View source for Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge

{{Short description|Duchess of Teck}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Princess Mary Adelaide
| title        = [[Duke of Teck|Duchess of Teck]] ([[#Titles, styles, honours and arms|more]])
| image        = Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck (1833–1897).png
| caption      = Photograph, {{circa|1885}}
| alt          = Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck in her early fifties
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Francis, Duke of Teck]]|12 June 1866}}
| issue        = {{Ubl
  |[[Mary of Teck|Mary, Queen of the United Kingdom]]
  |[[Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge]]
  |[[Prince Francis of Teck]]
  |[[Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone]]
}}
| full name    = Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth
| house        = [[House of Hanover|Hanover]]
| father       = [[Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge]]
| mother       = [[Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1833|11|27|df=yes}}
| birth_place  = [[Hanover]], [[Kingdom of Hanover]] [[German Confederation]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1897|10|27|1833|11|27|df=yes}}
| death_place  = [[White Lodge, Richmond Park]], [[Surrey]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| burial_date  = 3 November 1897
| burial_place = Royal Vault, [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]]
| signature    = Mary Adelaide's signature.svg
}}
'''Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge''' (Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth; 27 November 1833 – 27 October 1897), later known as the [[Duke of Teck#The Teck branch of the Württembergs|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 "[[Mary of Teck|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==
[[File:Princess Mary of Cambridge (1833-1897) by Winterhalter.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait by [[Franz Xaver Winterhalter]] in the [[Royal Collection]], 1846]]

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">{{Cite news |date=11 July 2013 |title=The other Princess of Cambridge |url=http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2013071113438/kate-middleton-baby-princess-cambridge/ |access-date=20 July 2013 |work=Hello!}}</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>{{London Gazette|issue=19126|page=227|date=7 February 1834}}</ref>

[[File:Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck.jpg|thumb|right|Photograph by [[Camille Silvy]], 1860]]

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">{{Cite news |date=20 March 1953 |title=A Queen of great courage |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=P0I-AAAAIBAJ&pg=6412,6010771&dq=mary+adelaide+of+cambridge&hl=en |access-date=20 July 2013 |work=The Bulletin}}</ref> However, under [[Salic law]], only [[Patrilineality#Agnatic succession|patrilineal succession]] was allowed and this prevented Victoria from also ascending the [[King of Hanover|throne of Hanover]], which instead passed to Mary Adelaide's uncle, [[Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover|Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland]]. Thus, the [[Personal union of Great Britain and Hanover|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==
[[File:Duchess of Teck and family colour.jpg|thumb|The Duchess of Teck and her family c. 1883; [[Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone|Prince Alexander]] sits centre with his arm around the Duchess, [[Mary of Teck|Princess Mary]] (later Queen Mary), is seated at far right.]]
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>{{Cite book |last=Queen Sophie (consort of William III, King of the Netherlands) |author-link=Sophie of Württemberg |title=A Stranger in The Hague: The Letters of Queen Sophie of the Netherlands to Lady Malet, 1842–1877 |date=1989 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=9780822308119 |page=169}}</ref> Mary Adelaide's above-average weight (earning her the disparaging epithet of "Fat Mary")<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=A. N. |title=Victoria: a Life |date=2014 |publisher=Penguin Press HC |isbn=978-1594205996 |edition=First US |location=New York |page=CXCV}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mary Adelaide, Princess |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/templates/article.jsp?articleid=40730&back= |access-date=28 October 2014 |website=Oxford DNB |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ridley |first=Jane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g24Bza22uSIC&q=The+Heir+Apparent+Jane+Ridley |title=The Heir Apparent: a Life of Edward VII, the Playboy Prince |date=2014 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0812972634 |edition=Digital |location=New York |access-date=31 October 2014}}</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 [[Edward VII|Prince of Wales]] and his wife [[Alexandra of Denmark|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, [[Francis, Duke of Teck|Prince Francis of Teck]], a minor member of the royal family of [[Kingdom of Württemberg|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 {{lang|de|Der schöne [[Uhlan]]}}, "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 [[Mary of Teck|May]] would later say, "and it did".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=22 February 1960 |title=Books: Royal Square |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,939644,00.html |magazine=Time}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nash |first=Michael L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JqsZDgAAQBAJ&dq=Prince+Francis+of+Teck+handsome&pg=PA149 |title=Royal Wills in Britain from 1509 to 2008 |date=2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9781137601452 |page=217}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Queen Sophie (consort of William III, King of the Netherlands) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rp29cF15SpAC&dq=Prince+Francis+of+Teck+handsome&pg=PA280 |title=A Stranger in The Hague: The Letters of Queen Sophie of the Netherlands to Lady Malet, 1842–1877 |last2=Malet |first2=Lady Marian Dora |date=1989 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=0822308118 |editor-last=Jackman |editor-first=Sydney Wayne |page=280 |editor-last2=Haasse |editor-first2=Hella}}</ref> The couple were married on 12 June 1866 at [[St Anne's Church, Kew|St Anne's Church]], [[Kew]], [[Surrey]].<ref name="Weir">{{Cite book |last=[[Alison Weir|Weir, Alison]] |title=Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy ''(revised edition)'' |date=1996 |publisher=[[Random House]] |isbn=978-071267448-5 |location=[[Pimlico, London]]}}</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">{{Cite news |date=21 January 1936 |title=Queen Mary. Devotion to duty |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GuBUAAAAIBAJ&pg=6922,3040739&dq=mary+adelaide+of+cambridge&hl=en |access-date=21 July 2013 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</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>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Teck |encyclopedia=[[Who Was Who]] |publisher=[[A & C Black]] |date=1920–2008}}; {{cite encyclopedia |title=Teck |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/display/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-191492 |access-date=4 January 2012 |date=December 2007 |edition=online |doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U191492|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Birth
!Death
!Notes
|-
|[[Mary of Teck|Princess Victoria Mary of Teck]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lane |first=John |title=A Right Royal Feast: Menus from Royal Weddings and History's Greatest Banquets |date=2011 |page=22}}</ref>
|26 May 1867
|24 March 1953
|married [[George V|Prince George, Duke of York]] (later George V) on 6 July 1893. They had six children, including [[Edward VIII]] and [[George VI]].
|-
|[[Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge|Prince Adolphus of Teck]]
|13 August 1868
|23 October 1927
|later [[Duke of Teck]] and [[Marquess of Cambridge]];
married [[Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge|Lady Margaret Evelyn Grosvenor]] on 12 December 1894. They had four children.
|-
|[[Prince Francis of Teck]]
|9 January 1870
|22 October 1910
|Died unmarried.
|-
|[[Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone|Prince Alexander of Teck]]
|14 April 1874
|16 January 1957
|later [[Earl of Athlone]];
married [[Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone|Princess Alice of Albany]] on 10 February 1904. They had three children.
|}

