The official announcement was made, appropriately enough in May, of the betrothal of the King’s son, then Duke of York, to Princess May of Teck. It is recorded in the late Duchess of Teck’s Life that Prince George proposed to Princess May on 3rd May 1893, at Sheen Lodge, which for some time had been occupied by the Duke and Duchess of Fife. Both the bride and her mother agreed that the trousseau should be entirely of home workmanship. “I am determined,” said the Duchess of Teck, “that all the silk shall come from England, all the flannel from Wales, all the tweeds from Scotland, and every yard of lace and poplin from Ireland.” The wedding gown was woven at Spitalfields, and was of silver and white brocade, the design being of roses, shamrock, and thistles. The bridal veil—the same which had been worn by the bride’s mother on her wedding day in 1866—was of the finest Honiton lace, designed in a sequence of cornucopiæ filled with roses, thistles, and shamrock.
Queen Victoria and the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York
From a Photograph by Hughes and Mullins, Ryde
The time of the short engagement was filled with preparations of all kinds, and from a letter written by Mrs. Dalrymple, and quoted in the Duchess of Teck’s Life, we obtain a good idea of how the days passed by at White Lodge:—
“I remember the happy afternoon I spent at White Lodge a few days before the marriage. We were a large and merry party, including the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and some time was spent in looking at the numerous presents. Tea was served on the lawn under the copper beech, and the dear Princess sat at the head of the table making tea for all; on one side of her was a pile of telegrams received, while on the other, scattered about amongst the cups, were packets of telegraph forms. Messages were constantly being delivered, and the Princess and the Duke as quickly wrote out the replies; no word of complaint was uttered at these incessant interruptions. Her Royal Highness’s amiable readiness to accede to the many appeals for a place from which to see the bridal procession was wonderful. Princess Mary begged me to visit her the day after the marriage, and her eyes filled with tears as she spoke of parting from ‘her precious child.’ Much, however, as I wished to accept the suggestion, I did not do so, but implored the Princess to take the rest that I knew she so urgently needed.”
The qualities both of head and of heart possessed by Prince George’s bride were, at any rate partially, realised by the nation. An incident that occurred at St. Moritz in 1894 is not so well known. The Duchess of Teck and her daughter were on a visit there when a fire broke out which entirely destroyed several shops and houses, and threatened destruction to the lower village. Both the Princess and her mother took active steps to rescue the goods from burning, carrying out the things in their arms. They were the first to go among the sufferers by the fire offering words of consolation, and started a subscription in their aid.
After a very short engagement, the marriage took place in the Chapel-Royal, St. James’s, on 6th July, in the presence of all the Royal family, as well as the present Emperor of Russia and the King and Queen of Denmark. King Edward naturally took a prominent part in supervising all the arrangements, and was much gratified by the outburst of popular enthusiasm which greeted his son’s union with the daughter of the universally-beloved Duchess of Teck.
It is interesting to note how frequently, ever since the marriage, the King has associated his heir with himself in the performance of his public duties, while the constant companionship of father and son is a striking testimony to their complete sympathy with one another.