Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood
Encyclopedia
The Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary; 25 April 1897 – 28 March 1965) was a member of the British Royal Family
; she was the third child and only daughter of King George V
and Queen Mary
. She was the sixth holder of the title of Princess Royal
. Mary held the title of princess
with the style Highness
from birth as the then great-granddaughter of the British Sovereign, and later Her Royal Highness
, as the granddaughter and finally daughter of the Sovereign. After her marriage she held the title of Countess of Harewood
.
on the Sandringham Estate
in Norfolk
, England. Her father was Prince George, Duke of York
(later George V), the eldest surviving son of The Prince of Wales
(later Edward VII) and The Princess of Wales
(later Queen Alexandra). Her mother was The Duchess of York
(later Queen Mary), the eldest daughter of The Duke and Duchess of Teck
.
Her great-grandmotherQueen Victoria wanted her to be called Diamond, because she was born in the year of her Diamond Jubilee, but this did not happen because Edward VII said that no woman would want her name to reflect her age. Mary was named after her paternal great-grandmother, her paternal grandmother, the Princess of Wales, and her maternal grandmother, Princess Mary Adelaide. Since she was born on the same day as her late great aunt, the name Alice was added in. She was always known by the last of her Christian names, Mary. As a great-grandchild of the British monarch (Queen Victoria), she was styled Her Highness Princess Mary of York. In 1898, the Queen passed letters patent
granting the children of the Duke and Duchess of York the style, Royal Highness. Mary was then styled Her Royal Highness Princess Mary of York. She was fifth in the line of succession at the time of her birth.
Her baptism took place at in St Mary Magdalene's Church near Sandringham
on 7 June 1897 by William Dalrymple Maclagan
, Archbishop of York
. Her godparents were: Queen Victoria (her great-grandmother); the King of Greece
(her granduncle); the Dowager Empress of Russia (her paternal grandaunt); the Prince
and Princess of Wales
(her paternal grandparents); the Duchess of Teck
(her maternal grandmother); Princess Victoria of Wales (her paternal aunt); and Prince Francis of Teck
(her maternal uncle).
(later Edward VIII), Prince Albert
(later George VI), and Prince Henry
(later Duke of Gloucester, whose birth was the first of many that saw her superseded in the line of succession). She became fluent in German and French and developed a life-long interest in horses and horse racing. Her first state appearance was at the coronation of her parents at Westminster Abbey
on 11 June 1911.
, Princess Mary visited hospitals and welfare organizations with her mother, assisting with projects to give comfort to British servicemen and assistance to their families. One of these projects was Princess Mary's Christmas Gift Fund, through which £100,000 worth of gifts was sent to all British soldiers and sailors for Christmas
, 1914. This initiative was revived in 2005 by the charity uk4u-Thanks!
. She took an active role in promoting the Girl Guide
movement, the VADs
, and the Land Girls
. In 1918, she took a nursing course and went to work at Great Ormond Street Hospital
.
Princess Mary's public duties reflected her concerns with nursing
, the Girl Guide movement, and the Women's Services.
She became honorary president of the British Girl Guide Association
in 1920, a position she held until her death. In 1926, she became the commandant-in-chief of the British Red Cross
Detachments.
(9 September 1882 – 23 May 1947), the elder son of Henry Lascelles, 5th Earl of Harewood
, and Lady Florence Bridgeman of Weston Park
. Their wedding at Westminster Abbey
was the first royal occasion in which Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
(later Queen Elizabeth), a friend of Princess Mary's and one of the bridesmaids, participated. The Princess was 24, Lord Lascelles was 39. The Princess and her husband had homes in London, Chesterfield House and in Yorkshire, first Goldsborough Hall
, and later Harewood House
. Whilst at Goldsborough Hall, Princess Mary had internal alterations made by the architect Sydney Kitson, to suit the upbringing of her two children and instigated the development of formal planting of beech-hedge-lined long borders from the south terrace looking for a quarter of a mile down an avenue of lime trees. The limes were planted by her relatives as they visited the Hall throughout the 1920s, including her father George V and her mother Queen Mary. Goldsborough railway station (now disused) was installed in the neighbouring village of Flaxby
, along the Harrogate
to York
line, so that royal guests would have easy passage to the Hall. On 25 March 1923 her first son George was christened at St Mary's Church that adjoins Goldsborough Hall by Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of York
, the service was attended by King George V and Queen Mary. After becoming the Countess of Harewood on the death of her father-in-law, Princess Mary moved to Harewood House and took a keen interest in the interior decoration and renovation of the Lascelles family's seat. In farming pursuits, Princess Mary also became an expert in cattle breeding.
