Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox royalty Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge (Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth; 27 November 1833 – 27 October 1897), later known as the Duchess of Teck, was a member of the British royal family. She was one of the first royals to patronise a wide range of charities and was a first cousin of Queen Victoria.
Mary Adelaide was the daughter of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel. Her father was the seventh son of King George III and Queen Charlotte. Mary Adelaide married Francis, Duke of Teck, with whom she had four children. The Duke and Duchess of Teck's daughter, Victoria Mary, commonly known as "May", was the wife of George V and became known as Queen Mary. Through her daughter, Mary Adelaide was the grandmother of the British kings Edward VIII and George VI.
Early life
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Mary Adelaide was born on 27 November 1833 in the Kingdom of Hanover, German Confederation. Her father was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the youngest surviving son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.<ref name="hello13">Template:Cite news</ref> Her mother was Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, the daughter of Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel.<ref name="hello13" /> As a male-line granddaughter of a British monarch, she was styled as a British princess with the prefix of Royal Highness.
The young Princess was baptised on 9 January 1834 at Cambridge House, Hanover, by Revd John Ryle Wood, Chaplain to the Duke of Cambridge. Her godmother and paternal aunt Princess Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg, was the only godparent who was present. The others were William IV and Queen Adelaide (her paternal uncle and aunt), Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (her paternal aunt), Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel (her maternal aunt) and Princess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel (her maternal first cousin). She was named Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth for her aunts and uncle.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
Mary Adelaide spent the early years of her life in Hanover, where her father acted as viceroy, in place of her uncles George IV and later William IV.<ref name="hello13" />
After the death of William IV in 1837, Mary Adelaide's first cousin, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, ascended the throne.<ref name="bulletin53">Template:Cite news</ref> However, under Salic law, only patrilineal succession was allowed and this prevented Victoria from also ascending the throne of Hanover, which instead passed to Mary Adelaide's uncle, Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. Thus, the personal union between Britain and Hanover, which had existed for over a century, came to an end along with the arrangement of Hanover's ruler living in England as the British monarch and using a viceroy to represent him in Hanover. The Duke of Cumberland moved to Hanover as king and Mary Adelaide's father, no longer needed in Hanover, returned to London with his family, setting up residence in Kensington Palace.
Marriage
By the age of 30, Mary Adelaide was still unmarried. At one point, King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy was thought of as possible husband for Mary Adelaide. He had a scandalous reputation and was a notorious womaniser; it was said that whenever he visited a country, he went to the theatre and music halls and sent notes propositioning the chorus girls. His behaviour in England did little to enhance his reputation.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Mary Adelaide's above-average weight (earning her the disparaging epithet of "Fat Mary")<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and lack of income were also considered to deter potential suitors, as was her advancing age.
Eventually, a suitable candidate was found by the Prince of Wales and his wife Princess Alexandra on a visit to the Austrian court at Vienna in 1865. During the visit, they met and took a liking to a young officer in the Austrian Army, Prince Francis of Teck, a minor member of the royal family of Württemberg. Francis was of lower rank than Mary Adelaide, was the product of a morganatic marriage and had no succession rights to the throne of Württemberg, but was at least of princely title and of royal blood. He was also considered to be "the most handsome man at the Austrian court", where he was known as Template:Lang, "the handsome cavalry officer". The Prince of Wales invited the young officer to visit the royal court in Britain, and upon Francis's arrival on 6 March 1866 arranged for him to meet Mary Adelaide. "The wooing was but a short affair", according to Mary Adelaide: the pair were introduced on 7 March, and a month later were engaged, much to the satisfaction of Mary Adelaide's family. "Everyone seemed to think it would do", Mary Adelaide's daughter May would later say, "and it did".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The couple were married on 12 June 1866 at St Anne's Church, Kew, Surrey.<ref name="Weir">Template:Cite book</ref>
The Duke and Duchess of Teck chose to reside in London rather than abroad, mainly because Mary Adelaide received £5,000 per annum as a parliamentary annuity and carried out royal duties. Her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, also provided her with supplementary income. Requests to Queen Victoria for extra funds were generally refused; however, the Queen did provide the Tecks with apartments at Kensington Palace<ref name="smh1936jan">Template:Cite news</ref> and White Lodge in Richmond Park as a country house.
Mary Adelaide requested that her new husband be granted the style Royal Highness, but this was refused by Queen Victoria. The Queen did, however, promote Francis to the rank of Highness in 1887 in celebration of her Golden Jubilee.
Children
The Tecks had four children:<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia; Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Victoria Mary of Teck<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | 26 May 1867 | 24 March 1953 | married Prince George, Duke of York (later George V) on 6 July 1893. They had six children, including Edward VIII and George VI. |
| Prince Adolphus of Teck | 13 August 1868 | 23 October 1927 | later Duke of Teck and Marquess of Cambridge;
married Lady Margaret Evelyn Grosvenor on 12 December 1894. They had four children. |
| Prince Francis of Teck | 9 January 1870 | 22 October 1910 | Died unmarried. |
| Prince Alexander of Teck | 14 April 1874 | 16 January 1957 | later Earl of Athlone;
married Princess Alice of Albany on 10 February 1904. They had three children. |
Life abroad
Despite the couple's modest income, Mary Adelaide had expensive tastes and lived an extravagant life of parties, expensive food and clothes and holidays abroad. In 1883 they were forced to live more cheaply abroad in order to reduce their debts. With their children, they travelled to Florence, Italy, and also stayed with relatives in Germany and Austria. Initially, they travelled under the names of the Count and Countess von Hohenstein. However, Mary Adelaide wished to travel in more style and reverted to her actual title, which commanded significantly more attention and better service.
Later life and death
The Tecks returned from their self-imposed exile in 1885 and continued to live at Kensington Palace and White Lodge in Richmond Park.<ref name="smh1936jan" /> Mary Adelaide began devoting her life to charity, serving as patron to Barnardo's and other children's charities.
In 1891, Mary Adelaide was keen for her daughter, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (known as "May"), to marry one of the sons of the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. At the same time, Queen Victoria wanted a British-born bride for the future king, though of course one of royal rank and ancestry, and Mary Adelaide's daughter fulfilled the rank criteria. After Queen Victoria's approval, May became engaged to Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, second in line to the British throne.<ref name="smh1936jan" /> He died suddenly six weeks later. Queen Victoria was fond of Princess Mary and persuaded the Duke of Clarence's brother and next in the line of succession, Prince George, Duke of York, to marry her instead. They married in the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, on 6 July 1893.<ref name="smh1936jan" />
Mary Adelaide never lived to see her daughter become Princess of Wales or Queen, as she died on 27 October 1897 at White Lodge, following an emergency operation.<ref name="emonarchs">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was buried on 3 November 1897 in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel, Windsor.<ref name="emonarchs" />
Mary Adelaide Close in Kingston Vale, on the edge of Richmond Park, is believed to be named in her honour.<ref name="FRP">Template:Cite web</ref>
Titles, styles, honours and arms
- 27 November 1833 – 12 June 1866: Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge
- 12 June 1866 – 16 December 1871: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Teck<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> or Her Royal Highness The Princess Mary Adelaide (The Princess of Teck)<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
- 16 December 1871 – 27 October 1897: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Teck<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
As a male-line granddaughter of the British monarch, she was styled Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge at birth. As the male-line granddaughter of a king of Hanover, Princess Mary Adelaide also bore the titles of Princess of Hanover and Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
Honours
Ancestors
References
Sources
External links
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