King of Great Britain and Ireland
(1865-1936)
George was the favourite son of his mother, Princess Alexandra. Mother and son used to spent long hours talking and reading outloud. In the evenings they prayed together. Alexandra tought her son the faith and religious practices that would characterized him during all his life.
In September, 1877, Prince Eddy and Prince George joined the Britannia training ship as naval cadets. Prince George had a brilliant developement as a naval cadet, but not Eddy. In 1879, the two brothers went on a three year cruise in the HMS Bacchante, which would take the young princes to South America, West Indies, Australia, Japan and China. They lived with the rest of the crew, havinng meals and sleeping in hammocks with them.
Whe the cruise ended in 1882, Prince Eddy entered Trinity College and Prince George remained in the naval service. He was enlisted in HMS Cnanada in the North America and West India station. In 1885 he was appointed subliutennant. He served subsequently in the HMS Thunder, Dreadnought and Alexandra. When he served in the HMS Alexandra, Prince George was stationed at Malta and his ship was commanded by his uncle Prince Alfred, Duke of Edimburgh. He became very attached to his Edimburgh cousins (Missy, Ducky and Sandra) who lived in Malta with their parents. He called them "the dear three" and he used to ride besides their ponies in his own beautiful horse. Prince George was specially fond of Missy, who would later become Queen Marie of Romania, to whom he used to write when hew was sailing things like: "I am dying for seeing you, my lovely Missy...you are always in my thoughts..." He would have probably marry her if her mother, Marie Duchess of Edimburgh, who dilsiked everything related to the British Royal family, had not force her daughter to reject her handsome cousin.
While in Malta Prince Geore left his beard grow, while Prince Eddy was not still shaving everyday. His growth beard produce some criticism at home since it seemed to challenge Prince Eddy's masculinity. Eddy himself advised his younger brother to take his beard off. "It makes you look so much older" he said.
After two unfortunated love affairs (with Princess Alix of Hesse and Princess Helene of Orleans), Prince Eddy became engage to Princess Mary of Teck, a great-granddaughter of King George III. Princess May as she was called, was the only daughter of Princess Mary Adelaide of cambridge, who was the youngest daughter of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, son of King George III and brother of Queen Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent. So Princess May's mother was the Queen 's first cousin. By her mother's side, Princess Mary adelaide was aslo a first cousin of Princess Alexandra's mother, Queen Louise of Denmark. Princess May's father was Prince Franz of Teck, born in Vienna in 1837. He was the son of Duke Alexander of Wurtemberg and his morganatic wife Countess Claudine Rhedey. Duke Alexander had been heir apparent to the Wurtrmberg kingdom before he married morganatically. Princess May had three younger brothers: Prince Adolphus, who became 2nd Duke of Teck and 1st. Marquess of Cambridge, Francis that remained single and Alexander, who became Eral of Athlone and married another of Queen Victoria's granddaughters, Princess Alice of Albany. Princess May and her brothers spent a happy childhood in their parents' company. They met the Wales children (Eddy, George and their three sisters) at a very young age and they used to be playmates.
During the last week of October, 1891, Princess May and her brother, Prince Adolphus, were commanded to leave for Balmoral, Queen Victoria's palace in Scotland, without delay. The reason of these sudden commandwas that the QWueen had decided that Princes May could be a suitable bride for the heir presumtive to the throne, her grandson, Prince Eddy, who had recently failed in his love affairs with Princess Alix of Hesse and Princess Helene of Orleans and it was urgent for him to get married and provide England with heirs. The Queen invited Princess May to Balmoral in order to get to know her better and to confirm her own that the young Princes would make a suitable future Queen. Queen Victoria was highly satisfied with Princes May; she described her as "a particularly nice girl, so quiet and yet cheerful and so very carefully brought up and so sensible. She is grown very pretty".
On December 2, 1891, Prince Eddy met princess May and her parents at Luton Hoo, Mr de Falbes's house in Bedforshire. The next day, Thurdsday, December 3, he proposed and she accepted. The wedding was fixed for Februray 27. On January 4, 1892, Princess May and her parents travelled to Sandringham House, the home of the Prince and Princess of Wales; the Prince of wales, the Duke of Cambridge (Princess May's uncle) and Prince Eddy went with them. When they arrived they found that Prince Eddy's sister, Princess Victoria, was ill with influenza. That January 1892 was particularly bad since several members of the suite were ill; Prince George was recovering from a dangerous attack of typhoid fever that had put him at the doors of death. The family had gathered in order to celebrate Prince Eddy's 28th birthday.
On January 7, a day before his birthday, Prince Eddy felt ill while being out shooting. Princess May convinced him to go back with her to the house where Prince Geore took his temperature and sent him to bed.The next day, his birthday, it was notorious for everyone that Prince Eddy had caught influnza too. He was unable to attend his birthday dinner. The following days, Prince Eddy's condition worsened.He died on the morning of January 14, 1892, with his mother, Princess Alexandra at teh head of his bed and his brither Prince George, kneeling at one side of the bed. Princess May was also in her fiance's bedroom. at that terrible moment.