It has been reported that she did not want to marry Lord Lascelles, that her parents forced her into an arranged marriage, and that Lascelles proposed to her after a wager at his club. Her brother the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, with whom she was very close, was against the marriage because he did not want his sister to marry someone whom she did not love. Her elder son, the Earl of Harewood, however, wrote about his parents' marriage in his memoirs The Tongs and the Bones and challenged these widespread rumours that the marriage was an unhappy one. He says "that they got on well together and had a lot of friends and interests in common".
Princess Mary and Lord Lascelles had two sons:
The Princess Royal was particularly close to her eldest brother, the Prince of Wales, who subsequently became Edward VIII
(who was known as David to his family). 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
. Later, in November 1947, she allegedly declined to attend the wedding of her niece, The Princess Elizabeth, to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten
to protest the fact that the Duke of Windsor had not been invited. She gave ill health as the official reason for her non-attendance. The Duke of Windsor was however invited to the weddings of Princess Margaret
and Princess Alexandra of Kent
, his nieces, but out of bitterness he refused to attend.
At the outbreak of World War II
, the Princess Royal became chief controller and later controller commandant of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS, renamed the Women's Royal Army Corps
in 1949). In that capacity she travelled Britain visiting its units, as well as wartime canteens and other welfare organizations. On the death of her younger brother, the Duke of Kent
, she became the president of Papworth. The Princess Royal became air chief commandant of Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service
in 1950 and received the honorary rank of general in the British Army
in 1956. Also, in 1949, the 10th Gurkha Rifles were renamed the 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles
in her honour.
After her husband's death in 1947, the Princess Royal lived at Harewood House with her elder son and his family. She became the chancellor
of the University of Leeds
in 1951, and continued to carry out official duties at home and abroad. She attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953 and later represented the Queen at the independence celebrations of Trinidad and Tobago
in 1962, and Zambia
in 1964. One of her last official engagements was to represent the Queen at the funeral of Queen Louise
(queen consort of Sweden) in early March 1965.
The Princess Royal also made history that same month of March, 1965, when she visited her brother, the Duke of Windsor
(formerly King Edward VIII
) at the London Clinic, where he was recovering from recent eye surgery. The Princess also met her brother's wife, the Duchess of Windsor (at that time, married to the Duke for more than 28 years), one of the Duchess' few meetings with her husband's immediate family up to that time. A few days later, the Queen also visited the Duke of Windsor
, and she accepted the presence of the Duchess, who curtsied to her — the first time that a member of the Royal Family had officially received the Duke's wife.
On 28 March 1965 The Princess Royal suffered a fatal heart attack during a walk with her elder son, Lord Harewood, and his children on the grounds of the Harewood House estate. She was 67 years old. She was buried at Harewood after a private family funeral at York Minster.
Six British monarchs reigned during Princess Mary's lifetime: Queen Victoria (her great-grandmother), Edward VII
(her grandfather), George V
(her father), Edward VIII
and George VI
(her brothers) and Elizabeth II (her niece).
Born a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Mary was styled Her Highness Princess Mary of York from birth (this was later changed to Her Royal Highness by Queen Victoria). When Queen Victoria died, for a short time she was known as HRH Princess Mary of Cornwall and York (as her father was now the eldest living son of the monarch and thus Duke of Cornwall as well as Duke of York) and then HRH
Princess Mary of Wales when her father was created Prince of Wales. Finally, upon her father's accession as King she was styled and titled HRH
The Princess Mary. After her marriage, her Harewood titles were affixed after her royal titles. When the title Princess Royal was conferred upon her in 1932, she became known as HRH The Princess Royal (occasionally HRH The Princess Mary, Princess Royal). Throughout her life and the various title changes, her signature was simply "Mary".
Foreign Honours Dame of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa
CD: Canadian Forces Decoration
Commonwealth
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
; she was the third child and only daughter of King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
. She was the sixth holder of the title of Princess Royal
Princess Royal
Princess Royal is a style customarily awarded by a British monarch to his or her eldest daughter. The style is held for life, so a princess cannot be given the style during the lifetime of another Princess Royal...
