Mary of Teck

Princess Mary of Teck, (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes) ( 26 May, 1867 – 24 March, 1953 ) later Queen of the United Kingdom was the Queen consort of George V of the United Kingdom. Queen Mary was also the Empress of India and Queen of Ireland. Prior to her accession, she was also Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of York. In her own right she held the title of a Princess of Teck in the Kingdom of Württemberg with the style Her Serene Highness. Prior to her marriage she would therefore have been referred to as Her Serene Highness Princess Mary of Teck. To her family, she was known as May.

Dowager Queen

King George V died on January 20, 1936, his death supposedly hastened by an injection of morphine and cocaine given by his physician, the future Lord Dawson of Penn, on Mary's orders. 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.

Related Topics:
January 20 - 1936 - Prince Edward, Prince of Wales - Dowager Queen

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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.

Related Topics:
Queen Mother - English Queen Mothers

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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 House. There Queen Mary supported the war effort by visiting troops and factories and helping to gather scrap materials. She was known to offer lifts to soldiers she spotted on the roads and caused her niece some annoyance by having the ancient ivy torn from the walls of Badminton House (the Queen considered it a hazard as well as unattractive). The Queen was also something of an opportunistic kleptomaniac, making it very clear to hosts and others that she wanted a treasure of theirs by admiring it repeatedly and extravagantly until said treasure was, regretfully, packed up and given to the Queen.

Related Topics:
Adolphus - Badminton House - Kleptomania

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In 1952, Mary's son George VI died, and her granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth, ascended the throne. 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. Mary died the next year of lung cancer (publicly referred to as "gastric problems") at the age of 85 without seeing Elizabeth II's coronation. Her dying wish was that the coronation not be postponed. Her remains lay in state at Westminster Hall, where crowds of mourners filed past her coffin. She is buried at St. George's Chapel, Windsor.

Related Topics:
Princess Elizabeth - Queen Elizabeth - Coronation - Westminster Hall - St. George's Chapel, Windsor

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