October 2, 1921: Death of King Wilhelm II of Württemberg

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Abdication, Albrecht of Württemberg, Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe, George V of the United Kingdom, German Empire, Mary of Teck, Succession, William II of Württemberg, World War I

Wilhelm II (February 25, 1848 – October 2, 1921) was the last King of Württemberg. He ruled from October 6, 1891 until the dissolution of the kingdom on November 30, 1918. He was also the last German ruler to abdicate in the wake of the November Revolution of 1918.

Early years

Wilhelm was born the son of Prince Friedrich of Württemberg (1808–1870) by his wife Princess Catherine Frederica of Württemberg (1821–1898), herself the daughter of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg (1781–1864). His parents were first cousins, being the children of two brothers, and Wilhelm was their only child.

Wilhelm’s growing years coincided with a progressive dimininution of Württemberg’s sovereignty and international presence, concomitant with the process of German unification. In 1870, Württemberg took the side of Prussia in the Franco-German War. In 1871, Württemberg became a state of the German Reich, a significant limitation on its sovereignty.

King of Württemberg

Wilhelm’s father died in 1870, but his mother lived to see him seated on the throne of Württemberg. In 1891, Wilhelm succeeded his childless maternal uncle, King Charles I (1823–1891) and became King Wilhelm II of Württemberg. This was not, as it may seem, a departure from the Salic law which governed succession in the German states; his claim to the throne came because he was the nearest agnatic heir of his maternal uncle, as the senior male-line descendant of King Friedrich I of Württemberg through his younger son Prince Paul.

King Wilhelm II became a Generalfeldmarschall during World War I. In 1918, he was deposed from the throne along with the other German rulers. King Wilhelm II finally abdicated on November 30, 1918, ending over 800 years of Württemberg rule. He died on October 2, 1921 at Bebenhausen.

Personality and interests

Considered to be a popular monarch, Wilhelm had the habit of walking his two dogs in public parks in Stuttgart without being attended by bodyguards or the like. During these excursions, he would often be greeted by his subjects with a simple Herr König (“Mister King”).

Despite living in a landlocked kingdom, Wilhelm II was a yachting enthusiast. The king was instrumental in the establishment of the Württembergischer Yacht Club (formerly “Königlich Württembergischer Yacht-Club” or Royal Yacht Club of Württemberg) in 1911 on Lake Constance.

Marriages and children

On February 15, 1877 at Arolsen he married Princess Marie of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1857–1882), was the third daughter of Georg Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife, Princess Helena of Nassau, younger half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Marie was born in Arolsen, then part of the German Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her younger brother, Friedrich, was the last reigning prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Two of her younger sisters, Emma and Helena, married her third cousin once removed King Willem III of the Netherlands and Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (youngest son of Queen Victoria), respectively.

They had three children:

Princess Pauline of Württemberg (December 19, 1877 – May 7, 1965); married in 1898 Wilhelm Friedrich, Prince of Wied (1872–1945), and had issue.

Prince Ulrich of Württemberg (28 July 1880 – 28 December 1880), died in infancy

A stillborn daughter (24 April 1882)

Marie died on April 30, 1882 in Stuttgart, from complications resulting from the birth of their third child. Wilhelm, already depressed by the death of his only son, is said never to have recovered from this blow.
Nevertheless, he was King and it was his duty to secure the succession.

On April 8, 1886, at Bückeburg, he married Princess Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe (1864–1946), the daughter of Prince Wilhelm Karl August of Schaumburg-Lippe, and his wife, Princess Bathildis of Anhalt-Dessau. As the second wife of King William II of Württemberg she became Queen consort of Württemberg. She was not only the last queen of Württemberg, but the last surviving queen of any German state.

They had no children.

Succession

On Wilhelm II’s death in 1921 without male issue, the royal branch of the House of Württemberg became extinct, and the headship of the house devolved to Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg, head of the Roman Catholic cadet branch of the dynasty, based at Altshausen.

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Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg (December 23, 1865 – October 31, 1939) was the last Württemberger crown prince, a German military commander of the First World War, and the head of the House of Württemberg from 1921 to his death.

