Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor

561 Pages·1984·22.47 MB·English

by  Anne Edwards

MATRIARCH
BOOKS BY ANNE EDWARDS
Biography
A Remarkable Woman: A Biography ofK atharine Hepburn
Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor
Road to Tara: The Life of Margaret Mitchell
Sonya: The Life of Countess Tolstoy
Viven Leigh: A Biography
Judy Garland: A Biography
Autobiography
The Inn and Us with Stephen Citron
Novels
The Survivors
Miklos Alexandrovich Is Missing
Haunted Summer
Shadow of a Lion
The Hesitant Heart
Child of Night
Children's Books
The Great Houdini
Barnum
A Child's Bible
MATRIARCH
Queen Mary and
the House of Windsor
Reprint Edition of the Classic
ANNE EDWARDS
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
Lanham Boulder New York London
• • •
The author would like to thank the Radio Hulton Picture Library,
Illustrated London News, and British Museum for permission to reprint
the following photographs: Princess Mary Adelaide; Duke of Teck;
Prince Franz, Duke of Teck, with children; Princess May at 7; the
Teck family in 1891: Radio Hulton Picture Library; The Prince of
Wales: Illustrated London News; Page from North London Press, Novem­
ber 30, 1889: British Museum; Duke of Clarence in hunting outfit;
Duke of Clarence in uniform; Balmoral, c. 1891; Queen Victoria in
cart with dog and Tsar and Tsarina, c. 1896: Radio Hulton Picture
Library; Princess May, c. 1891: Illustrated London News; wedding pic­
ture; Prince George and the future Nicholas II, 1892; York Cottage,
Sandringham; Sandringham; Princess May with Edward, Prince of
Wales; Queen Victoria and her family, 1895; Princess May, Duchess
of York, with two infant sons; Two future Kings of England; Prince
George and Prince John, 1909; The four oldest York children; Prin­
cess Mayas Duchess of York; Interior York House; The drawing room
at Sandringham; Edward VII with Caesar; Princess May in dress worn
at Coronation of Edward VII; King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra
on Royal Yacht; Mr. and Mrs. George Keppel: Radio Hulton Picture
Library; Mrs. George Keppel: Illustrated London News; Nine kings; Fu­
neral procession, King Edward VII; The new Prince of Wales: Radio
Hulton Picture Library; Coronation, interior Westminster Abbey:
Illustrated London News; Queen Mary, Coronation procession; Queen
Mary in Coronation robes; Entering Delhi; Leaving the train; The
Durbar Coronation: Radio Hulton Picture Library; King George
as big-game hunter: Illustrated London News; Under pavilion, Indian
Durbar; King George and Queen Mary: Radio Hulton Picture Li­
brary; Princess Victoria Louise and Prince Ernest Augustus; Kaiser
Wilhelm and King George: Illustrated London News; Queen Mary
wearing the Durbar Emeralds; Queen Mary and King George with
President and Mrs. Wilson: Radio Hulton Picture Library; Prince of
Wales with King George in France: Illustrated London NewS; Queen
Mary reviewing arsenal; Review of American troops; King George
and his four sons: Radio Hulton Picture Library; Queen Mary in car;
Royal brothers; Royal guests; Wedding of Lord Mountbatten and
Miss Edwina Ashley: Radio Hulton Picture Library; Prince of Wales
at the Derby, 1926: Illustrated London News; Queen Mary smiling;
The Prince of Wales and Mrs. Simpson; Freda Dudley Ward with Sir
P. Sassoon: Radio Hulton Picture Library; Gloria Vanderbilt and
Lady Thelma Furness; Royal group on balcony: Illustrated London
News; Queen Mart with granddaughter Elizabeth II: Radio Hulton
Picture Library; State funeral: Illustrated London News; Queen Mary
and King Edward VIII; Queen Elizabeth and Osbert Sitwell; Eleanor
Roosevelt and King George VI; Three Queens; The Royal Family
at Royal Lodge; Four Generations: Radio Hulton Picture Library;
Queen Mary at the Festival of Britain; Queen Mary with grandson
(Duke of Kent); Queen Mary's last photograph; a Royal Matriarch's
funeral: Radio Hulton Picture Library.
Published by Rowman & Littlefield
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4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowman.com