==Life abroad==
[[File:Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck by Alexander Bassano.jpg|thumb|right|Mary Adelaide, {{circa|1880}}]]

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">{{Cite web |title=Mary of Teck |url=http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/windsor_31.html |access-date=20 July 2013 |publisher=English Monarchs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=White Lodge, Richmond Park |url=https://www.richmond.gov.uk/media/6327/local_history_white_lodge.pdf |access-date=30 March 2023 |website=London Borough of Richmond upon Thames}}</ref> She was buried on 3 November 1897 in the Royal Vault at [[St George's Chapel]], [[Windsor, Berkshire|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">{{cite web |date=Spring 2017 |title=The Duchess of Teck: The People's Princess |url=https://www.frp.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/3_Duchess_of_Teck_-_Spring_2017.pdf |access-date=10 August 2025 |website=Friends of Richmond Park}}</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>{{London Gazette|issue=23720|page=1588|date=24 March 1871}}</ref> or ''Her Royal Highness'' The Princess Mary Adelaide (The Princess of Teck)<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=8051|page=465|date=19 April 1870|city=Edinburgh}}</ref>
* 16 December 1871 – 27 October 1897: ''Her Royal Highness'' The Duchess of Teck<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=25773|page=105|date=5 January 1888}}</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===
{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
{{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}
* '''CI''': [[Order of the Crown of India|Companion of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India]], '' 1 January 1878''<ref>{{London Gazette
| issue = 24539
| date = 4 January 1878
| page = 114
}}</ref>
* '''DStJ''': [[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|Order of St John]], Lady of Justice, '' 27 March 1896''<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=26725 |date=27 Mar 1896 |page=1960}}</ref>
}}

==Ancestors==
{{Ahnentafel|collapsed=yes|align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge'''
|2= 2. [[Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge]]
|3= 3. [[Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel]]
|4= 4. [[George III]]
|5= 5. [[Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|6= 6. [[Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel]]
|7= 7. [[Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen]]
|8= 8. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|9= 9. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|10= 10. [[Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg]]
|11= 11. [[Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|12= 12. [[Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]]
|13= 13. [[Princess Mary of Great Britain]]
|14= 14. [[Charles William, Prince of Nassau-Usingen]]
|15= 15. [[Countess Caroline Felizitas of Leiningen-Dagsburg]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{Cite book |last=Jackman |first=S.W. |title=The People's Princess: Portrait of Princess Mary, Duchess of Teck |date=1984 |publisher=Kensal Press |isbn=0946041199}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kinloch-Cooke |first=Clement |author-link=Clement Kinloch-Cooke |url=https://archive.org/details/amemoirprincess00unkngoog/page/n10/mode/1up |title=A memoir by Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide Duchess of Teck |date=1900 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons [New York], John Murray [London] |volume=1 |location=[[New York City|New York]], [[London]] |type=In two volumes, with portraits and illustrations}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kinloch-Cooke |first=Clement |author-link=Clement Kinloch-Cooke |url=https://archive.org/details/amemoirprincess01unkngoog/page/n42/mode/1up |title=A memoir by Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Adelaide Duchess of Teck |date=1900 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons [New York], John Murray [London] |volume=2 |location=[[New York City|New York]], [[London]] |type=In two volumes, with portraits and illustrations}}

==External links==
* {{NPG name|name=Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck}}

{{British princesses}}
{{Hanoverian princesses}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Princess}}
[[Category:1833 births]]
[[Category:1897 deaths]]
[[Category:British princesses]]
[[Category:House of Hanover]]
[[Category:Hanoverian princesses]]
[[Category:Daughters of British dukes]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Crown of India]]
[[Category:Nobility from Hanover]]
[[Category:Burials at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]]
[[Category:Teck–Cambridge family]]
[[Category:Residents of White Lodge, Richmond Park]]
[[Category:People from Hanover]]