Duke Albrecht was born in Vienna as the eldest child of Duke Philipp of Württemberg and his wife Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter of Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen.

Albrecht entered the armies of the Kingdom of Württemberg and the German Empire in 1883, rose quickly through its ranks, and became the heir apparent to the throne of Württemberg.

Albrecht was married in Vienna on January 17, 1893 to Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria, the fourth and youngest child and only daughter of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his second wife Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. She was named for her father’s first wife, Princess Margaretha of Saxony, and for her paternal grandmother, Princess Sophie of Bavaria. Her older brothers included Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and Archduke Otto Francis of Austria.

In 1910, Albrecht attended the funeral of Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Albrecht was a second cousin once removed of Mary of Teck, who was the Queen consort of George V. Mary of Teck was a morganatic descendant of the House of Württemberg and a granddaughter of Duke Alexander of Württemberg (1804–1885).

Albrecht had become heir presumptive to the Kingdom of Württemberg following the death of his father in October 1917, but the German Empire’s World War I defeat and the abdication of his cousin King Willhelm II of Württemberg following the German Revolution prevented him from ever succeeding to the throne.

Albrecht became head of the House of Württemberg after the death of Wilhelm on October 2, 1921. Albrecht died at Altshausen Castle. His son Duke Philipp Albrecht succeeded him as head of the House of Württemberg.

July 19, 1822: Birth of Princess Augusta of Cambridge, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

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Adolphus-Frederick of Cambridge, Augusta of Cambridge, Friedrich-Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United Kingdom, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Hesse-Cassel, Mary of Teck, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Princess Augusta of Cambridge (July, 19, 1822 – December 5, 1916) was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of George III. She married into the Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and became the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Early life

Princess Augusta was born on July 19, 1822 at the Palace of Montbrillant, Hanover. Her father was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the seventh son of George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Princess Augusta’s mother was Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, third daughter of Landgrave Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel, and his wife, Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen. Through her father, Princess Augusta of Cambridge was a great-granddaughter of George II of Great Britain, her grandmother being George II’s daughter Princess Mary. Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel’s uncle, (her father’s older brother) was the Landgrave Wilhelm I of Hesse-Cassel. In 1803, her uncle’s title was raised to Elector of Hesse—whereby the entire Cassel branch of the Hesse dynasty gained an upward notch in hierarchy.

As a male line granddaughter of the British monarch, Princess Augusta was titled a British princess with the style of Royal Highness. The young princess was baptized at the same palace on August 16, 1822, by Rev Edward Curtis Kemp (Chaplain to the British Ambassador to the Court of Berlin, The Rt. Hon. Sir George Rose).

The Princess spent her earlier years in Hanover, where her father was the viceroy on behalf of his brother, King George IV of the United Kingdom.

Princess Augusta had one brother, Prince George, later 2nd Duke of Cambridge; and one sister, Princess Mary Adelaide, later Duchess of Teck. As such, Princess Augusta was an aunt to Princess Mary of Teck, later consort of George V of the United Kingdom. Additionally, Princess Augusta was a first cousin through her father to Queen Victoria and through her mother a first cousin to Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel, the wife of King Christian IX of Denmark. This meant Princess Augusta was a first cousin once removed to both Princess Alexandra of Denmark and her husband King Edward VII of United Kingdom.

With her mother, she was part of the royal party at the 1838 coronation of Queen Victoria.

Marriage

On June 28, 1843, Princess Augusta married her first cousin, Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, at Buckingham Palace, London. (The two were also second cousins on their fathers’ side.) Upon marriage, Augusta became the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and, on September 6, 1860, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz following the death of her father-in-law, Grand Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

The marriage of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess produced two children:

Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (born and died in London, January 13, 1845)

Duke Adolph Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Strelitz ( July 22, 1848 – June 11, 1914); succeeded his father as Grand Duke Adolph Friedrich V of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in May 1904.

Later life

Although she spent most of her adult life in Germany, the Grand Duchess Augusta retained close personal ties to the British Royal Family. She frequently visited her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, at her Kensington Palace apartments.