. Mary held the title of princess
British princess
This is a list of British princesses from the accession of King George I in 1714. This article deals with both princesses of the blood royal and women who become princesses upon marriage....
with the style Highness
Highness
Highness, often used with a possessive adjective , is an attribute referring to the rank of the dynasty in an address...
from birth as the then great-granddaughter of the British Sovereign, and later Her Royal Highness
Royal Highness
Royal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
, as the granddaughter and finally daughter of the Sovereign. After her marriage she held the title of Countess of Harewood
Earl of Harewood
Earl of Harewood, in the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1812 for Edward Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, a wealthy sugar plantation owner and former Member of Parliament for Northallerton...
.
Birth
Princess Mary was born at York CottageYork Cottage
York Cottage is the former home of the Duke and Duchess of York , who lived in the house after their marriage in 1893. It is currently used as the Estate Office for Sandringham House. Some of the building is also used as flats for estate employees and holiday accommodation....
on the Sandringham Estate
Sandringham, Norfolk
Sandringham is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated some south of the village of Dersingham, north of the town of King's Lynn and north-west of the city of Norwich....
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England. Her father was Prince George, Duke of York
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
(later George V), the eldest surviving son of The Prince of Wales
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
(later Edward VII) and The Princess of Wales
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
(later Queen Alexandra). Her mother was The Duchess of York
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
(later Queen Mary), the eldest daughter of The Duke and Duchess of Teck
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge
Princess Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth of Cambridge was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of George III, and great-grandmother of Elizabeth II. She held the title of Duchess of Teck through marriage.Mary Adelaide is remembered as the mother of Queen Mary, the consort of...
.
Her great-grandmotherQueen Victoria wanted her to be called Diamond, because she was born in the year of her Diamond Jubilee, but this did not happen because Edward VII said that no woman would want her name to reflect her age. Mary was named after her paternal great-grandmother, her paternal grandmother, the Princess of Wales, and her maternal grandmother, Princess Mary Adelaide. Since she was born on the same day as her late great aunt, the name Alice was added in. She was always known by the last of her Christian names, Mary. As a great-grandchild of the British monarch (Queen Victoria), she was styled Her Highness Princess Mary of York. In 1898, the Queen passed letters patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
granting the children of the Duke and Duchess of York the style, Royal Highness. Mary was then styled Her Royal Highness Princess Mary of York. She was fifth in the line of succession at the time of her birth.
Her baptism took place at in St Mary Magdalene's Church near Sandringham
Sandringham House
Sandringham House is a country house on of land near the village of Sandringham in Norfolk, England. The house is privately owned by the British Royal Family and is located on the royal Sandringham Estate, which lies within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-History and current...
on 7 June 1897 by William Dalrymple Maclagan
William Dalrymple Maclagan
William Dalrymple Maclagan PC was Archbishop of York from 1891 to 1908, when he resigned his office, and was succeeded in 1909 by Cosmo Gordon Lang, later Archbishop of Canterbury...
, Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
. Her godparents were: Queen Victoria (her great-grandmother); the King of Greece
George I of Greece
George I was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the former king Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers...
(her granduncle); the Dowager Empress of Russia (her paternal grandaunt); the Prince
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and Princess of Wales
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
(her paternal grandparents); the Duchess of Teck
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge
Princess Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth of Cambridge was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of George III, and great-grandmother of Elizabeth II. She held the title of Duchess of Teck through marriage.Mary Adelaide is remembered as the mother of Queen Mary, the consort of...
(her maternal grandmother); Princess Victoria of Wales (her paternal aunt); and Prince Francis of Teck
Prince Francis of Teck
Prince Francis of Teck, GCVO, DSO , was a member of the British Royal Family, the brother of Queen Mary....
(her maternal uncle).
Education
Princess Mary was educated by governesses, but shared some lessons with her brothers, Prince EdwardEdward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
(later Edward VIII), Prince Albert
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
(later George VI), and Prince Henry
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester was a soldier and member of the British Royal Family, the third son of George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary....
(later Duke of Gloucester, whose birth was the first of many that saw her superseded in the line of succession). She became fluent in German and French and developed a life-long interest in horses and horse racing. Her first state appearance was at the coronation of her parents at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
on 11 June 1911.
Royal duties
During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Princess Mary visited hospitals and welfare organizations with her mother, assisting with projects to give comfort to British servicemen and assistance to their families. One of these projects was Princess Mary's Christmas Gift Fund, through which £100,000 worth of gifts was sent to all British soldiers and sailors for Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, 1914. This initiative was revived in 2005 by the charity uk4u-Thanks!
Uk4u-Thanks!
uk4u-Thanks! is a UK based charity which sends Christmas Boxes to all members of the UK's Armed Forces serving overseas or in hospital at Christmas. It is run by four Director Trustees and is supported by the Ministry of Defence....
