March 31, 1751: Death of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales. Part I

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Act of of Settlement 1701, Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Electorate of Hanover, Electress Sophia of Hanover, Frederick-Louis, King George I of Great Britain and Ireland, King George II of Great Britain and Ireland, the prince of Wales

Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, KG (January 31, 1707 – March 31, 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George II and Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach. Frederick Louis was the father of King George III.

Early life

1720

Prince Frederick Louis was born on January 31, 1707 in Hanover, Holy Roman Empire, as Duke Friedrich Ludwig of Brunswick-Lüneburg, to Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Prince George Augustus, son of George Louis, Elector of Hanover.

Electress Sophia of Hanover, granddaughter of James I-VI of England, Scotland and Ireland. Under the Act of Settlement passed by the English Parliament in 1701 the Electress of Hannover was the heiress presumptive to Queen Anne of Great Britain.

However, Sophia died before Anne at age 83 in June 1714, which elevated the Elector George Louis to heir-presumptive; Queen Anne died on August 1 the same year, and Sophia’s son became King George I of Great Britain and Ireland and Elector of Hanover.

George Augustus and his father, the new King, sailed for England from The Hague on September 16, 1714 and arrived at Greenwich two days later. The following day, they formally entered London in a ceremonial procession. George Augustus was created Prince of Wales.

As Prince of Wales George Augustus first-in-line to the British throne and Frederick Louis himself second-in-line. Frederick Louis’s godfather was his grand-uncle Friedrich I, King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia. Frederick Louis was nicknamed “Griff” within the family.

When Frederick Louis’s parents and grandfather left Hanover for Great Britain Frederick Louis was only seven years old. He was left in the care of his grand-uncle Ernepst August of Hanover, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück, and did not see his parents again for 14 years.

In 1722, the 15-year-old Frederick Louis was created by his grandfather King George I, Duke of Edinburgh, Marquess of the Isle of Ely, Earl of Eltham in the county of Kent. On July 26, 1726 Frederick Louis was created
Viscount of Launceston in the county of Cornwall, and Baron of Snaudon in the county of Carnarvon,

Prince of Wales

Frederick Louis was not permitted to go to Great Britain until after his father took the throne as George II on June 11, 1727. Frederick Louis had continued to be known as Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Hanover (with his British HRH style) even after his father had been created Prince of Wales.

When Frederick Louis arrived in England King George II and Queen Caroline had had several younger children, and Frederick Louis was a high-spirited youth fond of drinking, gambling and women. The long separation had damaged their relationship, and they would never be close.

The motives for the ill-feeling between Frederick Louis and his parents may include the fact that he had been set up by his grandfather, even as a small child, as the representative of the House of Hanover, and was used to presiding over official occasions in the absence of his parents.

In 1728, Frederick Louis (his name now anglicised) was finally brought to Britain and was created Prince of Wales on January 8, 1729. He served as the tenth Chancellor of the University of Dublin from 1728 to 1751, and a portrait of him still enjoys a commanding position in the Hall of the Trinity College, Dublin.

He sponsored a court of ‘opposition’ politicians. Frederick and his group supported the Opera of the Nobility in Lincoln’s Inn Fields as a rival to George Frideric Handel’s royally sponsored opera at the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket. Frederick Louis was a lover of music who played the viola and cello; he is depicted playing a cello in three portraits by Philippe Mercier of Frederick and his sisters.

He enjoyed the natural sciences and the arts, and became a thorn in the side of his parents, making a point of opposing them in everything, according to the court gossip Lord Hervey. At court, the favourite was Frederick Louis’s younger brother, Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, to the extent that the king looked into ways of splitting his domains so that Frederick Louis would succeed only in Britain, while Hanover would go to William as the Imperial Elector.

The Prince of Wales issues a message on his mother’s Platinum Jubilee

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Clarence House issues The Prince of Wales message on his mother’s Platinum Jubilee

Queen Announces Desire for the Duchess of Cornwall to be known as Queen Camilla

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Buckingham Palace has released a message from her majesty the queen on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee that it is her desire that the Duchess of Cornwall be known as Queen Camilla when it is her time for the Prince of Wales and Camilla to ascend the throne.

In 2005 when the Prince of Wales married Camilla it was announced she would be known as “Princess Consort” upon Charles’s accession to the throne.