After her mother’s death in 1889, the Grand Duchess acquired a house in London’s Buckingham Gate area, where she spent a portion of the year until advanced old age made it impossible for her to travel abroad.

In making preparations for the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1901, the Duke of Norfolk consulted her on matters of etiquette and attire. This was due to her presence at the coronation of King William IV and Queen Adelaide seventy-one years earlier. She was nine years old at the time and kissed the Queen’s hand. She was also able to provide details of the coronation of Queen Victoria.

The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was particularly close to her niece, the future Queen Mary. However, old age prevented her from attending the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary on June 22, 1911.

Following the outbreak of World War I, the British Government suspended the annuity she had been receiving as a member of the British Royal Family under the Annuity, Duchess of Mecklenburgh Strelitz Act 1843. During the war, the Swedish Embassy passed letters from the Queen to her aunt, who still lived in Germany.

As an elderly lady, she was known for being cantankerous. She was also known as being quite shrewd and intelligent. In his book, Queen Mary (London, 1959), the Queen’s official biography, James Pope-Hennessy reports that the Queen’s aunt Augusta was not fond of the new science of photography, fearing it would intrude deeply into the private lives of Royal personages; at pp. 101–105 he offers a masterly sketch of this formidable lady.

The Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz died on December 5, 1916 in Neustrelitz and was buried in Mirow. As the longest-lived grandchild of George III, she was the last link to the British branch of the House of Hanover.

At the time of her death, she was 94 years, 4 months and 16 days old, making her the longest-lived British princess by blood, until Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, a male-line granddaughter of Queen Victoria, surpassed her in 1977.

March 24, 1953: Death of Queen Mary of the United Kingdom. Born Princess of Teck

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King Edward VIII, King George V, King George VI, Mary of Teck, Princess May of Teck, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Mary

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

Although technically a Princess of Teck, in the Kingdom of Württemberg, she was born and raised in the United Kingdom.

Princess Victoria Mary (“May”) of Teck was born on May 26, 1867 at Kensington Palace, London, in the same room where Queen Victoria, her first cousin once removed, had been born 48 years 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”.

Her father was Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, the son of Duke Alexander of Württemberg by his morganatic wife, Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde (created Countess von Hohenstein in the Austrian Empire). 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. 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, but six weeks after the announcement of the engagement, he died unexpectedly during an influenza 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, she 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; but to her dismay, he abdicated later the same year in order to marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. She supported her second son, as the new king, George VI.

In 1952, King George VI died, the third of Queen 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.”

Mary died on March 24, 1953 in her sleep at the age of 85, ten weeks before her granddaughter’s coronation. She had let it be known that should she die, the Coronation should not be postponed. 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.

December 14, 1895: Birthday of King George VI of the United Kingdom.

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Francis of Teck, King George V of the United Kingdom, King George VI of the United Kingdom, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Mary of Teck, Prince Albert of Saxe-Cobug-Gotha, Prince Albert of the United Kingdom, Prince Albert of York, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, The Prince Consort

The future George VI was born at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria. His father was Prince George, Duke of York (later King George V), the second and eldest surviving son of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra). His mother, the Duchess of York (later Queen Mary), was the eldest child and only daughter of Francis, Duke of Teck, and Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck.

His birthday, December 14, 1895, was the 34th anniversary of the death of his great-grandfather, Albert, Prince Consort. Uncertain of how the Prince Consort’s widow, Queen Victoria, would take the news of the birth, the Prince of Wales wrote to the Duke of York that the Queen had been “rather distressed”. Two days later, he wrote again: “I really think it would gratify her if you yourself proposed the name Albert to her.”

The Queen was mollified by the proposal to name the new baby Albert, and wrote to the Duchess of York: “I am all impatience to see the new one, born on such a sad day but rather more dear to me, especially as he will be called by that dear name which is a byword for all that is great and good.” Consequently, he was baptised “Albert Frederick Arthur George” at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham, three months later.