. She took an active role in promoting the Girl Guide
Girlguiding UK
Girlguiding UK is the national Guiding organisation of the United Kingdom. Guiding began in the UK in 1910 after Robert Baden-Powell asked his sister Agnes to start a group especially for girls that would be run along similar lines to Scouting for Boys. The Guide Association was a founder member of...
movement, the VADs
Voluntary Aid Detachment
The Voluntary Aid Detachment was a voluntary organisation providing field nursing services, mainly in hospitals, in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The organisation's most important periods of operation were during World War I and World War II.The...
, and the Land Girls
Women's Land Army
The Women's Land Army was a British civilian organisation created during the First and Second World Wars to work in agriculture replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls...
. In 1918, she took a nursing course and went to work at Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is a children's hospital located in London, United Kingdom...
.
Princess Mary's public duties reflected her concerns with nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
, the Girl Guide movement, and the Women's Services.
She became honorary president of the British Girl Guide Association
Girlguiding UK
Girlguiding UK is the national Guiding organisation of the United Kingdom. Guiding began in the UK in 1910 after Robert Baden-Powell asked his sister Agnes to start a group especially for girls that would be run along similar lines to Scouting for Boys. The Guide Association was a founder member of...
in 1920, a position she held until her death. In 1926, she became the commandant-in-chief of the British Red Cross
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom branch of the worldwide impartial humanitarian organisation the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with over 31,000 volunteers and 2,600 staff. At the heart of their work...
Detachments.
Marriage and homes
On 28 February 1922, Princess Mary married Henry Charles George, Viscount LascellesHenry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood
Henry George Charles Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood KG GCVO DSO TD , styled The Hon. Henry Lascelles before 1892 and Viscount Lascelles between 1892 and 1929, was the son of the 5th Earl of Harewood and Lady Florence Bridgeman.Lascelles was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards and commanded the...
(9 September 1882 – 23 May 1947), the elder son of Henry Lascelles, 5th Earl of Harewood
Henry Lascelles, 5th Earl of Harewood
Henry Ulrick Lascelles, 5th Earl of Harewood GCVO, DL was a British peer and the son of Henry Lascelles, 4th Earl of Harewood....
, and Lady Florence Bridgeman of Weston Park
Weston Park
Weston Park is a country house in Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire, England, set in more than of park landscaped by Capability Brown. The park is located north-west of Wolverhampton, and north-east of Telford, close to the border with Shropshire...
. Their wedding at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
was the first royal occasion in which Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
(later Queen Elizabeth), a friend of Princess Mary's and one of the bridesmaids, participated. The Princess was 24, Lord Lascelles was 39. The Princess and her husband had homes in London, Chesterfield House and in Yorkshire, first Goldsborough Hall
Goldsborough Hall
Goldsborough Hall is a Jacobean stately home located in the village of Goldsborough, North Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the Historic Houses Association...
, and later Harewood House
Harewood House
Harewood House is a country house located in Harewood , near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of Treasure Houses of England, a marketing consortium for nine of the foremost stately homes in England...
. Whilst at Goldsborough Hall, Princess Mary had internal alterations made by the architect Sydney Kitson, to suit the upbringing of her two children and instigated the development of formal planting of beech-hedge-lined long borders from the south terrace looking for a quarter of a mile down an avenue of lime trees. The limes were planted by her relatives as they visited the Hall throughout the 1920s, including her father George V and her mother Queen Mary. Goldsborough railway station (now disused) was installed in the neighbouring village of Flaxby
Flaxby
Flaxby is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is in close proximity to the A1 road and east of Knaresborough.Flaxby was once part of the wapentake of Claro....
, along the Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
to York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
line, so that royal guests would have easy passage to the Hall. On 25 March 1923 her first son George was christened at St Mary's Church that adjoins Goldsborough Hall by Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
, the service was attended by King George V and Queen Mary. After becoming the Countess of Harewood on the death of her father-in-law, Princess Mary moved to Harewood House and took a keen interest in the interior decoration and renovation of the Lascelles family's seat. In farming pursuits, Princess Mary also became an expert in cattle breeding.
It has been reported that she did not want to marry Lord Lascelles, that her parents forced her into an arranged marriage, and that Lascelles proposed to her after a wager at his club. Her brother the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, with whom she was very close, was against the marriage because he did not want his sister to marry someone whom she did not love. Her elder son, the Earl of Harewood, however, wrote about his parents' marriage in his memoirs The Tongs and the Bones and challenged these widespread rumours that the marriage was an unhappy one. He says "that they got on well together and had a lot of friends and interests in common".