Legally The Duchess of Cornwall will be Queen Consort upon the accession of the Prince of Wales because it would take an Act of Parliament to remove the title of Queen. In the announcement by Her Majesty the Queen it makes the rightful transition much smoother for The Duchess of Cornwall to become Queen Consort.

The Future of the Title Duke of Edinburgh

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There is a lot of misinformation out there and I find this to be the case when it comes to European Royalty.

I’ll admit I’m a bit of stickler for correct historical information, especially when it comes to the usage of titles, their history and how they are written in both news media and social media.

I have an account on Twitter for this blog and that is where I run into a great deal of misinformation.

With titles I think people just call the royals whatever they want and are making up their own rules. I also have received much criticism on Twitter for my stance on proper use of titles and clearing up misinformation.

It makes me wonder where the limits and boundaries are? Should we say screw all the rules and just call them what you want?

Recently the topic of the title of Duke of Edinburgh came up on Twitter. There was a lot of misinformation.

For example: Some still didn’t believe that the Prince of Wales had inherited his father’s titles. Even on my corresponding Facebook page many people told me I was wrong about that after the Duke passed away and I mentioned that the Prince of Wales had inherited his father’s titles.

One person said that no one has the title right now and it will be up to the Queen to decide.

Another person said that with the death of Prince Philip the title already merged with the Crown.

I mentioned that if the Prince of Wales were to die before his mother, then the next in line to inherit the title would be his eldest son, the Duke of Cambridge. Many believed I was wrong about that and they further believed that this is when the Earl of Wessex would inherit the title.

I could go on. Now I will explain the succession to the title of Duke of Edinburgh and my source for this information is The College of Arms.

But first some background information on the College of Arms.

The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovereign and are a delegated authority to act on behalf of the Crown in all matters of heraldry, the granting of new coats of arms, genealogical research and the recording of pedigrees.

Though the College is a part of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, the College is self-financed, unsupported by any public funds.

Founded by royal charter in 1484 by King Richard III, the College is one of the few remaining official heraldic authorities in Europe. Within the United Kingdom, there are two such authorities, the Court of the Lord Lyon in Scotland and the College of Arms for the rest of the United Kingdom.

The College of Arms also undertakes and consults on the planning of many ceremonial occasions such as coronations, state funerals, the annual Garter Service and the State Opening of Parliament. Heralds of the College accompany the sovereign on many of these occasions.

The College comprises thirteen officers or heralds: three Kings of Arms, six Heralds of Arms and four Pursuivants of Arms. There are also seven officers extraordinary, who take part in ceremonial occasions but are not part of the College. The entire corporation is overseen by the Earl Marshal, a hereditary office always held by the Duke of Norfolk.

Here is what the College of Arms said about the title Duke of Edinburgh:

https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/news-grants/news/item/187-hrh-the-duke-of-edinburgh

The Titles of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
The Duke of Edinburgh was granted the style and title of Royal Highness on November 19, 1947; on the next day, November 20, he was created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, of Greenwich in the County of London.

These peerages are hereditary and on the death of His Royal Highness have passed to his eldest son, HRH The Prince of Wales. In the event of the Prince of Wales or any subsequent holder of these titles succeeding to the Crown, these titles and all others held will merge with the Crown.

His Royal Highness was made a Prince of the United Kingdom by Letters Patent of the present Queen dated February 22, 1957. A declaration of the same date communicated Her Majesty’s will and pleasure that her husband be known as His Royal Highness The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh.

I hope this clears up some misinformation. In the short future I will also do a blog entry on how titles are written in both news media and social media.

History of Male British Consorts Part XIV

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Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark; June 10, 1921 – April 9, 2021), was a member of the British royal family as the husband of Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born on the dining room table in Mon Repos, a villa on the Greek island of Corfu on 10 June 1921, 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 Glücksburg, the ruling house of Denmark, he was a prince of both Greece and Denmark by virtue of his patrilineal descent from King George I of Greece and King Christian IX of Denmark; he was from birth in the line of succession to both thrones.

