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

[ada]

King George V's voice reminded me of Edward VIII's voice in his abdication speech

 

[Vasillisos Markos]

I did not detect much of an accent for either majesty. I found it fascinating that a good friend born in Ireland but moved to the States when he was 1 1/2 had an American accent yet his parents never lost their brogue. A speech major told me that you mimic the sounds you hear as a child and since Joe attended pre-school and kindergarten in Indiana, he sounded like a Midwesterner despite the accent of his parents.

 

[Jacknch]

That was a marvellous clip - thank you PssMarie-Elisabeth! I have never heard the voices of King George and Queen Mary before and it is fascinating to hear their accents, which in my opinion do indeed sound like the old-fashioned upper-class English way of talking! Words were spoken quietly, carefully and deliberately in those days with the "r" being rolled off the tongue.

 

[PrinceS]

I just read a quote that I found very funny:

when she was dressing for the Delhi Durbar in 1911 Queen Mary accepted a lady- in -waiting’s offer of just one more brooch to pin on her jewel-encrusted bosom with the immortal words 'Thank God I’m not a woman who looks vulgar in diamonds!’

Maharaja: the Splendour of India’s Royal Courts at the V&A, review - Telegraph

 

[silverstar]

QUOTE Dierna
But I always (maybe its just me) thought George V. had a bit of a german accent? I'm a bit indetermined
end quote...

the German accents were probably more pronounced in the 18th
cent , in the case of George V , if there was any accent it would more likely to be Danish...
he was devoted to his Mother dear... Princess Alexandra of Denmark....
who I should think.....must have spoke English with a Danish accent.

Reading about Victorian times its almost like theres a competition between
the German Royals and the Danish Royals going on within the British Royal Family.
Almost a battle of blood lines !

I guess when Princess Elizabeth married Prince Phillip
... the Danes were coming back to the fore.
Despite his links with Greece , way back then...
at the time of his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, he was ...
in reality.....a handsome , blonde, Danish Prince.

 

[Furienna]

the German accents were probably more pronounced in the 18th
cent , in the case of George V , if there was any accent it would more likely to be Danish...
he was devoted to his Mother dear... Princess Alexandra of Denmark....
who I should think.....must have spoke English with a Danish accent.

But even though Alexandra was a princess of Denmark, both her parents were German. So I don't know...

 

[silverstar]

The Prussians made a land grab forSchleswig-Holstein in the 1860s
and the Danes lost almost half of their territory to that rising military and industrial power.

From that moment on PrincessAlexandra hated the Germans in general
and the Prussians in particular ..... with a passion... for the rest of her life.

 

[Vasillisos Markos]

But even though Alexandra was a princess of Denmark, both her parents were German. So I don't know...

I thought Alexandra's father was Danish by birth and her mother, although a descendant from a German princely family, lived in Denmark from a very young age and I believe her mother, Alexandra's grandmother, was a princess of Denmark. Any German influence was probably very slight but nonetheless, Alexandra had no love for the Germans as an adult.

 

[Furienna]

Well, as Alexandra's father, Christian IX, was the first king of the current dynasty, I don't know if he was born in Denmark. He had some Danish ancestry on his mother's side though. But as Alexandra seems to have turned against Germany in the 1860s, her upbringing was probably more Danish than German.

 

[Iluvbertie]

The entire Schleswig-Holstein situation wasn't as simple as Prussia making a land grab.

Over half of the population in one of those provinces was ethnically German (and the one I forget) and both provinces had been administered by Denmark but hadn't been part of Denmark.

When Christian became King he declared that they were in fact now going to be officially part of Denmark and it was then that the Prussians got involved. In other words, if Christian had not decided to change the status quo the war mightn't have happened (of course Bismarck was itching for a fight somewhere to promote Prussia as the leading German state). Christian gave him the excuse by his actions rather than it being a simple land grab by Prussia.

There is a lot more to it than this of course but I am simply trying to point out that it was more than a land grab by Prussia.

Lord Palmerston, at the time is reported to have said to Queen Victoria "Only three men have ever understood the Schleswig-Holstein question - one was your husband and he is dead, the second is a German professor and he has gone mad and the third is myself and I have forgotten" certainly suggesting that is was a very complicated situation.

