Queen Mary, consort of George V (1867-1953)


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I think Queen Mary's public persona is at odds with her private demeanor. I recall an incident which I read in a biography of Princess Alice, the mother of Prince Philip. I am afraid I will paraphrase it badly, but it went something like this:

Princess Alice was dining with George V and Queen Mary and telling them about her sister Louise, who married the Crown Prince of Sweden. A minister took Louise on a tour of the royal palace and eventually took her into the vault where the crown jewels were kept. This minister allegedly said, "Now, I will open my drawers and show you a treasure!" According to the biography, George V roared with laughter and then Queen Mary said, "Well, did he?" I think the lady had a sense of humor.
 
In "The Lost Prince",a movie about Prince John,I saw the scene where John dies,and Mary looked stoned faced.I read the comments and people said "Lalla loves him more than Mary".That's very sad.Im sure she loved her son very much and everyone has ways of showing thier grief.
 
I have never liked Queen Mary, I don't know why and I think some of it might be that when I was younger I saw a picture of her stone cold face and was turned off. But I just do not like the woman or find her at all interesting.
Queen Mary not interesting? I'd suggest you do some reading. You may be surprised.

Surely an appropriate time for some pictures...

1. with Queen Alexandra
2. with the King
3. warning a passerby about the dangers of stereotyping...

all images are free of copyright
 

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I think that was the first time I saw her smile!
 
My grandmother was born in 1889, and pictures of her smiling are quite rare. But in person, she smiled as much as anyone did and could be very funny. I think it has something to do with the times.
 
She was the last of the "Grande Dames". She had stature and bearing, she loved jewelry and wore tons at a time, but always looked tasteful. She wasn't a warm or cozy person, but that's how she was raised and in her times, that was what was expected. I think she accpeted Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, because marrying off Bertie, title or not was not going to be a picnic. But they seemed to get along. She, also, accepted the Duke of Gloucester's wife, Alice.
 
I have never liked Queen Mary, I don't know why and I think some of it might be that when I was younger I saw a picture of her stone cold face and was turned off. But I just do not like the woman or find her at all interesting.
I find her very interesting, but scary and intimidating all at the same time!
There are 4 people in this world who define regal majesty for me, each in their own way!
HM. Queen Mary
HM. Queen Mother
HM. The Queen
Princess Di
And the first 3 on that list define the word Queen for me.
Queen Mary is on top!
 
She was the last of the "Grande Dames". She had stature and bearing, she loved jewelry and wore tons at a time, but always looked tasteful. She wasn't a warm or cozy person, but that's how she was raised and in her times, that was what was expected. I think she accpeted Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, because marrying off Bertie, title or not was not going to be a picnic. But they seemed to get along. She, also, accepted the Duke of Gloucester's wife, Alice.

From what I've read, she was the one who persuaded Elizabeth to marry Bertie. Lady Elizabeth had turned down his proposal before and she was quite fond of her and thought she would make a good wife for her son.
 
I have never liked Queen Mary, I don't know why and I think some of it might be that when I was younger I saw a picture of her stone cold face and was turned off. But I just do not like the woman or find her at all interesting.


I never liked her either; she seemed such a cold and grasping woman.

I read once that, whenever she was visiting someplace, people would hide their valuables because she used to make clear her desire that items she admired should be given to her! :eek:
 
Hi,

My favourite George V and Queen Mary story is one that the King loved to tell over dinner often:

The nearly blind Queen Olga of Greece was once walking through Windsor Great Park with G & M and spotted a nude statue of Lady Godiva.
"Ah, dear Queen Victoria!!", proclaimed the Greek Queen....
G & M had a great laugh and often dined out on that story...

Larry
 
Thanks a lot for the anecdote, Vecchiolarry....

Are you really "vecchio" ?
 
Hi,

My favourite George V and Queen Mary story is one that the King loved to tell over dinner often:

The nearly blind Queen Olga of Greece was once walking through Windsor Great Park with G & M and spotted a nude statue of Lady Godiva.
"Ah, dear Queen Victoria!!", proclaimed the Greek Queen....
G & M had a great laugh and often dined out on that story...

Larry

I know this story too but the version I read was Queen Olga was being wheeled through the corridors of Windsor Castle and when she spotted, through her nearly blind eyes, a statuette on a table of Lady Godiva, she said, "Queen Victoria." It was up to a embarrassed servant who was wheeling the Queen to correct her and say, "Lady Godiva, ma'am."
 