Within the family, he was known informally as “Bertie”. The Duchess of Teck did not like the first name her grandson had been given, and she wrote prophetically that she hoped the last name “may supplant the less favoured one”. Albert was fourth in line to the throne at birth, after his grandfather, father and elder brother, Edward.

He often suffered from ill health and was described as “easily frightened and somewhat prone to tears”. His parents were generally removed from their children’s day-to-day upbringing, as was the norm in aristocratic families of that era. He had a stammer that lasted for many years. Although naturally left-handed, he was forced to write with his right hand, as was common practice at the time.

Prince Albert suffered from chronic stomach problems as well as knock knees, for which he was forced to wear painful corrective splints. Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901, and the Prince of Wales succeeded her as King Edward VII. Prince Albert moved up to third in line to the throne, after his father and elder brother.

As the second son of King George V, he was not expected to inherit the throne and spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother, Edward. He attended naval college as a teenager and served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force during the First World War. In 1920, he was made Duke of York.

He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923, and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret. In the mid-1920s, he had speech therapy for a stammer, which he learned to manage to some degree. George’s elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII after their father died in 1936. Later that year, Edward abdicated to marry the American socialite Wallis Simpson, and George became the third monarch of the House of Windsor.

In September 1939, the British Empire and Commonwealth—except Ireland—declared war on Nazi Germany. War with the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Japan followed in 1940 and 1941, respectively. George was seen as sharing the hardships of the common people and his popularity soared. Buckingham Palace was bombed during the Blitz while the King and Queen were there, and his younger brother, the Duke of Kent, was killed on active service. George became known as a symbol of British determination to win the war.

Britain and its allies were victorious in 1945, but the British Empire declined. Ireland had largely broken away, followed by independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. George relinquished the title of Emperor of India in June 1948 and instead adopted the new title of Head of the Commonwealth. He was beset by smoking-related health problems in the later years of his reign and died of coronary thrombosis in 1952. He was succeeded by his daughter, Elizabeth II.

Happy 94th Birthday to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

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Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, King George V of the United Kingdom, King George VI of the United Kingdom, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Mary of Teck, Philip of Greece and Denmark, Prince Andrew, Prince Charles, Prince Edward, Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born April 21, 1926) is Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the other Commonwealth realms.

Elizabeth was born in London, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and she was educated privately at home. Her father ascended the throne on the abdication of his brother King Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

Elizabeth met her future husband, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, in 1934 and 1937. Philip is the only son and fifth and final child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, itself a branch of the House of Oldenburg, he was a prince of both Greece and Denmark by virtue of his patrilineal descent from George I of Greece and Christian IX of Denmark, and he was from birth in the line of succession to both thrones; the 1953 Succession Act removed his family branch’s succession rights in Denmark.

Elizabeth and Philip are second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark and third cousins through Queen Victoria. After another meeting at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in July 1939, Elizabeth—though only 13 years old—said she fell in love with Philip, and they began to exchange letters. She was 21 when their engagement was officially announced on July 9, 1947.

The day before the wedding, King George VI bestowed the style of Royal Highness on Philip and, on the morning of the wedding, 20 November 1947, he was made the Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich of Greenwich in the County of London.[39] Consequently, being already a Knight of the Garter, between 19 and 20 November 1947 he bore the unusual style His Royal Highness Sir Philip Mountbatten, and is so described in the Letters Patent of 20 November 1947.

Philip and Elizabeth were married in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey, recorded and broadcast by BBC radio to 200 million people around the world.

Elizabeth and Philip had four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth became head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon.

She has reigned as a constitutional monarch through major political changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation, and the decolonisation of Africa. Between 1956 and 1992, the number of her realms varied as territories gained independence, and as realms, including South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (renamed Sri Lanka), became republics.

Her many historic visits and meetings include a state visit to the Republic of Ireland and visits to or from five popes. Significant events have included her coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees in 1977, 2002, and 2012, respectively. In 2017, she became the first British monarch to reach a Sapphire Jubilee. She is the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch. She is the longest-serving female head of state in world history, and the world’s oldest living monarch, longest-reigning current monarch, and oldest and longest-serving current head of state.

Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the royal family, in particular after the breakdown of her children’s marriages, her annus horribilis in 1992, and the death in 1997 of her former daughter-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales. However, in the United Kingdom, support for the monarchy has been and remains consistently high, as does her personal popularity.

March 24, 1953: Death of Queen Mary. Part II.

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Delhi Durbar, Duchess of Cornwall and York, King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, King George V of the United Kingdom, King George VI of the United Kingdom, Mary of Teck, Prince Charles, Princess of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Mary, the prince of Wales, World War I

Part II

Duchess of York (1893–1901)

The new Duke and Duchess of York 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. They had six children: Edward, Albert, Mary, Henry, George, and John.

As Duke and Duchess of York, George and May carried out a variety of public duties. In 1897, she 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 May between 1914 and 2010.

Princess of Wales (1901 – 1910)

Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901 and the Prince of Wales became King Edward VII. From that moment, the Duke of York inherited the title Duke of Cornwall and George and May were known as the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York until November 9, 1901, whereupon on the King’s sixtieth 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, May 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 suffered respiratory problems.

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. 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, (George’s first cousin) at which the bride and groom narrowly avoided assassination. Only a week after returning to Britain, May and George went to Norway for the coronation of George’s brother-in-law and sister, King Haakon VII and Queen Maud.

Queen Consort (1910 – 1936)

On May 6, 1910, Edward VII died. Mary’s husband ascended the throne as King George V 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.

Queen Mary was crowned with the King on June 22, 1911 at Westminster Abbey. Later in the year, the new King and Queen travelled to India for the Delhi Durbar held on December 12, 1911, and toured the sub-continent as Emperor and Empress of India, returning to Britain in February. They were the only British monarchs to hold the imperial title to be crowned in India.

The Emperor and Empress of India at the Delhi Durbar

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. The impetus for Queen Alexandra demanding precedence over her daughter-in-law was due to the influence of her sister, Dagmar, who was the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna and in Russia the Dowager Empress does take precedence over the Empress Consort of Russia.

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. 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, possibly in part because Emperor Nicholas II’s wife was German-born.

The German born Empress Alexandra was born a Princess of Hesse and By Rhine and was a first cousin to George V. News of the Emperor’s abdication provided a boost to those in Britain who wished to replace their own monarchy with a republic. The war ended in 1918 with the defeat of Germany and the abdication and exile of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, another first cousin to George V.

Two months after the end of the war, Queen Mary’s youngest son, John, died at the age of thirteen. She 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.”

In the late 1920s, George V became increasingly ill with lung problems, exacerbated by his heavy smoking. Queen 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”. In 1935, King George V and Queen 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.”

King George V and Queen Mary with Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II)

Queen mother (1936–1952)

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. Queen Mary’s eldest son ascended the throne as Edward VIII. She was now the queen mother, though she did not use that style, and was instead known as Her Majesty Queen Mary.

Within the year, Edward VIIII caused a constitutional crisis by announcing his desire to marry his twice-divorced American mistress, Wallis Simpson. Mary disapproved of divorce, which was against the teaching of the Anglican church, and thought Simpson wholly unsuitable to be the wife of a king. After receiving advice from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 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. Simpson had been presented formally to both King George V and Queen Mary at court, but Mary later refused to meet her either in public or privately. She saw it as her duty to provide moral support for her second son, the reserved and stammering Prince Albert, Duke of York, who ascended the throne on Edward’s abdication, taking the name George VI. When Mary attended the coronation, she became the first British dowager queen to do so. Edward’s abdication did not lessen her love for him, but she never wavered in her disapproval of his actions.

Mary took an interest in the upbringing of her granddaughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and took them on various excursions in London, to art galleries and museums. (The princesses’ own parents thought it unnecessary for them to be taxed with any demanding educational regime.)

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 Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort, the daughter of her brother Lord Cambridge. In 1942, her youngest surviving son, Prince 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.