Princess Mary and Lord Lascelles had two sons:
- George Lascelles, 7th Earl of HarewoodGeorge Lascelles, 7th Earl of HarewoodGeorge Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, KBE AM , styled The Hon. George Lascelles before 1929 and Viscount Lascelles between 1929 and 1947, was the elder son of the 6th Earl of Harewood , and Princess Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and...
(7 February 1923 - 11 July 2011); married, 1949, Marion SteinMarion SteinMaria Donata Nanetta Paulina Gustava Erwina Wilhelmine Stein, CBE , known as Marion Stein, is an Austrian concert pianist and, as a former Countess of Harewood, is also a former member of the British Royal Family....
; divorced 1967; married, 1967, Patricia Elizabeth Tuckwell; had issue. - The Honourable Gerald LascellesGerald LascellesThe Honourable Gerald David Lascelles was the younger son of the 6th Earl of Harewood and Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck. He was the first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He was styled The Honourable Gerald Lascelles...
(21 August 1924 – 27 February 1998); married, 1952, Angela Dowding; had issue; divorced 1978; married Elizabeth Collingwood; had issue.
Princess Royal
On 6 October 1929, Lord Lascelles, who had been created a Knight of the Garter upon his marriage, succeeded his father as 6th Earl of Harewood, Viscount Lascelles, and Baron Harewood. The couple's elder son assumed the courtesy title of Viscount Lascelles. On 1 January 1932, George V declared that his only daughter should bear the title Princess Royal, succeeding her aunt Princess Louise, the Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife who'd died a year before as "Princess Royal".The Princess Royal was particularly close to her eldest brother, the Prince of Wales, who subsequently became Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
(who was known as David to his family). 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
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Later, in November 1947, she allegedly declined to attend the wedding of her niece, The Princess Elizabeth, to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
to protest the fact that the Duke of Windsor had not been invited. She gave ill health as the official reason for her non-attendance. The Duke of Windsor was however invited to the weddings of Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
and Princess Alexandra of Kent
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy is the youngest granddaughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck. She is the widow of Sir Angus Ogilvy...
, his nieces, but out of bitterness he refused to attend.
At the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Princess Royal became chief controller and later controller commandant of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS, renamed the Women's Royal Army Corps
Women's Royal Army Corps
The Women's Royal Army Corps was the corps to which all women in the British Army except medical, dental and veterinary officers and chaplains and nurses belonged from 1949 to 1992.-History:The...
in 1949). In that capacity she travelled Britain visiting its units, as well as wartime canteens and other welfare organizations. On the death of her younger brother, the Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck, and younger brother of Edward VIII and George VI...
, she became the president of Papworth. The Princess Royal became air chief commandant of Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service
Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service
Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service is the nursing branch of the British Royal Air Force.It was established as the Royal Air Force Temporary Nursing Service in 1918, and became part of the permanent establishment as the Royal Air Force Nursing Service on 27 January 1921...
in 1950 and received the honorary rank of general in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in 1956. Also, in 1949, the 10th Gurkha Rifles were renamed the 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles
10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles
The 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles, , was originally an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was first formed in 1890, taking its lineage from a police unit and over the course of its existence it had a number of changes in designation and composition...
in her honour.
After her husband's death in 1947, the Princess Royal lived at Harewood House with her elder son and his family. She became the chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
in 1951, and continued to carry out official duties at home and abroad. She attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953 and later represented the Queen at the independence celebrations of Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
in 1962, and Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
in 1964. One of her last official engagements was to represent the Queen at the funeral of Queen Louise
Louise Mountbatten
Louise Alexandra Marie Irene Mountbatten became Queen consort of Sweden in 1950 and served as such until her death in 1965...
(queen consort of Sweden) in early March 1965.
The Princess Royal also made history that same month of March, 1965, when she visited her brother, the Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor
The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for Prince Edward, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is...
(formerly King Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
) at the London Clinic, where he was recovering from recent eye surgery. The Princess also met her brother's wife, the Duchess of Windsor (at that time, married to the Duke for more than 28 years), one of the Duchess' few meetings with her husband's immediate family up to that time. A few days later, the Queen also visited the Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor
The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for Prince Edward, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is...
, and she accepted the presence of the Duchess, who curtsied to her — the first time that a member of the Royal Family had officially received the Duke's wife.
