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March 28, 1965
The Princess Royal died earlier today at her home, Harewood House, in Leeds, reports the New York Times. She was 67 years old.
The Princess was the third child and only daughter of the late King George V and Queen Mary and the aunt of Queen Elizabeth II.
HH Princess Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary was born on April 25, 1897, at York Cottage on the Sandringham Estate. She was named for her paternal grandmother, Queen Victoria; her grandmothers, the Princess of Wales (Alexandra) and the Duchess of Teck (Princess Mary Adelaide); and her paternal great aunt, Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and By Rhine, who was born on April 25, 1843. It was not until a year later that Mary and her two older brothers, Princes Edward and Albert of York, were given the HRH. At the time, children of the sovereign and grandchildren in the male line were royal highness. Great-grandchildren in the male line were HH - His or Her Highness.
On May 31, 1898, Queen Victoria issued a new Letters Patent.
"Crown Office, May 31, 1898
The Queen has been pleased by letters patent under the Great Seal, to declare that the children of the eldest son of any Prince of Wales shall have, and at all times hold and enjoy, the style, title, and attribute of "Royal Highness."
Although her first name honored her great-grandmother, the princess was styled as Princess Mary. She was "walking on the grounds at Harewood this summerlike afternoon with her elder son, the seventh earl of Harewood," when she became ill and collapsed to the ground.
Lord Harewood's two younger sons were with them when the Princess "tripped and fell." Her son helped her to a bench as the three young men ran to get someone to get a car to bring her back to Harewood House.
By the time the doctor arrived, the Princess Royal was dead. A statement was released tonight stating the Princess Royal "died peacefully this afternoon from a coronary thrombosis."
The Princess had "complained for some time about her heart, but her doctors had given her reasonable clearance while warning her not to do too much," according to Lord Harewood's memoirs, The Tongs and The Bones. "There was no apparent crisis and I had no idea that in the quarter of an hour which intervened before the car came, she died quite peacefully in my arms...I suppose she would have wanted that, as, although she liked her due, she also disliked fuss and bother -- of any kind."
The announcement was made after the Princess's younger son, Hon. Gerald Lascelles, was told about his death. Mr. Lascelles and his wife live at Fort Belevedere in Windsor Great Park, near Ascot.
The Princess Royal "led a very active public life, often representing the Queen at home or abroad." On March 13th, she represented the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at his aunt's funeral, Queen Louise of Sweden. The Duke was on an official tour and could not attend the funeral.
Only ten days ago, the Princess visited her brother, the Duke of Windsor, and his wife at the London Clinic, where he had undergone eye surgery.
On February 28, 1922, Princess Mary married Viscount Lascelles, the eldest son of the 6th Earl of Harewood. The wedding took place "in the midst of one of the most desperate depressions" in British history. The princess's wedding gave the British people "their drooping spirits when what they needed most was something to cheer about."
The couple had two sons, George Henry Hubert, 7th Earl of Harewood, born February 7, 1923, at Chesterfield House in London, and the Hon. Gerald David Lascelles (August 24, 1924, at Goldsborough Hall, Knaresborough). Lord Lascelles succeeded his father in 1929 as the 6th Earl of Harewood. He died at Harewood House on May 24, 1947.
On January 1, 1932, King George V bestowed the non-hereditary title Princess Royal on Princess Mary nearly a year after the death of his sister, Princess Louise, who was named Princess Royal by her father, King Edward VII, in November 1901.
As the only daughter, Princess Mary was a "bit of a tomboy." She did "close order infantry drill with her brothers behind Pipe Major Angus Forsyth. She shinned up trees and scuffed with her brothers, and she received preliminary instructions in seamanship with them."
The Princess Royal "devoted her life to charity, social service, the Red Cross, and Girl Guides, serving as president." The New York Times acknowledged that she "embodied the image of public service that the royal family cultivated in this century."
She was 15th in the line of succession at the time of her death.
The Princess Royal is survived by her two sons, George, the Earl of Harewood and Hon. Gerald Lascelles, and four grandsons, David, Viscount Lascelles, Hon. James Lascelles, Hon Jeremy Lascelles and Henry Lascelles, and two of her brothers, HRH The Duke of Windsor and HRH The Duke of Gloucester. Three of her brothers, HM King George VI, HRH The Duke of Kent, and HRH The Prince John, predeceased her.
At the time of her death, she had six grandsons, as Lord Harewood and his younger brother, Gerald, were the fathers of illegitimate sons. Gerald's son, Martin, by his mistress, Elizabeth Colvin, was born in 1962. Lord Harewood's fourth son, Mark, was born in 1964, whose mother was Australian-born violinist Patricia Tuckwell, whom he married in 1967.
Lord Harewood wrote in his memoir that his mother knew about Mark. "I had the impression she would have done anything than raise the subject herself. We in fact talked about himself only, and she received what I had to say in total silence and made no comment of any kind, except to ask on the subject of a divorce: 'What will people say?' "
He also noted that his mother had been advised to "get clear of Harewood before the breaking of the scandal that would follow Mark's birth and my divorce." The Princess Royal considered moving south, perhaps near Sandringham, "which she loved."
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