Affairs of the Duke of Teck

Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck

Jan. 18, 1894 - The London Truth reports that the disposal of the Duchess of Teck's Kensington Palace apartments has turned out stressful and tiresome. Among the many royal who are interested of moving in included Princess Louise and her younger brother the Duke of Albany.

Princess Louise finds them "more pleasant and more convenient than the suite she now occupies." Meanwhile, the Duke of Albany also wants to have a residence of his own, since Claremont "is only lent to him" with certain restrictions.

The Queen has not yet decided on the fate of the Duchess' apartments, although it was heard that she intends to end "the arrangement under which certain junior members of her family use Buckingham Palace as a town house" since aside from causing great inconvenience for Her Majesty's part, the expense of running these town houses are also a cause for concern.

Reports have surfaced that the Duchess of Teck and her family fled abroad to run away from creditors. However, "this is a malicious fabrication" since the Duke and Duchess' debts had already been paid in full by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, who issued 30,000 pounds from her own pocket during the last few years.

(The Duchess of Teck was born Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, youngest daughter of the Duke of Cambridge. She was Queen Mary's mother.)

Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck

Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck, is known today as the Queen Mary's mother. Dubbed as the "people's princess," the Duchess of Teck was one of the earliest royals to support a wide range of charitable organizations.

(left) Portrait of Princess Mary of Cambridge when she was six, painted by Sir Edwin Landseer (1839)

Born in 1822 in Hanover, she was the youngest daughter and child of Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, youngest son of King George III, and of Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel. In 1866, she married Prince Francis, who was later ennobled duke of Teck. They had four children, the eldest being crowned as Queen Mary, consort of King George V of England.

Due to the duchess' extravagant lifestyle, the Teck family was forced to flee England and, from 1883 until 1885, they lived with their relatives in Europe. After their return to England, the duchess of Teck devoted most of his time on phi atrophic causes.

(right) The portrait of Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck by Hermann Schmiechen (1882)

According to James Pope Hennessy’s official biography of Queen Mary, the duchess "gave her patronage to any charity, bazaar or organization 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.”

She died in her country home, White Lodge in Richmond Park in 1897.

For more of the duchess of Teck's life and story, see her biography at Suite101.

(above) The duchess of Teck with her daughter,
the duchess of York, after the birth of her grandson,
the future King Edward VIII, 1894.