Mary of Teck - Engagement and marriage, Duchess of York, Queen Mary, Legacy, Titles from birth to death
| Mary of Teck | |
|---|---|
| Queen Mary; Queen Consort | |
| Photographic Portrait by Lafayette of Bond Street | |
| Consort | 6 May 1910 - 20 January 1936 |
| Coronation | 22 June 1911 |
| Consort to | George V |
| Issue | |
|
Edward VIII George VI Mary, Princess Royal Henry, Duke of Gloucester George, Duke of Kent Prince John |
|
| Full name | |
| Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes | |
| Titles | |
|
HM Queen Mary HM The Queen HRH The Princess of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall HRH The Duchess of York HSH Princess Victoria Mary of Teck |
|
| Royal House |
House of Windsor House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha House of Württemberg |
| Father | Prince Francis of Teck |
| Mother | Princess Mary Adelaide, Princess of Teck |
| Born |
26 May 1867 Kensington Palace, London |
| Baptised |
27 July 1867 Kensington Palace, London |
| Died |
24 March 1953 Marlborough House, London |
| Burial |
31 March 1953 St George's Chapel, Windsor |
Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; Queen Mary was also the Empress of India and Queen of Ireland.
During her time, Queen Mary was known for setting the tone of the British Royal Family, as the model of regal formality and propriety, especially during state occasions.
Although her mother was a grandchild of King George III of the United Kingdom, Princess Mary was only a minor member of the British Royal Family.
Engagement and marriage
In 1891, Princess Mary was engaged to Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, the eldest son of Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. Princess Mary was chosen as a bride for Albert Victor, due mainly to Queen Victoria's fondness of her, as well as her strong character and sense of duty. Mary was the daughter of Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, whose father, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, was a brother of Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent, the father of Queen Victoria, who was Albert Victor's paternal grandmother.
Despite this setback, Queen Victoria still favoured Princess Mary as a suitable candidate to marry a future King, so she persuaded Albert Victor's brother, Prince George, Duke of York, to propose to Mary.
| Name | Birth | Death | Marriage |
|---|---|---|---|
| King Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor, | 23 June 1894 | 28 May 1972 | Wallis Simpson (19 June 1896 – 24 April 1986); |
| King George VI | 14 December 1895 | 6 February 1952 | Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002); |
| Mary, Princess Royal | 25 April 1897 | 28 March 1965 | Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood (9 September 1882 – 23 May 1947); |
| Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester | 31 March 1900 | 10 June 1974 | Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott (25 December 1901 – 29 October 2004); |
| Prince George, Duke of Kent | 20 December 1902 | 25 August 1942 | Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (13 December 1906 – 27 August 1968); |
| Prince John | 12 July 1905 | 18 January 1919 | Suffered from epilepsy |
Duchess of York
After her marriage, Princess Mary was now styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York.
Queen Mary
On 6 May 1910, King Edward VII died, and the Prince of Wales ascended the throne.
The beginning of Mary's reign as Queen Consort saw her come into conflict with the new dowager Queen Alexandra. 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.
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In 1935, George V and Queen Mary celebrated their silver jubilee, with celebrations taking place throughout the British Empire. 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;
She was now Queen Mother (see English Queen Mothers), though she did not use that title in shorthand, instead being known as Her Majesty Queen Mary.
Queen Mary has sometimes been criticised for her aggressive acquisition of objets d'art for the Royal Collections.
Records show that Queen Mary generously paid above-market estimates when purchasing jewels from the estate of Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna , and paid almost three times the estimate when reclaiming the family's Cambridge Emeralds from Lady Kilmurry, mistress of her late brother Prince Francis. Since her daughter-in-law Queen Elizabeth was now "Queen Mother", Mary became the Dowager Queen Mother, though she still did not use that in her shorthand title.
Legacy
The ocean liners RMS Queen Mary and Queen Mary 2 were named in her honour (though in all technicality, the RMS Queen Mary 2 was named after the original Queen Mary ocean liner and is only indirectly named after Mary of Teck).
Both Queen Mary College, University of London and Queen Mary College in Lahore, Pakistan are named after Queen Mary.
Queen Mary's School in New Delhi, India, was established in 1912 after her India visit.
Queen Mary's Dolls House was created for her in 1926 by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
On screen, Queen Mary has been portrayed by a multitude of distinguished British actresses, including Peggy Ashcroft, Eileen Atkins, and Miranda Richardson.
Queen Mary's Peak, the highest mountain in Tristan da Cunha; and Queen Mary Land in Antarctica are named after Queen Mary.
Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, opened in 1937, now the second tallest hospital building in the world and tallest in Asia.
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