Philip’s four elder sisters were Margarita, Theodora, Cecilie, and Sophie. He was baptised in the Greek Orthodox rite at St. George’s Church in the Old Fortress in Corfu. His godparents were his grandmother Queen Olga of Greece, his cousin Crown Prince George of Greece, his uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten, and the mayor of Corfu, Alexandros Kokotos

Even though Prince Philip was born in Greece, and into the Greek and Danish royal families, his family was exiled from the country when he was eighteen months old. After being educated in France, Germany and the UK, he joined the Royal Navy in 1939, aged 18.

From July 1939, he began corresponding with the thirteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth, the daughter and heir of King George VI of the United Kingdom. Prince Philip had first met her in 1934. During the Second World War wherevhe served with distinction in the British Mediterranean and Pacific fleets.

After the war, Philip was granted permission by George VI to marry Elizabeth. Before the official announcement of their engagement in July 1947, he abandoned his Greek and Danish titles and styles, became a naturalised British subject, and adopted his maternal grandparents’ surname Mountbatten. Of course none of this was necessary because as a descendant of Electress Sophie of Hanover, Philip already was a British Citizen. It is speculated that this was done to make Philip appear less foreign.

He married Elizabeth on November 20, 1947. Just before the wedding, the King granted Philip the style His Royal Highness and created him Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. Philip left active military service when Elizabeth became queen in 1952, having reached the rank of commander, and was made a British Prince in his own right inn1957.

Philip was introduced to the House of Lords on July 21, 1948, immediately before his uncle Louis Mountbatten, who had been made Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Philip, like his sons Charles and Andrew and other royals (with the exception of the 1st Earl of Snowdon), ceased to be members of the House of Lords following the House of Lords Act 1999. He never spoke in the House. In fact, however, he attended Parliament only when escorting the Queen for the annual State Opening of Parliament, where he walked and sat beside her.

Philip had four children with Elizabeth: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. Through a British Order in Council issued in 1960, descendants of Philip and Elizabeth not bearing royal styles and titles can use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, which has also been used by some members of the royal family who hold titles, such as Anne, Andrew and Edward.

Contrary to rumours over the years, the Queen and Duke were said by insiders to have had a strong relationship throughout their marriage, despite the challenges of Elizabeth’s reign.

After Princess Elizabeth acceded to the throne, the Queen also announced that the Duke was to have “place, pre-eminence and precedence” next to her “on all occasions and in all meetings, except where otherwise provided by Act of Parliament”. This meant the Duke took precedence over his son, the Prince of Wales, except, officially, in the British parliament.

A sports enthusiast, Philip helped develop the equestrian event of carriage driving. He was a patron, president or member of over 780 organisations, and served as chairman of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a self-improvement program for young people aged 14 to 24.

The Queen referred to Prince Philip in a speech on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 as her “constant strength and guide” Their marriage was the longest of any British monarch, lasting more than 73 years until Philip’s death in April 2021.

Prince Philip was the longest-serving consort of a reigning British monarch and the longest-lived male member of the British royal family. He retired from his royal duties on August 2, 2017, aged 96, having completed 22,219 solo engagements and 5,493 speeches since 1952. Philip died on April 9, 2021, two months before his 100th birthday.

Happy Birthday HRH Prince George of Cambridge.

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Prince George of Cambridge (George Alexander Louis; born July 22, 2013) is a member of the British royal family. He is the eldest child of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and third in the line of succession to the British throne behind his grandfather Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and his father. As he is expected to become king one day, his birth was widely celebrated across the Commonwealth realms. George occasionally accompanies his parents on royal tours and engagements.

George was born in the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, London, at 16:24 BST (15:24 UTC) on July 22, 2013. The birth was uncustomarily announced by press conference instead of through an easel outside Buckingham Palace, though an easel was placed following the birth. The newborn was widely hailed as a future king in the majority of British newspapers. 21-gun salutes signalled the birth in the capitals of Bermuda and New Zealand; the bells of Westminster Abbey and many other churches were rung; and landmarks in the Commonwealth realms were illuminated in various colours, mostly blue to signify the birth of a boy. On 24 July, his name was announced as George Alexander Louis.

George’s father, the Duke of Cambridge, is the elder son of the Prince of Wales, who is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, placing George third in the line of succession to the British throne. Speculation ensued during the pregnancy of the Duchess of Cambridge that the birth would boost the British national economy and provide a focus for national pride.