 

[HM Queen Catherine]

Well, as Alexandra's father, Christian IX, was the first king of the current dynasty, I don't know if he was born in Denmark. He had some Danish ancestry on his mother's side though. But as Alexandra seems to have turned against Germany in the 1860s, her upbringing was probably more Danish than German.

Christian IX, like his father before him, was born at Schloss Gottorp in Schleswig. This castle was the ancestral home of the Holstein-Gottorp branch of the House of Oldenburg.

Schleswig did not become a part of Germany until the Second War of Schleswighttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_War_of_Schleswig in 1864.

So Christian IX was born in Denmark.

Christian's mother, Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel, was also born at Schloss Gottorp. Her father, Charles of Hesse-Kassel, was a German Landgrave and grandson of George II of Great Britain.

Louise Caroline's mother was Princess Louise of Denmark and Norway, and was also a granddaughter of George II. She was born at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.

 

[Furienna]

I see... Thanks for the information.

 

[Jeniann]

I didn't really hear much of an accent on either of them, except the old fashioned upper-class British accent. I also thought there was some similarity in Mary's voice and her granddaughter Elizabeth's.

 

[Hereditary Thane]

Queen Mary was a very repressed woman who found purpose and solace in her art and antique collecting rather than in her children. Her own mother, the Durchess of Teck (an English princess of the "old" royal family) was a loving mother, and a very Christian woman. Somewhat looked down upon by Queen Victoria's close family, May of Teck had to endure many snide remarks from her female royal cousins, jokes about her mother, Princess Mary of Cambridge, "fat Mary" to the Saxe-Coburg-Gothas. It is said that her mother was an embarrassment to her, yet she chose the name Mary when she became queen consort. Surley an affectionate tribute to her loving mother.

 

[Wisteria]

I really don´t understand why you say that Queen Mary took the name Mary as an affectionate tribute to her mother when she became queen consort to George V. Mary was her own name and she kept it. May, in those days was the usual diminutive for Mary and not her name.
As to being royal, she was the great-granddaughter of George III.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Queen Mary was a very repressed woman who found purpose and solace in her art and antique collecting rather than in her children. Her own mother, the Durchess of Teck (an English princess of the "old" royal family) was a loving mother, and a very Christian woman. Somewhat looked down upon by Queen Victoria's close family, May of Teck had to endure many snide remarks from her female royal cousins, jokes about her mother, Princess Mary of Cambridge, "fat Mary" to the Saxe-Coburg-Gothas. It is said that her mother was an embarrassment to her, yet she chose the name Mary when she became queen consort. Surley an affectionate tribute to her loving mother.

Mary of Teck was

Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes born 26 May 1867

She was called May after her birth month.

The Prince of Wales ascended the throne as George V, and May became his queen consort. When her husband asked her to drop one of her two official names, Victoria Mary, she chose to be called Mary, preferring not to take the name of her husband's grandmother, Queen Victoria.

It is not clear whether she chose Mary for her mother or not.

 

[Grace Angel]

I believe she chose Mary because it was closer to May than the name Victoria was. Also, she may have figured that with one Queen Victoria in the recent past, that the name should remain associated with her.

 

[Hereditary Thane]

As to George V's consort, Queen Mary names: Victoria Mary Augusta etc. Victoria was her formal name, but among the family the diminutive, May was used and passed into general usage. She was born a princess of an Austrian noble house (Dukes of Teck in Austria) although her father was not Austrian, and styled Her Serene Highness. Yes she was a descendant of George III but his descendants that I know without any royal style would never claim they were royal. I have it on good authority, by a close kinswoman of the late queen that she did choose Mary as a tribute to her mother. I can say no more. If I have offended anyone's sensibilities it was unintentional.

 

[Dierna23]

Duke of Teck isn't really an austrian title, Teck belonged to Wurttemberg/Germany. Queen Marys father Francis of Teck was born as a Count of Hohenstein - an austrian noble title his mother received from Kaiser Ferdinand I. of Austria -, 1863 Francis was styled Duke of Teck. Queen Marys paternal grandfather was Alexander Duke of Wurttemberg and through the house of Wurttemberg Mary was a descendant of the houses Habsburg and Wittelsbach.