On 28 March 1965 The Princess Royal suffered a fatal heart attack during a walk with her elder son, Lord Harewood, and his children on the grounds of the Harewood House estate. She was 67 years old. She was buried at Harewood after a private family funeral at York Minster.
Six British monarchs reigned during Princess Mary's lifetime: Queen Victoria (her great-grandmother), Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
(her grandfather), George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
(her father), Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
and George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
(her brothers) and Elizabeth II (her niece).
Titles and styles
- 25 April 1897 – 28 May 1898: Her Highness Princess Mary of York
- 28 May 1898 – 22 January 1901: Her Royal Highness Princess Mary of York
- 22 January 1901 – 9 November 1901: Her Royal Highness Princess Mary of Cornwall and York
- 9 November 1901 – 6 May 1910: Her Royal Highness Princess Mary of Wales
- 6 May 1910 – 22 February 1922: Her Royal Highness The Princess Mary
- 22 February 1922 – 6 October 1929: Her Royal Highness The Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles
- 6 October 1929 – 1 January 1932: Her Royal Highness The Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood
- 1 January 1932 – 28 March 1965: Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal
Born a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Mary was styled Her Highness Princess Mary of York from birth (this was later changed to Her Royal Highness by Queen Victoria). When Queen Victoria died, for a short time she was known as HRH Princess Mary of Cornwall and York (as her father was now the eldest living son of the monarch and thus Duke of Cornwall as well as Duke of York) and then HRH
Princess Mary of Wales when her father was created Prince of Wales. Finally, upon her father's accession as King she was styled and titled HRH
The Princess Mary. After her marriage, her Harewood titles were affixed after her royal titles. When the title Princess Royal was conferred upon her in 1932, she became known as HRH The Princess Royal (occasionally HRH The Princess Mary, Princess Royal). Throughout her life and the various title changes, her signature was simply "Mary".
Honours
British Honours- CI: Companion of the Crown of IndiaOrder of the Crown of IndiaThe Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honours system.The Order was established by Queen Victoria in 1878, when she became Empress of India. The Order is open only to women; no new appointments have been made after the Partition of India in 1947...
, 25 April 1919 - GCStJ: Dame Grand Cross of St John of Jerusalem, 12 May 1926
- GBE: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, 3 June 1927 - GCVO: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian OrderRoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, 11 May 1937 - RRC: Member (First Class) of the Royal Red CrossRoyal Red CrossThe Royal Red Cross is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing.The award was established on 27 April 1883 by Queen Victoria, with a single class of Member...
, 1953 - Royal Family Order of King George VRoyal Family Order of King George VThe Royal Family Order of King George V was a high honour bestowed as a mark of personal esteem on titled female members of the British Royal Family for personal service to King George V.Queen Elizabeth II is the only surviving member of the Order....
- Royal Family Order of King George VIRoyal Family Order of King George VIThe Royal Family Order of King George VI was a high honour bestowed as a mark of personal esteem on titled female members of the British Royal Family for personal service to King George VI....
- Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth IIRoyal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth IIThe Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II is a high honour bestowed as a mark of personal esteem on titled female members of the British Royal Family for personal service to Queen Elizabeth II. It is not automatically awarded and there is no public announcement of the honour...
Foreign Honours Dame of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa
Order of Queen Maria Luisa
The Royal Order of Queen María Luisa is an Order created by Charles IV of Spain by royal decree in April 21 1792 at the request of his wife Queen Maria Luisa, to have a way to reward noble women who distinguished themselves for their services and talents, so it was established as a distinction...
CD: Canadian Forces Decoration
Canadian Forces Decoration
The Canadian Forces Decoration is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to the Governor General of Canada upon his or her appointment as viceroy, which includes the...
Honorary military appointments
British- 1918: Colonel-in-Chief, of The Royal ScotsThe Royal ScotsThe Royal Scots , once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest, and therefore most senior, infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland...
(the Royal Regiment) - 1935: Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal Signal Corps
- 1947: Colonel-in-Chief, of the West Yorkshire Regiment
- 1958: amalgamated, with the East Yorkshire Regiment (The Duke of York's Own), to form the Prince of Wales' Own Yorkshire Regiment
Commonwealth
- 1936–1950: Colonel-in-Chief, of the
Indian Corps of Signals - 1937–1965: Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal
Australian Corps of Signals - 1930–1965: Colonel-in-Chief, of the
Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) - 1940–1965: Colonel-in-Chief, of the Royal
New Zealand Corps of Signals - and several other CommonwealthCommonwealth of NationsThe Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
regiments.