George was christened by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace on October 23, 2013, with Oliver Baker, Emilia Jardine-Paterson, Earl Grosvenor, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, Julia Samuel, William van Cutsem and Zara Tindall serving as godparents. The font used at the ceremony was made for Queen Victoria’s first child and the water was taken from the River Jordan. Commemorative coins were issued by the Royal Mint and the Royal Canadian Mint; the first time a royal birth had been marked that way. Prince George’s birth marked the second time that three generations in direct line of succession to the throne have been alive at the same time, a situation that last occurred between 1894 and 1901, in the last seven years of the reign of Queen Victoria.

March 21, 1871: Marriage of Princess Louise of the United Kingdom and John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne.

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Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, (March 18, 1848 – December 3, 1939) was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In her public life, she was a strong proponent of the arts and higher education and of the feminist cause. Her early life was spent moving among the various royal residences in the company of her family. When her father, the prince consort, died on December 14, 1861, the court went into a long period of mourning, to which with time Louise became unsympathetic. Louise was an able sculptor and artist, and several of her sculptures remain today. She was also a supporter of the feminist movement, corresponding with Josephine Butler, and visiting Elizabeth Garrett.

Before her marriage, from 1866 to 1871, Louise served as an unofficial secretary to her mother, the Queen. The question of Louise’s marriage was discussed in the late 1860s. Suitors from the royal houses of Prussia and Denmark were suggested, but Victoria did not want her to marry a foreign prince, and therefore suggested a high-ranking member of the British aristocracy.

Suitors

As a daughter of the queen, Louise was a desirable bride; more so as she is regarded as the queen’s most beautiful daughter by both contemporary and modern biographers. However, she was accused by the press, without substantiation, of romantic affairs. This, coupled with her liberalism and feminism, prompted the queen to find her a husband. The choice had to suit Victoria as well as Louise, and the queen insisted that her daughter’s husband should live near her, a promise which had also been extracted from the husband of Helena, Louise’s sister. Various suitors were proposed by the leading royal houses of Europe: Princess Alexandra proposed her brother, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, but the queen was strongly opposed to another Danish marriage that could antagonise Prussia at a time of diplomatic tension over the Schleswig-Holstein question.

Victoria, Louise’s eldest sister, proposed the tall and rich Prince Albert of Prussia, but Queen Victoria disapproved of another Prussian marriage that would have been unpopular in England. Prince Albert was also reluctant to settle in England as required. Willem, Prince of Orange, was also considered a suitor, but because of his extravagant lifestyle in Paris, where he lived openly with a lover, the queen quickly vetoed the idea.

Louise viewed marriage to any foreign prince as undesirable, and she fell in love with John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, the heir of the Duke of Argyll. Louise announced that she wished to marry the Marquess of Lorne, despite opposition from members of the royal family.

No marriage between a daughter of a monarch and a British subject had been given official recognition since 1515, when Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, married King Henry VIII’s sister Mary. Louise’s brother, the Prince of Wales, was strongly opposed to a marriage with a non-mediatized noble.

Furthermore, Lorne’s father, George Campbell, was an ardent supporter of William Ewart Gladstone, and the Prince of Wales was worried that he would drag the royal family into political disputes. Nevertheless, the opposition was crushed by the queen, who wrote to the Prince of Wales in 1869:

That which you object to [that Louise should marry a subject] I feel certain will be for Louise’s happiness and for the peace and quiet of the family … Times have changed; great foreign alliances are looked on as causes of trouble and anxiety, and are of no good. What could be more painful than the position in which our family were placed during the wars with Denmark, and between Prussia and Austria? … You may not be aware, as I am, with what dislike the marriages of Princesses of the Royal Family with small German Princes (German beggars as they most insultingly were called) … As to position, I see no difficulty whatever; Louise remains what she is, and her husband keeps his rank … only being treated in the family as a relation when we are together …

The queen averred that Louise’s marriage to a subject would bring “new blood” into the family, while all European princes were related to each other. She was convinced that this would strengthen the royal family morally and physically.

Louise became engaged to the Marquess of Lorne on October 3, 1870 while they were visiting Balmoral. Lorne was invited to Balmoral Castle in Scotland, and accompanied Louise, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Hatherley and Queen Victoria’s lady-in-waiting Lady Ely on a drive. Later that day, Louise returned and announced to the queen that Lorne had “spoken of his devotion” to Louise, and she accepted his proposal in the knowledge of the queen’s approval. The queen later gave Lady Ely a bracelet to mark the occasion.