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Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK
Copyright © 1984 by Anne Edwards
First Rowman & Littlefield edition 2015
Lyrics from "A Room with a View" by Noel Coward copyright 1928 by Chappell & Co.,
Ltd. Copyright renewed. International copyright secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by
permission.
Book design by Patrice Fodero
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
The first edition of this book was previously cataloged by the Library of Congress as
follows:
Edwards, Anne, 1927-
Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Mary, Queen, consort of George V, King of Great Britain, 1867-1953. 2. Windsor,
House of. 3. Great Britain-Queens-Biography. I. Title.
DA574.A2E38 1986
941.083'092'4 [B] 85-24462
ISBN 978-1-4422-3655-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4422-3656-1 (electronic)
t:::::,TM
e The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
For Hilary
who helped me to span an ocean
CONTENTS
Preface 1 1
When Grandmama Was Queen 15
Uncle Wales Becomes King 121
Papa and Mama Are Crowned 217
Mama-Matriarch and Queen Mother 397
Acknowledgements 471
Notes 473
Bibliography 495
Index 509
GEORGE III
(b. 1738)
1760-1820
I I I I I
GEORGE IV Frederick. WILLIAM IV Charlotte. Edward. = Victoria.
(b. 1762) Duke of York (b. 1765) Princess Royal Duke Princess of
1820-1830 1763-1803 1830-1837 1766-1828 of Kent Saxe-Coburg­
1767-1820 Saalfield
1786-1861
VICTORIA Albert. Prince
(b. 1819) of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
1837-1901 1819-1861
Victoria Frederick III. EDWARD VII = ALEXANDRA. Alice = Louis IV.
("Vicky"). German Emperor ("Bertie"). Princess of 1843-1878 Grand Duke
Princess and King of (b. 1841) Denmark of Hesse
Royal Prussia 1901-1910 1844-1925 1837-1892
(Empress 1831-1888
Frederick)
1840-1901
I
William II. Three other sons and Victoria Louis of
German Emperor four daughters 1863-1950 Battenberg.
and King of Marquess of MiHord
Prussia Haven
1859-1941 1854-1921
(grandparents of Prince Philip.
Duke of Edinburgh)
Albert Victor
("Eddy").
Duke of Clarence
1a8n64d A-v1o8n9d2a le (GbE. O18R6G5E) V M("Maryay "_) ____
1910-1936 1867-1953
I I I
EDWARD VIII Wallis GEORGE VI = Elizabeth Mary. = Henry.
("David") Warfield ("Bertie") Bowes-Lyon Princess Viscount Lascelles.
(b. 1894) Simpson (b. 1895) 1900- Royal Sixth Earl of Harewood
1936 1896- 1936-1952 1897-1965 1882-1947
(Duke of
Windsor. d. 1972) Two sons
EliZABETH II = Philip. Margaret Rose = Antony
(b. 1926) Duke of Armstrong-Jones.
1952- Edinburgh First Earl of
1921- Snowdon
(great-grandson of 1930-
Princess Alice. second (div.)
daughter of Queen Victoria) One son and one
daughter
/
Charles. Diana Spencer Anne = Mark Phillips Andrew Edward
Prince of Wales I 1961- '950- '948- 1960- 1964-
1948-
William One son and one
1982- daughter
Charlotte of
Mecklenburg-Strelitz
1744-1818
I I I I I I
Augusta Elizabeth Emest-Augustus I, Augustus, Adolphus, = Augusta, Two
1768-1840 1770-1840 King of Hanover Duke of Sussex Duke of Princess other
1771-1851 1773-1843 Cambridge of Hesse sons and
1774-1850 1797-1889 three
other
daughters
George, Augusta Frederick, Mary Adelaide Francis,
Duke of Cambridge 1822-1916 Grand Duke of 1833-1897 Prince, and
1819-1904 Mecklenburg-Strelitz 1871, First
1819-1904 Duke of Teck
1837-1900
I I I I I I
Alfred, Helena louise Arthur, leopold, = Helen Beatrice
Duke of 1846-1923 1848-1939 Duke of Duke of of Waldeck- 1857-1944
Edinburgh Connaught Albany Pyrmont
1844-1900 1850-1942 1853-1884 1861-1922
I
Alix Nicholas II, Three other
("Alicky") Tsar of Russia daughters and
1872-1918 1868-1918 two sons
I I I I
louise Victoria ("Toria") Maud Alexander
1867-1931 1868-1935 1869-1938 1871
Adolphus Francis Alexander George
("Dolly") ("Frank") ("Alge")
1868-1927 1870-1910 1874-1957
I I I
Henry Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott George, Marina, John
("Harry"), 1901- Duke of Princess 1905-1919
Duke of Kent of Greece
Gloucester 1902-1942 1906-1968
1900-1974
Two sons Two sons and one daughter