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Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 1867 – 24 March 1953) was Queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress consort of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V. Although technically a princess of Teck, in the Kingdom of Württemberg, she was born and raised in England. Her parents were Francis, Duke of Teck, who was of German extraction, and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, a member of the British Royal Family. She was informally known as "May", after her birth month. At the age of 24 she was betrothed to Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the eldest son of the Prince of Wales, but six weeks after the announcement of the engagement he died unexpectedly of pneumonia. The following year she became engaged to Albert Victor's next surviving brother, George, who subsequently became King. Before her husband's accession she was successively Duchess of York, Duchess of Cornwall and Princess of Wales. As queen consort from 1910, she supported her husband through the First World War, his ill health and major political changes arising from the aftermath of the war and the rise of socialism and nationalism. After George's death in 1936, she became queen mother when her eldest son, Edward, ascended the throne, but to her dismay he abdicated later the same year in order to marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. She supported her second son, Albert, who succeeded to the throne as George VI, until his death in 1952. She died the following year, during the reign of her granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II, who had not yet been crowned. ==Early life== Princess Victoria Mary ("May") of Teck was born on 26 May 1867 at Kensington Palace, London. Her father was Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, the son of Duke Alexander of Württemberg by his morganatic wife, Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde. Her mother was Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the third child and younger daughter of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel. She was baptised in the Chapel Royal of Kensington Palace on 27 July 1867 by Charles Thomas Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury, and her three godparents were Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII and May's future father-in-law), and Princess Augusta, the Duchess of Cambridge.〔''The Times (London)'', Monday, 29 July 1867 p. 12 col. E〕 Before she became Queen, she was known to her family, friends and the public by the diminutive name of "May", after her birth month.〔Pope-Hennessy, p. 24〕 May's upbringing was "merry but fairly strict".〔Pope-Hennessy, p. 66〕 She was the eldest of four children, the only girl, and "learned to exercise her native discretion, firmness and tact" by resolving her three younger brothers' petty boyhood squabbles.〔Pope-Hennessy, p. 45〕 They played with their cousins, the children of the Prince of Wales, who were similar in age.〔Pope-Hennessy, p. 55〕 May was educated at home by her mother and governess (as were her brothers until they were sent to boarding schools).〔Pope-Hennessy, pp. 68, 76, 123〕 The Duchess of Teck spent an unusually long time with her children for a lady of her time and class,〔 and enlisted May in various charitable endeavours, which included visiting the tenements of the poor.〔Pope-Hennessy, p. 68〕 Although her mother was a grandchild of King George III, May was only a minor member of the British Royal Family. Her father, the Duke of Teck, had no inheritance or wealth, and carried the lower royal style of ''Serene Highness'' because his parents' marriage was morganatic.〔Pope-Hennessy, pp. 36–37〕 However, the Duchess of Teck was granted a parliamentary annuity of £5000, and received about £4000 a year from her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge.〔Pope-Hennessy, p. 114〕 Despite this, the family was deeply in debt and lived abroad from 1883, in order to economise.〔Pope-Hennessy, p. 112〕 The Tecks travelled throughout Europe, visiting their various relations. They stayed in Florence, Italy, for a time, where May enjoyed visiting the art galleries, churches, and museums.〔Pope-Hennessy, p. 133〕 In 1885, the Tecks returned to London, and took up residence at White Lodge, in Richmond Park. May was close to her mother, and acted as an unofficial secretary, helping to organise parties and social events. She was also close to her aunt, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and wrote to her every week. During the First World War, the Crown Princess of Sweden helped pass letters from May to her aunt, who lived in enemy territory in Germany until her death in 1916.〔Pope-Hennessy, pp. 503–505〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mary of Teck」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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