Mary, The Princess Royal

Princess Mary was born in 1897 during the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria she was the third child and only daughter of the then Duke and Duchess of York who would one day rule as King George I and Queen Mary George and Mary's children grew up in the cramped confines of York Cottage on the Sandringham estate George considered himself a naval man and he thus looked to his experience of the Navy in his parenting style there was a strict adherence to punctuality Behavior and the correct attire and films still survive of the children carrying out Military drills at a tender age yet despite these somewhat stifling surroundings Mary was educated with a broad and somewhat Innovative curriculum designed by her mother Queen Mary in academic as well as practical and domestic subjects and secretarial skills to ensure that she was not just prepared for every eventuality in her future but that she also developed a social conscience Princess Mary shared many of her brother's lessons until they left for Osborne College to embark on their Naval training George V 5th may have been strict but in his missives to his children sent from abroad whilst on tour it is evident that he loved them more than anything he wanted to ensure they comprehended their future position along with their Duty as the only girl Mary was treated less harshly than her brothers with five brothers it was little wonder that Mary developed a somewhat tomboyish personality and a propensity to Mother younger children she had scant experience of playing with girls of her age and since her mother was rather overpowering she never really overcame her inherent shyness and timidity nor her slight speech impediment of rotic ism for all her life Mary would struggle having to be the center Spotlight at Royal engagements to the extent that it caused her to become unwell and thus th she guarded her private life with Steely determination George ascended to the throne in 1910 with the momentous occasion of his coronation in 1911 where his children played an integral role in celebrations on the day of the coronation 22nd June 1911 it did not go unnoticed that Mary attempted to keep her rather boisterous Brothers in check as they proceeded to The Abbey in their carriage as Mary walked up the aisle of Westminster Abbey she was said to have W all hearts with her grace and Poise August 4th 1914 signaled the start of the first world war whilst many naively hoped the war would be over by Christmas it was to last four years and cause King George no end of anxiety since he and the German Kaiser were first cousins and grandsons of Queen Victoria with George and his family sharing their Germanic name George knew the family had to be visible to the public during the war to quell any Sentiments of republicanism he even kept a map recording the amount of public engagements each of his children carried out seeing her brothers carrying out active service the slightly go 17-year-old Mary desperately wanted to do her bit in some way for the war effort her initial idea had been to use her own money to send a small Christmas gift to everyone working in the armed services as a means to boost morale however the logistics involved meant that the project would be too complex to organize without a proper committee and the amount of servicemen would necessitate an appeal for fundraising a request for donations written by Mary appeared in the newspapers and money soon came in thick and fast within a noticeably short period £150,000 had been raised the modern equivalent of over 17 million the princess Mary gift tin took the form of a small brass box containing tobacco and a Christmas card from the king and queen and princess Mary the gifts proved to be an incredible success with many servicemen sending their tins home and to loved ones to keep for posterity by the end of the war over 2 million gifts had been distributed the success of the scheme can still be seen by the many that are still available to purchase on eBay when Mary Ted Canada decades later War veterans would proudly bring out their treasured tins to show her Mary was not able to experience her first season of coming out as a debutant because of the war thus in 1918 when she reached her 21st birthday she asked her father for a rather unusual gift to be permitted to train and work as a a pediatric nurse Mary had already shown an interest in medicine and had listened to Medical lectures given by Sir James cattle at Buckingham Palace other princesses and members of the royal family had nursed before her yet she would be the first child of a monarch to undertake the rigorous training in June 1918 the gentlewoman magazine announced that Princess Mary has this week begun a regular course of practical nursing work at the Children's Hospital great or Street it is understood that her Royal Highness attends the hospital two mornings a week the princess is doing under direction of the matron and sisters exactly the same work as the other nurses washing and dressing the babies and helping in the care of the older children the princess impressed the matron on the Alexandra Ward where she was stationed with her desire to be treated the same as other trainees no job was off limits Queen Mary was eager to see her daughter at work and when she visited she was struck by Mary's unflappable nature and expertise Mary ultimately trained in assisting on surgical Wards Mary's public life later reflected her interest and understanding of Nursing in hospitals throughout the late 1920s and early 30s Mary resolved to visit as many hospitals in the country as she was able to after the first world war it was not easy to find a husband for Mary from the former European Royal houses Queen Mary was anxious that she would not lose her daughter to some foreign Prince conscious of this in 1917 George and Mary had put forward to the privy Council that their children should be free to marry into aristocratic British families in February 1922 Mary therefore married the heir to the earldom of herwood Henry or Harry LEL Harry was 15 years older than Mary though he looked much older and he was immensely wealthy over the years few could comprehend the match since Harry could be somewhat pompous and appeared to be rather unattractive however nothing could be further from the truth the marriage was one of Ideal companionship sharing many common Pursuits including horse racing gardening art and culture as well as a shared passion for Roda dendrons for Mary who had always been somewhat outmoded for her age and preferred the company of older more serious people it was an emancipation from her stifled life inside Royal palaces with her parents she had no wish to take on the role of spinster companion to her mother Harry was cultured intelligent and his wealth ensured that Mary would be free to maintain her private and public interests when Harry died in in 1947 Mary was utterly bereft from that point on she refused to permit any changes at herwood to any items that Harry had installed she even took to having her Christmas card portrait beneath a painting of him as if Harry were of a similar mold to Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert Mary's marriage to Harry meant a move to the north of England At first she made her home at the incredibly romantic Goldsboro Hall before moving to herwood in 1930 as Harry became the sixth Earl no expense was spared in the renovation of hawood making it a treasure house more akin to a Royal Palace herwood bloomed during Mary and Harry's tenure and became a vibrant and Cultural Center during the 30s with a plethora of Royal guests race meetings House parties and events culminating in the annual arrival of Queen Mary on her way to Balmoral in January 1932 George I 5 created Mary the Princess Royal during princess Mary's lifetime she would witness no fewer than six sovereigns Mary was an inveterate letter writer and religiously wrote to each of her brothers informing them of family news and keeping a watch upon them perhaps the most significant of these was the abdication crisis of 1936 in which Mary's favorite brother Prince Edward known in the family as David abdicated the throne in order to marry the twice married American socialite Wallace Simpson throughout the country the response from both David's family and the Man in the street was one of shock and incredulity in her letters to David concerning his actions we see a sister torn over her beliefs of Duty to the crown and sacrifice for one's country against the love of a sibling and a desire to see him Achieve Personal happiness Mary would remain torn throughout her life between her duty to her mother to her family to the country and ultimately her loyalty to David to the people of Yorkshire amongst whom she lived for more than 40 years she was seen as their Yorkshire princess when she married in 1922 she could quite easily have given up her public life and retreated to the role of an affluent aristocrat's wife particularly when she moved down the order of succession however that strong sense of Duty ensured that she would continue to carry out a vast number of public engagements philanthropic Civic and regimental over the next 40 years as well as patronages of Charities displaying her interests in agriculture Nursing education women's services and equestrianism as of the Yorkshire ladies council of education she was a firm advocate of the need for girls and women to be educated especially within higher education she became the first female Chancellor of a university when she accepted the position at leads in 1951

Channel: Regal Chronicles

Views: 140,120

Keywords: princess mary, queen mary, queen victoria, british royal family, princess royal

Id: kb0wNtVmeks

Length: 11min 16sec (676 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 25 2024