 

[Vasillisos Markos]

Her own mother, the Durchess of Teck (an English princess of the "old" royal family) was a loving mother, and a very Christian woman. Somewhat looked down upon by Queen Victoria's close family, May of Teck had to endure many snide remarks from her female royal cousins, jokes about her mother, Princess Mary of Cambridge, "fat Mary" to the Saxe-Coburg-Gothas.

Maybe some of the "cousins" made fun of Queen Mary's mother but I had always thought Queen Victoria was fond of the Duchess and wasn't she once known as the "People's Princess" because she was so popular with the public?

 

[Westminster]

Queen Victoria was indeed fond of the Duchess as well as she was fond of young Princess May. But my, she was so fat that she needed two chairs (no offence, just what I read) and as far as I know she was an embaressment to May. Btw it is said that Queen Marys father died in a whorehouse in Vienna but his body was brought to GB quietly.

 

[Vasillisos Markos]

Two chairs!!! Some of those antique chairs don't look they could could maintain much weight before collapsing into kindling! I never heard about Queen Mary's father dying in a brothel-- where did this rumor arise and what facts may support it?

 

[Roderick]

I do not think the story of Queen Mary`s father the Duke of Teck dying in a brothel can be substantiated. He was quite mentally debilitated after a series of strokes in the years before he died.

 

[cmkrcwi]

If I'm not mistaken, Queen Mary signed herself as "Victoria Mary" until she became Queen. Then, because The King, her husband, disliked double first names, she had to pick a name to use. "And, of course, I could not choose 'Victoria'".

 

[Vasillisos Markos]

Roderick,

Thank you for your post. Did the Duke of Teck have a reputation for licentiousness which gave rise to such a rumour?

 

[Westminster]

I read the rumour about the Duke of Teck's death at Wikipedia. I have no other sources.

 

[Grace Angel]

Queen Victoria was indeed fond of the Duchess as well as she was fond of young Princess May. But my, she was so fat that she needed two chairs (no offence, just what I read) and as far as I know she was an embaressment to May. Btw it is said that Queen Marys father died in a whorehouse in Vienna but his body was brought to GB quietly.

Wikipedia isn't very accurate at times in regards to the Duke of Teck thing. But it's true about Mary. May was embarassed by her mother's weight I read I believe it was in Pope Hennesy's bio of May.

 

[Dierna23]

It really isn't an accurate source, but I have read about this rumour about Francis of Teck's death otherwise as well. But in fact it's only a rumour and I do not know very much about the Duke of Tecks personality. In the movie "the lost prince" it was showed as well, that Mary was embarressed by her mothers behaviour. Mary of Cambridge was portrayed as a quite clumsy woman, but it's only a movie... However to me the Tecks came across as quite an bizarre family and I think of Marys special "love" for ivy here.

 

[Grace Angel]

May ended up being very dignified and acted very royal after she married the future George V, the opposite of her mother in some ways. But her mother was a nice person, just colorful, more than most royal women back then where.

 

[Wisteria]

As to George V's consort, Queen Mary names: Victoria Mary Augusta etc. Victoria was her formal name, but among the family the diminutive, May was used and passed into general usage. She was born a princess of an Austrian noble house (Dukes of Teck in Austria) although her father was not Austrian, and styled Her Serene Highness. Yes she was a descendant of George III but his descendants that I know without any royal style would never claim they were royal. I have it on good authority, by a close kinswoman of the late queen that she did choose Mary as a tribute to her mother. I can say no more. If I have offended anyone's sensibilities it was unintentional.

Whatever people choose to think she was thought a good match for a King as she was first chosen for the eldest son Albert Victor and when he died she went on to be the second son´s wife (lucky for her as it happened) and in those days they really took royal blood seriously when it came to marriage to a future King of Great Britain etc etc.
Her mother might have been nicknamed fat Mary, but wasn´t she the one that was born with luck and won all those beautiful emeralds supposedly still in the royal family coffers? I say supposedly because there have been many rumours about these emeralds.
I have more than one person in my family tree called Mary who was called May and I can guarantee that none were born in May s it might have been a happy coincidence or not.