Queen Mary and the present Prince of Wales

In 1952, King George VI died, the third of Queen 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.”

Queen Mary died on March 24, 1953 in her sleep at the age of 85, ten weeks before her granddaughter’s coronation. Queen Mary let it be known that, in the event of her death, the coronation was not to be postponed. 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.

English or German? Part II

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10th Duke of Beaufort, 1st Duke of Westminster, Duke of Clarance and Avondale, Earl of Eltham, Henry Somerset, Hugh Grosvenor, King Edward VII of Great Britain, King George V of Great Britain, Kingdom of Württemberg, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Lady Margaret Grosvenor, Lord Cambridge, Marquess of Cambridge, Mary of Teck, Prince Adolphus of Teck, Prince Albert-Victor of Wales, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Mary, Queen Victoria of Great Britain, Royal Military College, Sandhurst, The Duke of Cambridge, Wellington College, World War I

In Part one we looked at the Cambridge-Teck family and how that even though they were technically a minor German royal family they were born and bred in England. The children of Princess Mary-Adelaide of Cambridge and Franz, Duke of Teck a morganatic scion of the House of Württemberg were all born at Kensington Palace and raised in England. As was had seen in Part one, the eldest daughter, Princess Victoria-Mary, known as May, grew up to become engaged to Prince Albert-Victor of Wales, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (second in line to the British Throne) until his untimely death in 1892. After a suitable mourning period May became engaged to Prince Albert-Victor’s brother, Prince George, Duke of York who became King George V of the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1910. May chose to be called Queen Mary and became the role model of a dedicated and dignified queen. She was born during the reign of Queen Victoria in 1867 and lived to see her own granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, ascend the throne before she passed away in 1953.

Queen Mary’s eldest brother was born HSH Prince Adolphus of Teck. He was educated at Wellington College and then joined the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. At the age of 19, he joined the 17th Lancers,, the regiment of his maternal uncle, HRH Prince George, The Duke of Cambridge, who was the commander-in-chief of the British Army from 1856-1895. Prince Adolphus was promoted Lieutenant in 1893 and transferred to the 1st Life Guards and raised in rank to that of Captain in 1895. In 1897 Queen Victoria created him Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) and in 1901 King Edward VII promoted him to Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO).

1894 Prince Adolphus married Lady Margaret Grosvenor, daughter  Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster Lady Constance Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, (herself the fourth daughter of the 2nd Duke of Sutherland). Prince and Princess Adolphus of Cambridge had four children, Prince George born in 1895, Princess Mary in 1897 (she later married Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort of the old Plantagenet line), Princess Helena in 1899 and Prince Frederick in 1907.

In 1900 Prince Franz, Duke of Teck died and Prince Adolphus as the second Duke of Teck and he and his wife were styled HSH The Duke and Duchess of Teck. In 1911 his brother-in-law, King George V, as a gift to mark his own Coronation, granted his cousin the style His Highness. In 1914 with the outbreak of World War I the Duke of Teck returned to military service first serving as a military secretary at the War Office and later as military secretary to the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Forces (B.E.F.) in France, Sir Douglas Haig, with the rank of brigadier general.

In 1917 there was a lot of anti-German feelings in Britain and King George V changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor and further renounced all German titles for himself and members of the British royal family. In response to this the Duke of Teck relinquished his title of Duke of Teck in the Kingdom of Württemberg and the style His Highness. Adolphus, along with his only surviving brother, Prince Alexander of Teck, adopted the name Cambridge, after their grandfather, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (1774-1850). The Children of Adophus Cambridge also lost their German princely titles and adopted the surname Cambridge. Shortly thereafter King George bestowed his brother-in-law Marquess of Cambridge, Earl of Eltham, and Viscount Northallerto. These titles were all in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. His elder son took the title Earl of Eltham as a courtesy title, while the younger children became Lord/Lady (Christian Name) Cambridge.