Hi,

Renata:
I'm 69; 70 on February 12th, 2012, so Yes, I guess I am 'vecchio'!!!!
But, I don't feel old yet - and I'm still 'upright'!!!

VasillisosMarkos:
Your version of the Olga story would seem more plausible than mine.
The 'statuette' indoors is probably true, since the last time I was in Windsor Great Park, I went looking for Godiva's 'statue' and never found one.
Thanks for your post!!

Larry
 
Hi Larry,

I just wish I could remember where I read that anecdote. It appears that the Edward VII (Olga's brother-in-law) and George V (her nephew by marriage) were both very fond of Olga and she spent some time visiting them at Windsor Castle.
 
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Out of all the other royals from the past,I would love to meet Queen Mary! She seems very interesting,elegant,and has a humorous side to her.

I would love to have a cup of tea with her! ;)
 
ITA! I read the James Pope-Hennessey (not sure of the spelling) biography of her many years ago, and I've been fascinated by her ever since.
 
ITA! I read the James Pope-Hennessey (not sure of the spelling) biography of her many years ago, and I've been fascinated by her ever since.

I would love to read that book!

By the way,I love how she was portrayed in Shawcross's bio on the Queen Mother.She seemed like a warm and caring mother in law despite her "cold" demeaner.
 
And Shawcross writes that Queen Mary was the only member of the Royal Family who was not amused by Princess Margaret's antics. But she adored the Princess Elizabeth and told the Duke and Duchess of York how much she and the King enjoyed having the "baby" with them while the royal couple traveled on behalf of the monarch.
 
My dear Warren,

Thanks for posting this video. What an amazing woman. I love the way she waved to the crowds, never raising her arm above her shoulder but keeping her elbow near her waist. I imagine this allowed to wave for a long period of time without causing pain.
 
I am watching a fascinating documentary on Queen Mary. I have always been curious about the Royals' connection to charity work and it seems that Queen Mary was pivitol. Have just discovered that for all practical purposes Queen Mary and King George were the template for the modern British monarchy.

King George and Queen Mary: The Royals Who Rescued the Monarchy (Part2 BBC)

King George and Queen Mary: The Royals Who Rescued the Monarchy (Part2 BBC) - YouTube


At 3:40 there is a heart-stopping moment when a child - is it Princess Elizabeth? - is placed on the railing of the balcony. :argh: Just the thought of it makes me dizzy! I'm a wuss! :p
 
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Recently I was watching a documentary about King George V and Queen Mary and one of the people being interviewed said that Mary had quite a strong German accent. Would this have been correct? As Mary grew up in England and her mother was English I would have thought she would have had an English accent.
 
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And Shawcross writes that Queen Mary was the only member of the Royal Family who was not amused by Princess Margaret's antics. But she adored the Princess Elizabeth and told the Duke and Duchess of York how much she and the King enjoyed having the "baby" with them while the royal couple traveled on behalf of the monarch.

Queen Mary was not one to tolerate bad behavior. I imagine she would have had something to say about more than one member of the BRF's behavior in recent years. She was a lady of very high standards.
 
Out of all the other royals from the past,I would love to meet Queen Mary! She seems very interesting,elegant,and has a humorous side to her.

I would love to have a cup of tea with her! ;)

If you ever had tea with Queen Mary, it would be better at her premises rather than yours in case she saw a trinket at your home that she fancied and confiscated it, being an avid collector of various objets d'art. People had to hide their treasures when she came to their houses for that very reason because she had a keen eye and great knowledge of valuables that she always wanted to add to the royal collection, even if it belonged to someone else! ;)
 
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What kind of hair style did Queen Mary have later in her life?

It looks like a combination of a finger wave & cornrows?

Was this her natural hair or a wig?

Does anyone know if this hairstyle was unique to Queen Mary or did anyone else sport it?


http://cache2.allpostersimages.com/p/LRG/37/3729/ETQAF00Z/poster/british-queen-mary-of-teck-1947.jpg

I think it's more likely a combination of a finger wave with naturally curly hair. In pictures of her when she's younger she had very curly hair that she piled on the top of her head. In pictures of her when she's older it looks like there's a continuation of this style but with shorter hair. I doubt it's a wig.
 
Maybe she had a wig for each tiara. She just popped the whole thing on to save time. After all, she had to pile on all the other stuff, and I am sure that took time.
 
Mary of Teck was born on May 26th,1867


385px-Family_of_Teck.jpg
 
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