In 1959 James Pope Hennessey’s biography of Queen Mary was published to universal acclaim. I remember seeing a copy of this book on my father’s book shelves for many years, but when he was widowed and moved to another house, it vanished. I can only assume he had a clear out. A shame as copies of it are now quite expensive on the second-hand book market.
Biographers need to carry out interviews and undertake a vast amount of research and not all of it reaches the final publication, some of it because it is not relevant, but a lot because it can be deemed harmful or would cause embarrassment. In the case of the Royal family embarrassment has the larger sway when it comes to deciding what makes the cut.
Hugo Vickers, himself a biographer (check out his Amazon page here) has sifted through Hennessy’s notes, many of which have never been seen before and many of which are indiscreet and chatty. These notes are now published in this volume, In search of Queen Mary and make fascinating reading. I do not think they are of any enormous intellectual value, but they are funny and amusing and give an insight into the characters of members of the Royal Family, their relations and the servants and courtiers who interact with them on a daily basis. I really enjoyed reading them and, in particular, the notes of his visit to Henry, Duke of Gloucester, who has been portrayed throughout the years as a bit of a thick-headed dolt which is a somewhat misleading. He seems pretty on the ball in his meeting with Pope-Hennessy. Last year I read a book Princes at War which covered Prince Edward (later Edward VIII), Duke of Kent and Duke of Gloucester and their war work. Out of the three brothers Henry Gloucester seemed to have worked the hardest and, what is more to the point was most useful as he dealt with troop supplies and welfare. Does not sound very glamorous but he was a man who lacked glamour, which he knew, and he did a very good job.
According to papers which were not used, Princess May of Teck, as she was before her marriage, was in love with another man, Lord Hopetoun. Another alleged she was in love with Henry Mountbatten who married Beatrice, the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria. None of this can be proved and so it was kept out of the finished biography.
We have to remember that when this book was published the Royal Family was revered and looked up to as a model so no indiscretions were allowed to appear in print. Everyone was perfect. Nowadays, of course it is totally different and nothing too prurient or scandalous would be left out.
Princess May was engaged to the Duke of Clarence, eldest son of Edward VII who sounds a congenital idiot to be brutally frank. He got into all sorts of messes and scandals and was, at one stage, rumoured to be Jack the Ripper. His parents were very glad to have him engaged to the steady, sober Princess. They had not been engaged for long when Eddy was ill with influenza which worsened, and he died much to the shock of the entire family. But a good princess was not to be wasted and in due course May became engaged to George who was now Prince of Wales and heir to the throne.
A pragmatic decision, obviously, but one that turned out well. Notes of Hennessy claim that George was ‘one of the ugliest men he had ever seen’ and that it was impossible for May to have any love for him. The couple were not demonstrative, and both were shy and yet they were well matched. Their mutual reserve distressed them both but they were unable to speak about how they felt, so they turned to letters:
“The more I feel, the less I say, I am so sorry but I can’t help it” – Mary to George
“I am eternally grateful that we understand each other so well making it unnecessary for me to say how much I love you, although I may appear shy and cold” -George to Mary
Unfortunately, they were not good parents and, if you read the letters of the Duke of Windsor, he maintains she was cold and unfeeling and his father autocratic and a bully.
This book makes for fascinating reading as we read the notes and informal chats that Pope-Hennessy used for his work. They reveal an intimate side to Queen Mary that we do not often see. Some thought she was cold, others thought she was warm with a great sense of humour. It is difficult to come to a conclusion when so many opposing views are available, but I found myself rather liking her. I think she had a good personality and wit but, sadly, the life that was chosen for her (don’t think she had much say in it) stifled her natural character and charm.
A gossipy delightful book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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