Prince Eddy's sudden and unexpected death shocked the whole country. Now the throne of England must ultimately descend to his only brother, Prince George, who was 26 yeras old and unmarried. He was still convalescent of an attack of typhoid fever and he was thin and pale; after his brother's death his nerves were shattered and suffered form insomnia. It was feared all over the country that another tragedy could hit the Royal family and something could happen to Prince George. It was of vital importance that the Prince got married.
Nevertheless, Quee Victoria had another possible bride for the new heir presumtive, who, in May 1892, was created Duke of York by his grandmother. The Princess of Wales's sister, Dagmar, was the present Empress of Russia. Before marrying Tsar Alexnder III, Dagmar had been originally engaged to Alexander's elder brother, the then Tsarevitch Nicholas, who died before the wedding. Dagmare married then to her late fiance's younger brother, who afterwards became Tsar. Queen Victoria tought that the same situation could work in Prince George's case. He must married his late's brother's fiance, Princess May and the Queen set her heart on the affair.
On December 1892, Princess May and her parents went to Sandringham for the Princess of Wales's birthday. At Christmas prince George sent her a broach. Until then nobody had talked openly about a possible engagement but the whole England expected it and the newspapers were full of rumours and reports. By February 1893 Princess May found herself in an embarrasing position. Everyone talked about an engagement that didn't yet exist. Even her parents and brothers now talked openly about it. On the other hand, the Prince and Princess of Wales were less enthusiastic about the matter becuase the passing of a bride from their dead son to his living brother seemed too implicate that Princess May had not care about Eddy. For his part, Prince George was still depress for his brother's death and felt himself nervous and anxious about his new position. His health was still weak and moreover he had no idea of which would be May's attitude towards him. In the spring of 1893, the Princess of Wales decided to take Prince George with her to Greece to have a break form his wories. So on March they sailed for Athens on the Royal Yatch Osborne, accompanied by George's sisters,Victoria and Maud.
During his stay in Athens, Prince George exchange several affectionate letters with Princess May. It was also during this stay in Greece that Prnce George had some talks with his beloved aunt Olga, Queen of the Hellenes and wife of the Princess of Wales's brother, King George I of the Hellenes. It was Queen Olga who urged George to propose Princess May on his return to England.
Prince George returned to London on April 29 after an official visit to Rome. He went to Sheen to stay with his sister, Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife. On May 2 he dined at White Lodge, home of the Teck family, and the next afternoon Princess May went to have tea with the Duchess of Fife. That day, in Sheen's gardens, beside the pond, Prince George, Duke of York proposed Princess May of Teck and was accepted. They told the news inmediately to the rest of the family. The Princess of Wales was a bit sad becuase of his dead son but George and May agreed that Prince Eddy would be delighted with their engagement. Eighteen years later, King George V would write: "We suit each other admirably and I thank God every day that he should have brought us together, specially under the tragic circumstances of Eddy's death, and people said only I married you out of pitty and simpathy. That shows how little the world really knows what it is talking about".
On the early morning of the wedding day, July 6 1893, crowds of people were already gathered on the route the nuptial procession would pass on. Princes May sent Prince George a note from Buckinghma Palace where she was staying with her mother: "I should much like to give you a wedding ring if you will wear it for my sake. I therefore send you here with one or two to try on for size. Let me have the one yo choose at once & and I will give it to you8 in the chapel. What a memorable day in our lives this will be. God grant it may bring us much happiness. I love you with all my heart. Yours for ever and ever. May".
At 11:30 the first procession left Buckingham Palace consisting in 12 open state landaus, each drawn by 4 cream coloured horses. In one of these landaus there was Tsarevitch Nicholas (the future Tsar Nicholas II), Prince George's cousin who was ver look alike to him. In other landau were Pirncess May's uncle and aunt, the Duke of Cambridge and the Grand Duchess of Meckenburg Strelitz. In the 12th landau was the Princess of Wales , who dressed in white satin and shimering with diamonds looked ethereal like a spirit of another world.
At 11:45 the second procession left the palace. It was the one of the bridegroom and his father. The third procession was that of the Queen who was accompanied by her cousin, the bride's mother, Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck.
The last procssion was the one of the bride. Princess May was supported by her father and her eldest brother, Prince Adolphus. She was wearing a simple dress of white and silver, and her small lace veil was fastened with a diamonf Rose of York.
The Queen, whose procession had taken a shorter route, was the first to arrive to the Chapel Royal. She was followed by the Princess of Wales, the Queen of Denmark and the Tsarevitch. The next to arrive was the bridegroom and his father and at last arrived the bride, Princess May, followed by her bride maids in attendance (Ducky and Sandra of Edimburgh, Helena Victoria of Schleswig Holstein, the bridegroom's sisters, Victoria and Maud, Princesses Margaret and Patricia of Connaught, Princess Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg and Princess Alice of Battenberg). After the ceremony, the newly-wed went to Sandringham by train for their honeymoon. Sandringham would be Prince George and Princess May's country home for the next 33 years.
