Mary of Teck

MARY OF TECK d1953. Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India (from 6th May 1910 until 20th January 1936) as the wife of King-Emperor George V. At the age of 24, she was betrothed to her second cousin once removed (Prince Albert Victor Duke of Clarence and Avondale) the eldest son of the Prince of Wales and second in line to the throne. Six weeks after the announcement of the engagement, he died unexpectedly during an influenza pandemic. The following year, she became engaged to Albert Victor's only surviving brother (George) who subsequently became king. 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. After George's death in 1936, she became queen mother when her eldest son (Edward VIII) ascended the throne. To her dismay, he abdicated later the same year in order to marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. She supported her second son (George VI) until his death in 1952. She died aged 85 on March 24th 1953, ten weeks before her grand-daughter Elizabeth II was crowned