Princess Mary, the only daughter of George V, is in the spotlight 60 years after her death, thanks to her century-old wedding dress. Her life is as compelling as a TV drama

She was the daughter of one king, a sister to two and the aunt of a queen, immortalised on screen thanks to TV hit drama Downton Abbey. Yet, while history has often overlooked Princess Mary, her story is as compelling as any fictional drama. Now the only daughter of George V looks set to claim the spotlight 60 years after her death, thanks to her century-old wedding dress.

The historic gown has been brought out of storage and has undergone painstaking conservation ahead of its starring role in a new exhibition at the princess’s former home, Harewood House, in Leeds. As the delicate fabric, studded with seed pearls and crystals, emerged from the dark, so too have details of the fascinating life of the woman known as “the first modern princess”.

Author and historian Elisabeth Basford, who has written a book on Princess Mary, says: “We think of Princess Diana as the first member of the British royal family to tear up the ­rule book, but before her there was Princess Mary.

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100 year old wedding dress of Princess Mary, aunt of the late Queen Elizabeth, is brought out of storage at Harewood House, Leeds by their resident collections team(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)

“In life she was underestimated. But for a woman of her time she was quite something – campaigning for charities, training as a nurse and working to put women centre stage. And like her niece, Queen Elizabeth, she passionately believed she was a servant of the people.”

Mary’s 1922 wedding dress, headdress and train were stored at Harewood House for decades, following her Westminster Abbey marriage to Henry, Viscount Lascelles, later the 6th Earl of Harewood. The post-war event was a sensation – the royal nuptials the first to be covered by Vogue magazine – with crowds lining the streets and her outfit designed to reflect its wearer as a princess and a modern woman.

As the senior collections and ­conservation officer at Harewood House, Samantha Harwood ­undertook its specialist repair ahead of its display as part of a retrospective on the work of society photographer Cecil Beaton, a friend of the family.

Samantha, who has worked in collections and conservation for 12 years, says: “The dress is really beautiful, with its silver thread and crystal beads it must have shimmered on the wedding day – Mary would have looked like a fairytale princess.

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Archive photograph of the wedding of Princess Mary to Viscount Lascelles.(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)

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A simple head dress made of silk orange blossom with her shoes she wore on her wedding day(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)

“It has a dropped waist, which was very fashionable at the time, and a silk silver lame ­underdress ­decorated with beads. It also features Honiton lace, gifted by her mother Queen Mary, who had worn it at her wedding, and the train is embroidered with emblems representing different parts of the British Empire.”

The ivory silk marquisette ­overdress, embroidered with ­crystals and pearls, needed ­intricate repair ­before being placed on show – a prospect which gave Samantha ­sleepless nights, she says.

“You can’t forget you have history in your hands. There is no room for mistakes because these things can’t be replaced,” she explains. “It took four of us to remove the dress from its box because it is so delicate and I took hay fever medicine before I started – I couldn’t risk sneezing near it! I had to make sure my hands were clean at all times too – I was going to wear gloves, but the needle I was using was too fine.”

Repairing the fragile areas of fabric took almost five hours and involved carefully sewing in a top layer of silk ­crepeline, to stabilise the original material. Sam says: “It was nerve racking putting my hands on the material and quite tricky trying to sew something flat on a table without resting my elbows on it – I had to keep them up in the air – so I had sore muscles the next day. The dress is too ­delicate to place on a mannequin – the weight of the crystal beads might tear it further – so it will be displayed laid across a bed. It was a huge relief to complete it all. Was I tempted to try it on? Not at all – it’s tiny so it would never fit me.”

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Harewood House, Leeds(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)

The gown’s detailed silver cord belt, entwined with seed pearls and silk and wax orange blossom, also underwent cleaning using droplets of de-ionised water to remove dust. After the 1922 nuptials, the couple honeymooned in Florence and Paris. They had two sons and were married for 25 years.

However, with the Viscount 15 years older than his wife, there were persistent rumours the marriage was unhappy. Decades later the gossip was picked up by scriptwriters for the 2019 Downton Abbey movie – some of which was filmed at Harewood – with actress Kate Phillips starring as the princess, and Geraldine James and Simon Jones as Queen Mary and King George V.

Elisabeth, who used a trove of Princess Mary’s letters for her research, is not convinced. She says: “There are so many myths and misconceptions about Mary and I think this is one of them. You can absolutely see the couple loved each other – they had so many similar interests such as horse racing and gardening and both were kind people, they were well suited.”

The former head teacher, from Barnsley, South Yorks, is also quick to dispel the notion Mary did not attend the wedding of her niece, Princess Elizabeth, because she was upset her brother, the exiled Duke of Windsor and former King Edward VIII, had not been invited.

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Princess Mary on her wedding day. Left, with Queen Mary, her husband & King George V(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)

“She didn’t go to the wedding because it was soon after the death of her own husband and it would have been too much for her. But Mary was very loyal to her eldest brother David after his abdication and supportive when her other brother became King George VII.”

Born in 1897, with her great-grandmother Queen Victoria still on the throne, Mary was the only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George V and Queen Mary. Fluent in German and French, when her father became king in 1910, she was ­determined to make her life of service meaningful – and defy convention.

During the First World War, she launched an appeal to send every serving member of the armed forces a Christmas gift, raising £15million. In a time where post-traumatic stress was little understood, she also worked to rehabilitate soldiers returning from war.

By 1918, she had trained as a paediatric nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and, passionate about advancing the cause of women and girls, promoted the Women’s Land Army. ­ President of the British Girl Guide ­Association until she died, she was also the first female chancellor of a university.

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Elisabeth Basford, historian and author of Princess Mary: The First Modern Princess

Elisabeth says: “Many people think she was incredibly shy but she was one of the hardest-working members of the royal family. She was very intelligent and no-nonsense. She saw what had to be done and got on with it.

“For instance the Blood Transfusion Service had a shortage of donors in 1941 – there was a stigma around giving blood – so Mary invited an audience of the press to watch her donate. In two weeks 10,000 people had signed up.” Her husband died in 1947 and Mary threw herself into official duties at home and abroad. She died in 1965 after suffering a heart attack while walking in the grounds at Harewood, and is buried with the earl at nearby All Saint’s Church.

Samantha says handling the­ ­princess’s clothing has brought its owner sharply into focus. “A wedding dress is such a personal and intimate item so I do feel like I know the princess a little,” she says. “I keep imagining her popping in to look over my shoulder and see what I have done.And I think she would approve.”

*Cecil Beaton: Staging Icons opens on June 13 at Harewood House, Leeds. Princess Mary: The First Modern Princess by ­Elisabeth Basford is published by The History Press.

SOURCE: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/cecil-beaton-princess-mary-dress-37208188