I recently watched a documentary about Queen Mary where she was described as the first “hands on” royal. I thought this to be an interesting description, because while she was very involved in her charities and the war effort, etc. I think this statement really overlooks both her mother, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge (later Duchess of Teck), and her mother-in-law, Queen Alexandra. I know that Princess Mary Adelaide’s charity is likely not well known but she lived a life devoted to charity. While she became the Duchess of Teck upon her marriage, she was actually a minor member of the British Royal family as she was the first cousin of Queen Victoria. The Tecks were often short on cash, but Princess Mary Adelaide, with her giving heart, often made the problem worse because she would often donate the money she did have! She was particularly involved with children charities giving both time and money. There are instances where she actually wrote to her cousin, Queen Victoria asking for cash because she was short on it. While she and her family did have an apartment in Kensington Palace, she was normally refused money by her cousin, Queen Victoria.
Queen Alexandra, whom I believe is the most overlooked modern British Queen, was also an incredibly “hands on” royal. She was Princess Diana before Princess Diana. She came in and completely shook things up. After she had a very difficult childbirth that left her with poor hearing and a slight limp, she used her disabilities to her advantage. It is said that when visiting a hospital, she actually put her leg up on the hospital bed of a patient to show that she too struggled with a disability. Much as Princess Diana did, Queen Alexandra was not afraid to get right into it and when it came to her actions, the royal barriers were down. Part of this is because of just who she was, but much of it is likely because she had a very casual upbringing in Denmark. Her father was a very minor royal before he was chosen as the next King, so she and her siblings had a much more down to earth and fun childhood than those in line to the throne would have. Apparently her mother-in-law, Queen Victoria, often had a lot of opinions about how she should act, and she would say, “ok” to appease the Queen but then continue to carry on exactly how she wanted. Ha!

While other members of the Royal Family were charitable, Queen Alexandra and Princess Mary Adelaide really changed the game when it came to participation with charities as they gave so much of their time (and in Mary’s case money) and were not afraid to get right into the mix. With these two women, the barriers were often down, and that is no doubt where Queen Mary got much of her style. With their examples and her own passions, Queen Mary continued to influence the entire house of Windsor, which is seen more clearly than ever today.
Thanks for reading and I hope you learned something new. I also want to encourage all of my subscribers to join the Mostly British History Chat. I will be posting many of my amazing historical finds there for you all to enjoy as well. First up, an interview the Queen Mother gave when she was 90! It is absolutely fascinating. You can expect a few of these finds to be dropped in the chat each week!
Next up, we will be finishing our series on the letters between The Prince of Wales (Edward VIII) and his mistress, Freda Dudley Ward! I will link the to previous parts of the series below.
Episode 3- Past Loves, Casual Photos, a Weekend Home and VERY Naughty Jokes
Episode 4- The World’s Most Awkward Photo….and an Equally Awkward Love Triangle
Episode 5- An Unnatural Life: Prince Edward Reveals His Deep Down Feelings
Episode 7- Straight From The Prince’s Pen- Honest Opinions From The Prince of Wales
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Finally, I want to highlight the start of a series by
. He is going to be publishing pieces focusing on Kingdoms/Countries that no longer exist. His first of this series was on Prussia, and it was fascinating!Until Next Time,
McKenzie