After the war Lord Cambridge made his home in Shropshire after at Shotton Hall near Shrewsbury and had an active socail life. In 1923 he was offered the vacant throne of the Kingdom of Hungary (long-held by the Habsburg family) but he gave this offer no serious consideration. Lord Cambridge died, aged 59, after an intestinal operation in October 1927 at a Shrewsbury nursing home, The was ist Marquess of Cambridge was first buried at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and later transferred to the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore. His elder son, the Earl of Eltham, succeeded him as Marquess of Cambridge.

Royal Marriages

Tags

Duke of Cambridge, House of Battenberg, House of Burbon, King Alfonso XIII of Spain, King George III, King George V of Great Britain, Mary of Teck, Prince Adolphus, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Royal Marriages

My wife Sarah, and our dog Amadeus

I have always been a romantic at heart and the issue of royal marriages has always fascinated me. I robbed the cradle when I got married. My wife is 18 years younger than I am. There have been many marriages between kings and would-be king and princesses where age has been an issue. I can relate to the issues around marriages between spouses when age is a factor. Even when age has not been an issue these marriages were often arranged. For the most part they were arranged for political motivations, to shore up a treaty or to gain an alliance or to end a feud or to pass on the succession. Love was not a consideration although it was a positive side effect if and when it happened. Given the propensity for kings to collect mistresses, even if they did love their queens, the rules of marriage for royalty seem quite different to what the untitled person would expect. As time marched on and arranged marriages for political purposes waned, marriages for social status become the primary focus in selecting a suitable spouse.

Queen Victoria, and her marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, seem to be a mixture of alliances, social obligation and love. Clearly Victoria was in love with Albert and Albert, for his part, does seem to have had fond feelings for his first cousin, but love was something that grew later for him. The Coburg family, Victoria’s maternal family, favored the match. With her uncle King Leopold I of the Belgians leading the charge, there was a desire to maintain some sense of power. Indeed prior to her accession Victoria was used as a pawn by many within the Coburg and Hanoverian families trying to maintain some type of control over her.

Her grandson, King George V, married his dead brothers fiancé, Mary of Teck. This marriage was based solely on the fact that Mary of Teck was seen as a person who would make an excellent queen consort and the British royal family did not want to loose her. The Teck family was “tainted”by the morganatic marriage of Mary’s grandfather, Duke Alexander of Württemberg (1804-1885), so her prospects within on the continent among the various German royal families were not good. In Britain, where she was born and raised, her mother being Princess Mary-Adelaide of Cambridge a daughter of Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (7th son of King George III of Great Britain), were not against morganatic marriages.

George V’s cousin, Princess Victoria-Eugenie of Battenberg, (called Ena within the family) is a prime example of “rushing” into a marriage. I don’t blame her for this is how royal marriages were conducted many years ago. As royal marriages moved away from being political alliances the need for the marriage to meet social standards was emphasized more. King Alfonso XIII of Spain was one of those rare princes to be born a king. When he reached the age to marry he went bride shopping. He was attracted to Princess Ena and selected her to be his queen and they were wed on May 31, 1906. Princess Ena was the only daughter of Princess Beatrice, youngest daughter of Queen Victoria, and her husband , prince Henry of Battenberg. The Battenberg clan was a morganatic scion of the House of Hesse and by Rhine. This taint of morganatic blood would cause undue suffering in Spain by those courtiers who were prejudiced toward the Battenbergs. The Spanish aristocracy saw the Battenbergs as semi-royal and were used to their queens coming from what was in their eyes the more noble houses of Bourbon and Hapsburg.

This situation paints a picture of what was problematic in these types of alliances. There was a growing allowance in these families that the future bride and groom have some type of feelings for one another prior to the marriage. What would often occur is that the prospective parties would meet and have some type of sexual chemistry between them and develop what we would call either a crush or lust for one-another. Other than social obligations, which required them to marry someone of equal or near equal status, these marriages were often moved forward based on these initial physical attractions. I don’t think a crush or initial sexual chemistry…or equal social rank…is a strong foundation on which to build a marriage. The case of Ena and Alphonse is a good example of this.

I will stop here. I enjoy this topic so I will continue looking at royal marriages on Tuesdays for a while.