Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (1897-1965)

[PssMarie-Elisabeth]

Princess Mary (Viscountess Lascelles) with her younger son, Gerald c.1924

[Mermaid1962]

I found this quote, but I'm not exactly sure what the source was, although a bibliography is given at the end of the article:

"
The Princess Royal was particularly close to her eldest brother. After the abdication crisis, she and her husband went to stay with the former Edward VIII, by then created Duke of Windsor, at Enzenfeld Castle near Vienna. In November 1947, she declined to attend the wedding her niece, the future Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, to protest the fact that the Duke of Windsor had not been invited."

This is where I found the quote. I'm going to look into this some more.

Mary, Princess Royal. Who is Mary, Princess Royal? What is Mary, Princess Royal? Where is Mary, Princess Royal? Definition of Mary, Princess Royal. Meaning of Mary, Princess Royal.

Originally Posted by Dierna23

Maybe it has something to do with, that Princess Mary - I suppose - was very loyal with her brother the Duke of Windsor??

[Dierna23]

A video with many pictures of Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles:

YouTube - H.R.H. Princess Mary

[ada]

[QUOTE=Dierna23;974654]A video with many pictures of Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles:

Thank you so much, incredible photos. She was 3 years older than the Queen Mother, but died at 68.

[Dierna23]

You're welcome, ada

Yes, she suffered a fatal heart attack during a walk with her family on the grounds of the Harewood House estate. I think, she smoked a lot, like her parents and brothers and it is said, that her marriage wasn't a love marriage. The Duke of Windsor remembered in his memoirs: "Mary had to marry this old man."

[Wendy Tebble]

I do not have an answer to your query but have another question re the Lascelles family of which the late Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood was a member until her death. Do you have a list of the organisations of which the princess was patron and/or president and regiments in which she held an honorary rank?

[MAfan]

Wikipedia reports a list of some of the honorary military appointments she held.

[Elly C]

I don't think there is a thread about Princess Mary, the previous Princess Royal (daughter of George V). I may be looking in the wrong place because during her lifetime she was styled in a number of different ways.

I was reading an article that stated she declined to attend the wedding of her niece, the current Queen, in protest of the fact that the Duke of Windsor had not been invited. She gave ill health as the official reason for her non-attendance. The family must have patched up their differences as she continued to attend state occasions such as the coronation, held many important orders & she also represented the Queen on several occasions. Does anyone know any more about this issue?

I have posted a link to a short biography of Princess Mary. Like the current Princess Royal she appears to have been a very busy & dedicated member of the Royal Family.
Princess Mary (biog)
Also of interest is her jewellery collection - She had some very important pieces. See below
Princess Mary (jewellery) - just look at the link to her wedding gifts!

Does anyone have any other information about Princess Mary we could share?

pic

[Warren]

The Princess Royal remained very close and loyal to her brother after he became Duke of Windsor. It has been claimed that she was "forced" by her parents into an arranged marriage with Lord Lascelles and that the then Prince of Wales was against it.

There was also an issue in 1952 when Mary's second son the Hon Gerald Lascelles married. The London Telegraph wrote "The wedding in July 1952 led to comment: "... the fact that the Queen had excused herself at the last moment, blaming a cold, was construed as "a royal snub" by Time magazine, which pointed out that "cousin Gerry [was] never a royal favourite".

The current Earl of Harewood's fathering of a child out of wedlock in 1964 and his divorce in 1967 led to his estrangement from the immediate Royal Family.

Here's a picture...
The Princess Royal's diamond and sapphire Gothic-style tiara belonged to Queen Victoria and is now in the possession of the Earl of Harewood.
Princess Marina's sapphire parure has been remade and partly sold off. What remains is in the possession of the Duke and Duchess of Kent.

[snowflower]

Originally Posted by Elly C

Princess Mary (biog)
Also of interest is her jewellery collection - She had some very important pieces. See below
Princess Mary (jewellery) - just look at the link to her wedding gifts!


pic

Oh my God! Her personal jewelery could be used to built an entire collection for one the current Royal families! I always thought that it was just Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary, but it seems that most of the British Royals of those days had a , lets say, adequate collection

[Vasillisos Markos]

Hah! More than adequate, those jewels are simply marvelous. What a collection but I think that Mary was either uncomfortable being photographed or maybe uncomfortable wearing such jewellry. She does not look at ease in the photographs to me.

[IloveCP]

Mary looks so much like her niece Queen Elizabeth.

[Patra]

I think Ann and Zara resemble Mary.

[Roderick]

Originally Posted by Patra

I think Ann and Zara resemble Mary.

Can see this too.

[ChantalC]

I agree with Patra and Roderick that Mary, Princess Royal looks like Princess Anne and her daughter, Zara. When I looked at the picture of Princess Royal in the beginning of this thread, you could see that she looks like Princess Anne.

[CyrilVladisla]

Princess Mary became Viscountess Lascelles upon her 1922 wedding. Even though she was Viscountess, did she outrank her husband, the Viscount, because of her title of Princess?

Harewood House is the family country house of the Countess of Harewood and the Earl of Harewood. It is located in Harewood, England. I highly recommend a description of the house at: www.harewood.org There are over 100 acres of gardens at Harewood. The family portraits include a painting of Edwin Lascelles, who had Harewood House built.

Princess Mary enjoyed working the model dairy that her paternal grandmother, Queen Alexandra, had set up at Sandringham.

Princess Mary was fluent in French and German.

[Ish]

British Royal women don't lose their status when they marry men of lesser rank. When Princess Mary married Henry Lascelles she didn't cease to be HRH Princess Mary, instead she became HRH The Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles. While she may have taken her rank from her husband when they were together (or not; I'm not certain on this), when without him she would have retained her own rank.

A similar thing happened with Princesses Anne and Margaret.

[An Ard Ri]

Funeral of the Princess Royal & a later Memorial Service 1965

Tribute To Princess Royal (1965) - YouTube

[CyrilVladisla]

In 1918 Princess Mary began a nursing course at the Great Ormond Street Hospital.
When she was the Countess of Harewood, Harewood House was used as a convalescent hospital during the Second World War.
Did Princess Mary perform nursing duties then?

[CyrilVladisla]

The Princess Royal went to Pathe House to see the film wedding of the Earl of Harewood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4f-UnqiYKI