The Queen found it difficult to let go of her daughter, confiding in her journal that she “felt painfully the thought of losing her”. The new breach in royal tradition caused surprise, especially in Germany, and Queen Victoria wrote to the Queen of Prussia that princes of small impoverished German houses were “very unpopular” in Britain and that Lord Lorne, a “person of distinction at home” with “an independent fortune” was “really no lower in rank than minor German Royalty”.

Victoria settled an annuity on Louise shortly before her marriage. The ceremony was conducted at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on March 21, 1871, and the crowd outside was so large that, for the first time, policemen had to form chain barriers to keep control. Louise wore a wedding veil of Honiton lace that she designed herself, and was escorted into the chapel by her mother, and her two eldest brothers, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh. On this occasion, the usually severe black of the queen’s mourning dress was relieved by the crimson rubies and blues of the Garter star. Following the ceremony, the queen kissed Louise, and Lorne – now a member of the royal family, but still a subject – kissed the queen’s hand.

The couple then journeyed to Claremont in Surrey for the honeymoon, but the presence of attendants on the journey, and at meal times, made it impossible for them to talk privately. The short four-day visit did not pass without an interruption from the queen, who was curious about her daughter’s thoughts on married life. Among their wedding gifts was a maplewood desk from Queen Victoria, now at Inveraray Castle.

Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, later Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven. Part III.

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In 1937, Victoria’s brother, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig, died and soon afterwards her widowed sister-in-law, nephew, granddaughter and two of her great-grandchildren all died in an air crash at Ostend.

Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, had married Victoria’s nephew (Ernst Ludwig’s son), Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus of Hesse and by Rhine. They and their two young sons, Ludwig and Alexander, were all killed.

Further tragedy soon followed when Victoria’s son, George, died of bone cancer the following year. Her granddaughter, Lady Pamela Hicks, remembered her grandmother’s tears.

In World War II Victoria was bombed out of Kensington Palace, and spent some time at Windsor Castle with King George VI. Her surviving son (Louis Mountbatten) and her two grandsons (David Mountbatten and Prince Philip) served in the Royal Navy, while her German relations fought with the opposing forces.

Victoria spent most of her time reading and worrying about her children; her daughter, Alice, remained in occupied Greece and was unable to communicate with her mother for four years at the height of the war.

After the Allied victory, her son, Louis, was made Viscount Mountbatten of Burma. He was offered the post of Viceroy of India, but she was deeply opposed to his accepting, knowing that the position would be dangerous and difficult; he accepted anyway.

Victoria was present at the christening of her great grandson, the current Prince of Wales.

Victoria fell ill with bronchitis (she had smoked since the age of sixteen) at Lord Mountbatten’s home at Broadlands, Hampshire, in the summer of 1950. Saying “it is better to die at home”, Victoria moved back to Kensington Palace, where she died on September 24 aged 87. She was buried four days later in the grounds of St. Mildred’s Church, Whippingham on the Isle of Wight.

Legacy

With the help of her lady-in-waiting, Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, Victoria wrote an unpublished memoir, held in the Mountbatten archive at the University of Southampton, which remains an interesting source for royal historians. A selection of Queen Victoria’s letters to Victoria have been published with a commentary by Richard Hough and an introduction by Victoria’s granddaughter, Patricia Mountbatten.

Lord Mountbatten remembered her fondly: “My mother was very quick on the uptake, very talkative, very aggressive and argumentative. With her marvellous brain she sharpened people’s wits.” Her granddaughter thought her “formidable, but never intimidating … a supremely honest woman, full of commonsense and modesty.”

Victoria wrote her own typically forthright epitaph at the end of her life in letters to and conversation with her son: “What will live in history is the good work done by the individual & that has nothing to do with rank or title … I never thought I would be known only as your mother. You’re so well known now and no one knows about me, and I don’t want them to.”

1860 – The future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom the first visit to North America by a Prince of Wales.

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HRH The Prince of Wales (Albert Edward, future King Edward VII, November 9, 1841 – May 6, 1910) was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Prince Albert Edward was Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne for almost 60 years. During the long reign of his mother, he was largely excluded from political power, and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. He travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial public duties, and represented Britain on visits abroad.

