Tuesday Tea and Tomes: Princess Mary, the first modern princess and a role in Downton Abbey, too!

Princess Mary, The Frist Modern Princess by Elisabeth Basfor

The first Downton Abbey movie, which premiered in 2019, continued the saga of the Crawley family and their staff as they approach the 1930's. The major plotline of the film is an upcoming visit from King George V and Queen Mary to Downton Abbey. Another character's story, that of Princess Mary, begins and ends so quickly, it's easy to miss it, not unlike history's account of the real life royal and her trail blazing ways. But, with the recent biography by Elisabeth Basford, the author takes the overlooked princess out of the corner and puts her center stage under the well-deserved spotlight.

In Downton Abbey, Princess Mary, is portrayed as a meek, timid woman married to a much older, stern and unflinching aristocrat. Although she was shy, and her husband was 15 years older, her personality and marriage were more complex and layered than certainly ten or fifteen minutes allow in a movie. But, history needs a little updating, and Elisabeth Basford finally does this story justices in "Princess Mary, The First Modern Princess".

Princess Mary featured in Downton Abbey movie

BTS at the "real" DA, Highclere

Mary was the only daughter of King George V and his wife, Queen Mary. As hard as it is to comprehend for those of us who have known only one English monarch in our lifetime until last September, Princess Mary had lived through six, beginning with her great grandmother, Queen Victoria, then grandfather, father, two brothers and finally, her niece, Elizabeth. 

Quiet and reserved, like her parents, Mary also inherited her father's keen sense of duty. As noted in our review of Spare, it was King George V, who created the "charity map", a chart kept of all the royals' charitable acts throughout the year. At Christmastime, the King would review and note who had made the most public appearances (a practice that Prince Harry felt devolved into a ridiculous competition among the family, with some members inflating their numbers by adding activities that weren't really charitable).

Buckingham Palace - where Mary once lived

Despite her introverted nature, Mary pursued a career in nursing, took on the role of advocate and fundraiser for furthering the education of women and, literally rolled up her sleeves to assist during the war effort, be it helping in the cafeteria, visiting wounded soldiers or paying respect to those who died in service. In fact, it was Mary who began the tradition of placing her bridal bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Westminster Abbey after her wedding. Both Princess Dianna and Catherine Middleton followed suit - the ladies we think of as being those the first to deviate from traditional royal roles. But, there was Princess Mary, decades before, charting such new paths.

As for Mary's marriage to the old and difficult aristocrat as portrayed in the movie, it was also not truly accurate. While there was an age difference - Henry Lascelles, the 6th Earl of Harewood, was thirty-nine when he married the 23-year-old princess - the couple shared many passions including art, antiques and music and, from their son's account, got along very well. In addition, and not a small detail to consider, Henry was very wealthy and heir to several large estates, which provided Mary more freedom and independence from her parents. One of the Earl's largest homes, Harewood, is not only where Mary and Henry raised their two sons, but it also had a role in the Downton Abbey movie (the great ballroom scene!) And, it's where we'll be visiting this fall - so, as we like to say at BTS - stay tuned!

"Princess Mary, The First Modern Princess" is well researched and almost textbook-like with respect to all the posts that the princess held, accounts of her numerous charities and public appearances (surely, she was always in the running for first place in the "charity map") as well as her travels and the many times she represented a monarch who was spread too thin or ill. 

Some of the more personal and painful aspects of Princess Mary's life are covered in varying degrees of detail, but never shied away from.  Her eldest brother's abdication and her own sons' affairs, divorces and children out of wedlock, were devastating and Mary, who early on took the role of "peacemaker" amongst her siblings and parents, used those carefully honed skills to deal with life's tragedies and disappointments.   She was raised to, and fully embraced, placing duty over self and putting a good face on a difficult situation.

And to her credit, though born and wed into privilege, she still connected with the residents in Yorkshire, the home of Harewood. In this part of England, she was seen as "one of their own" by the locals and allowed to go about her business with few intrusions. She enjoyed being an everyday person and doing ordinary things like shopping for groceries in the town market. She was viewed as down to earth, and while fluent in many languages and an adept conversationalist on art and music, she equally enjoyed talking about gardening tasks and discussing the best methods to get rid of wire-worms in potatoes.

BTS Downton Abbey tea talk includes "Princess Mary" and some of our DA articles in TeaTime

Even though the Downton Abbey movie, like history, may have put Princess Mary in the corner, the film at least showed us where the princess was sitting. Elisabeth Basford brought her centerstage, and highlighted Princess Mary's role in being the first modern princess, an inspiration to those who followed in her royal footsteps.

Barb's Tea Service's latest Dawton Abbey tea talk, referenced both Princess Mary's depiction in the Downton Abbey movie as well as her "true story" of pioneering new roles for royals, in "Elisabeth Basford's Princess Mary, The First Modern Princess".