Queen Mary.

Great-granddaughter of King George III and second cousin to Queen Victoria, Queen Mary was born Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes May at Kensington Palace on May 26, 1867. Her parents were Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge and Duke Francis of Teck. Financial difficulties forced the family to move around Europe in 1883, settling in Italy before returning to London two years later. Already handling family correspondence, Mary acted as her mother’s unofficial secretary, writing to relatives including her aunt in Germany and her cousin Maude, daughter of the future King Edward VII.

In 1891, at Queen Victoria’s request, Mary became engaged to Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, but he died shortly after. Queen Victoria suggested Mary marry his brother George, and they wed on July 6, 1893. As Duchess of York, then Princess of Wales from 1901, and finally queen consort in 1910, Mary supported her husband King George V for 25 years. After his death in 1936, her son Edward VIII abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson, and Mary supported her second son George VI, attending his coronation in 1937 as the first queen dowager to do so. During World War II, she moved to the country for safety. After the war, she turned to charitable work and collecting jewels, including those of Empress Marie of Russia.

On July 6, 1893, Queen Mary married King George V. Though arranged, the couple fell in love and had six children: Edward 1894, Albert 1895, Mary 1897, George 1902, and John 1905. She was close to her family, particularly her son George VI and her grandchildren Elizabeth and Margaret. In her later years, she helped look after her great-grandchildren Charles and Anne when their parents were away. She corresponded regularly with her family, and her devotion to her children was evident.

The first British queen consort since Catherine Parr to be born a British subject, Queen Mary set a precedent by attending George VI’s coronation in 1937. Her support during the abdication crisis of 1936 underscored her role. The ocean liner RMS Queen Mary was named in her honor in 1934; she made her only public broadcast during its christening. She received numerous honors, including the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour and the Royal Victorian Chain. Her dignity and commitment to royal duties are remembered, alongside her role as grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II.