Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck & Family, "The People's Princess" (1833-1897)

[loali2]

This is Mary Adelaide with her youngest child, Prince Alexander George, known as Alge, not May.
and a similar pose, PHOTO FOUND ON INTERNET.


I think, Alge looks quite extraordinary in these photos, and VERY similar to his son Rupert as a baby and child.
Mary Adelaide's grandchildren, Rupert of Teck with big sister May-

[loali2]

This is Mary Adelaide and the Duke of Teck with baby May.

and with May a bit older

[Mark O]

What great photos!.....just having watched 'The Lost Prince' on TV recently again 'Fat Mary' certainly seemed a character in her day!.........am I correct in thinking that as a well as May, Mary also had three sons?, could anyone give me their full titles so I can check out their lineage on Wikepidia please?

[cmkrcwi]

Yes, Princess Mary had three sons. The first, Adolphus Frederick (1868-1927) succeeded his father as Duke of Teck but became The Marquess of Cambridge when George V had all his relatives rescind their German titles. He was succeeded by his son George but the title ended when he died in 1981 since his only child was a daughter Lady Mary Cambridge. Adolphus Frederick had two daughters Victoria, who married The Duke of Beaufort (they had no children) and Helena who married Col. John Gibbs. He also had a second son Lord Frederick Cambridge who I believe died in World War II.

The second, Prince Francis (Frank) of Teck (1870-1910) died unmarried.

The third, Alexander George (1874-1957) became the Earl of Athlone after the renunciation of German titles. He married Princess Alice of Albany and they had two children. You can probably find information on them on the Princess Alice threads.

[CarolinaLandgrave]

Princess Mary Adelaide was indeed a bright light in her day - and thanks for all the great photos of her!!

[Zonk]

Princes Mary Adelaide is IMO a great example of how "minor" royals are just as important for the British Royal Family as the senior royals. Especially since people are discussing what if any role Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie should have going forward during the reigns of Charles and William.

[Grace Angel]

I think she'd be more forgotten now though if she hadn't been the mother of Queen Mary, wife of George V.

[iowabelle]

I've been reading the book Princesses, about the daughters of George III. Their brother Adolphus, the Duke of Cambridge, was Princess Mary's father. She was the youngest child of three, so I see a lot about her toward the end of the book... she was a favorite among the aunts and quite spoiled.

[CarolinaLandgrave]

Originally Posted by iowabelle

I've been reading the book Princesses, about the daughters of George III. Their brother Adolphus, the Duke of Cambridge, was Princess Mary's father. She was the youngest child of three, so I see a lot about her toward the end of the book... she was a favorite among the aunts and quite spoiled.

Off topic, I know... but how is that book, Iowabelle? I saw in Borders and think I may have to go purchase it.
Princess Mary Adelaide is one of my favorite members of the Old Royal Family.... so if its got some good reading about her, then its a good investment.

[iowabelle]

I'm not enamored of the book. I think part of the problem is that the poor women were allowed to have so little freedom, that their lives were virtually interchangeable and rather dull, except for fighting with their mother and siblings.


But it also shows how it was possible for an unmarried princess to have an illegitimate child that flew under the radar for a very long time (think of that man who claims Princess Margaret was his mother, although I doubt that story). It just goes to prove that there are no new royal stories.

[CarolinaLandgrave]

Thanks for the update - I may have to get, though.
Curiosity killed the cat....

[Grace Angel]

I think it's worth reading. I read it a few years ago and learned a lot from it. George III's daughters led particularly dull existences because their mother and father wanted them at home and would not allow them to marry in some cases.. a few of them married, but they seem not to have had much of a life. But I think the life of these princesses was interesting, if only because they haven't been much written about apart from this book, and their lives illuminate the lives of their brothers and the history of England during this period. Sophia and Amelia, I think her name was ( George III's youngest daugter who died young) are interesting.

[Roderick]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

How sad. I remember seeing the portrayal of Fat Mary in the "Lost Prince" and found it quite tragic that Queen Mary adopted many of her somewhat OCD traits in response to her mother's clumsiness and slack attitude.

I would not regard "The Lost Prince" as an accurate enough portrayal of royal personalities to make judgement on them. The production was part documentary/part drama and as such had factual and fictional elements to it.

May I ask what OCD traits you regard Queen Mary as having?

[CarolinaLandgrave]

Originally Posted by Grace Angel

I think it's worth reading. I read it a few years ago and learned a lot from it. George III's daughters led particularly dull existences because their mother and father wanted them at home and would not allow them to marry in some cases.. a few of them married, but they seem not to have had much of a life. But I think the life of these princesses was interesting, if only because they haven't been much written about apart from this book, and their lives illuminate the lives of their brothers and the history of England during this period. Sophia and Amelia, I think her name was ( George III's youngest daugter who died young) are interesting.

Thank you - I got me a copy today!

[Warren]

While we are on the subject of books, James Pope-Hennessy's "Queen Mary" goes into great detail about Princess Mary Adelaide and her trials and tribulations. For an "official" biography the first two hundred pages [May is engaged to Eddy at page 210] is surprisingly humorous, and sometimes a riot. The escapades in Italy are very colourfully described and it is sometimes forgotten that Princess May was a keen observer of, as well as being exposed to, her mother's interactions with various nationalities and classes of people during this period. Mary Adelaide's run-ins with Queen Victoria, and the Queen's resulting helpless exasperation, are also very amusing.
Mary Adelaide was certainly a larger-than-life character and it can be quite rewarding reading about her life.

[Roslyn]

I became very fond of Princess Mary Adelaide while reading James Pope-Hennessy's biography of Queen Mary. She was a fascinating, hard working, and very likeable person.

From Chapter 7: "Princess Mary Adelaide gave her patronage to any charity, bazaar or organisation which seemed to her genuine and efficiently run. This patronage was never of a merely nominal character: 'When she gave her name, she gave also her time, energy, and thought.' She would herself open all letters addressed to her, decide which were worthy of immediate attention, draft replies and, with her daughter's aid, classify each case in one of her charity ledgers. This was a habit which Queen Mary also adopted. Until the end of her life the Queen would open all her letters: and her assistants were often surprised at the perspicacity with which she could assess whether an application for help was genuinely worthy or bogus. The aid she gave her mother in these years at White Lodge before her marriage was never grudging; it might be tiring and at times dispiriting, but Princess May worked with a will".

I also became very fond of Queen Mary because of this book.

[Elspeth]

So did I...

I wonder if she'd have spent her life as her mother's secretary if she hadn't married. It sounds as though Princess Mary Adelaide was as chaotic as she was well-meaning.

[Warren]

You wonder if May would have been as successful if she had been her mother's book-keeper, rather than her defacto secretarial assistant. Quite possibly Mary Adelaide would have continued spending money she didn't have while May (and Queen Victoria) tut-tutted in exasperation.

[Princess Mia]

Who is Princess mary I thought she was only of Denmark.(Just testing my writing)

[Warren]

Princess Mary Adelaide was a granddaughter of King George III; her daughter Princess May married the then Duke of York in 1893.
When the Duke became King George V in 1910 May became Queen Mary.