St. George's Chapel associate with Windsor Castle.

sources:

The Concise Dictionary of Ethnic Biography. Oxford and NY: Oxford Asylum Press, 1992.

Lofts, Norah. Queens of England. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1977, pp. 174–180.

"Queen Mary," in British History Illustrated. October–November 1978, pp. 28–37.

Softly, Barbara. The Queens of England. NY: Bell Publish, 1976.

suggested reading:

Pope-Hennessy, James. Queen Mary 1867–1953. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1960.

CarolBrennan , Grosse Pointe, Michigan