UNITED KINGDOM – CIRCA 1860: Portrait of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, future king Edward VII of England – Date of Photo: 1860-1880 (Photo by Unidentified Author/Alinari via Getty Images)

In May of 1859, the Legislature of the Province of Canada invited Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert to come to British North America “to witness the progress and prosperity of this distant part of your dominions.” The Victoria Bridge (le pont Victoria), the first bridge to span the St Lawrence River which joined Montreal on the north shore with St Lambert on the south shore, was nearing completion and the Canadian Legislature hoped that the Queen would officially open the bridge.

The visit was believed it would “afford the opportunity the inhabitants [of the Province of Canada] of uniting in their expression of loyalty and attachment to the Throne and Empire.”

Saying that “her duties at the seat of Empire prevent so long an absence,” Queen Victoria regretfully declined the invitation. Another factor in her declining this offer was due to the fact that Transatlantic travel in the mid nineteenth century was still an arduous journey, taking two weeks or longer, even if the weather was favourable.

In her place, Queen Victoria offered to send her eldest son, Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales. It would be consudered an ifficial a “coming out” event for the nineteen-year old prince who would later become King Edward VII.

(above: The Prince of Wales at Niagara Falls)

The Queen’s offer to send the Prince of Wales was greeted with enthusiasm. U.S. President Buchanan also invited the Prince of Wales to tour the United States upon hearing that he would be visiting British North America.

This was the first tour of North America by a Prince of Wales. The visit to Canada and the United lasted from July 10, to November 15, 1860. Prior to this members of the British Royal Family had visited North America.

One example is Queen Victoria’s father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, son of King George III of the United Kingdom. The Duke of Kent requested to be transferred to present-day Canada, specifically Quebec, in 1791. The Duke of Kent had been serving in the military in the Mediterranean and his request for a transfer was due to the extreme Mediterranean heat.

The Duke of Kent arrived in Canada in time to witness the proclamation of the Constitutional Act of 1791, becoming the first member of the Royal Family to tour Upper Canada and became a fixture of British North American society. Edward and his mistress, Julie St. Laurent, became close friends with the French Canadian family of Ignace-Michel-Louis-Antoine d’Irumberry de Salaberry.

The Prince of Wales, displayed genial good humour and confident bonhomie which made the tour a great success. He did inaugurated the Victoria Bridge, which was the motive for the visit, and he also visited Montreal, across the St Lawrence River, and laid the cornerstone of Parliament Hill, in Ottawa.

Just as Mayor Alexander Workman, dressed in his robes of office, commenced his dock-side welcome speech, the occassion was marred by a torrential rain storm. While the Prince of Wales soldiered on despite the soaking, the thousands of onlookers scattered for cover.

After the welcoming speeches the prince and his entourage were taken by carriage to the Victoria House Hotel at the corner of Wellington and O’Connor Streets. Despite the continual rain there followed a somewhat bedraggled parade of soldiers, firemen, and government employees.

However the next day brought bright and sunny skies for the laying of Parliament’s cornerstone. At 11am, the prince, followed by Sir Edmund Walker Head, 8th Baronet and the Governor General of the Providence of Canada, along with members of the prince’s party, entered the Parliamentary grounds through yet another triumphal arch; this one decorated in a Gothic style.

Canadian Cabinet ministers were dressed in blue and gold. The cornerstone ceremony was held on a dais under an elaborate canopy, surrounded by wooden bleachers to allow several thousand Ottawa citizens to view the proceedings.

What is interesting to note is that in1917, Fifty-six years to the day after the Prince of Wales had laid the cornerstone, his brother, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and Governor General of Canada (1911-1916), re-laid it as the cornerstone of the newly rebuilt Centre Block on Parliament Hill for the new Parliament Building that replaced the original building, which had been gutted in a mysterious fire in February 1916.

While in Canada the Prince of Wales watched Charles Blondin traverse Niagara Falls by highwire, and stayed for three days with President James Buchanan at the White House. Buchanan accompanied the Prince to Mount Vernon, to pay his respects at the tomb of George Washington. Vast crowds greeted him everywhere. He met Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Prayers for the royal family were said in Trinity Church, New York, for the first time since 1776. The four-month tour throughout Canada and the United States considerably boosted Edward’s confidence and self-esteem, and had many diplomatic benefits for Great Britain.

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

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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.