Editing Mary of Teck (section)

==Queen and empress consort==
[[File:Queen Mary by William Llewellyn.jpg|upright|thumb|Portrait by&nbsp;[[William Llewellyn (painter)|William Llewellyn]], {{Circa|1911}}]]
On 6 May 1910, [[Death and state funeral of Edward VII|Edward VII died]]. Mary's husband ascended the throne and she became [[queen consort]]. When her husband asked her to drop one of her two official names, Victoria Mary, she chose to be called Mary, preferring not to be known by the same style as her husband's grandmother, Queen Victoria.<ref>Pope-Hennessy, p. 421</ref> She was the first British queen consort born in Britain since [[Catherine Parr]] assumed the title in July 1543.<ref name="times">{{citation |title=Queen Mary: A Lifetime of Gracious Service |work=[[The Times]] |page= 5|date=25 March 1953}}</ref> Mary was [[Crown of Mary of Teck#Queen Mary|crowned]] alongside her husband at a [[Coronation of George V and Mary|coronation on 22 June 1911]] in [[Westminster Abbey]]. Later in the year, the King and Queen travelled to India for the [[Delhi Durbar]] held on 12 December 1911, and toured the sub-continent as Emperor and Empress of India, returning to Britain in February.<ref>Pope-Hennessy, pp. 452–463</ref>

The beginning of Mary's period as consort brought her into conflict with her mother-in-law, [[Queen Alexandra]]. Although the two were on friendly terms, Alexandra could be stubborn; she demanded precedence over Mary at the funeral of Edward VII, was slow in leaving [[Buckingham Palace]], and kept some of the royal jewels that should have been passed to the new queen.<ref>Edwards, pp. 182–193</ref>

During the First World War, Queen Mary instituted an austerity drive at the palace, where she rationed food, and visited wounded and dying servicemen in hospital, which caused her great emotional strain.<ref>Edwards, pp. 244–245</ref> After three years of war against Germany, and with anti-German feeling in Britain running high, the [[Russian imperial family]], which had been deposed by a revolutionary government, was refused asylum.<ref>Edwards, p. 258</ref> News of the [[Nicholas II|Tsar]]'s abdication provided a boost to those in Britain who wished to replace their own monarchy with a republic.<ref>Edwards, p. 262</ref> The war ended in 1918 with the defeat of Germany and the [[Abdication of Wilhelm II|abdication]] and exile of the [[Wilhelm II|Kaiser]], her husband's cousin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McLean |first1=Roderick R. |title=Royalty and Diplomacy in Europe, 1890–1914 |date=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9780521038195 |page=133}}</ref>

[[File:Queen Mary and Princess Mary.jpg|thumb|upright|The Queen with her daughter [[Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood|Mary]] during the First World War]]
Two months after the end of the war, Prince John died at the age of thirteen. Queen Mary described her shock and sorrow in her diary and letters, extracts of which were published after her death: "our poor darling little Johnnie had passed away suddenly&nbsp;... The first break in the family circle is hard to bear but people have been so kind & sympathetic & this has helped us [the King and me] much."<ref>Pope-Hennessy, p. 511</ref>

The Queen's staunch support of her husband continued during the later half of his reign. She advised him on speeches and used her extensive knowledge of history and royalty to advise him on matters affecting his position. He appreciated her discretion, intelligence, and judgement.<ref>Pope-Hennessy, p. 549</ref> She maintained an air of self-assured calm throughout all her public engagements in the years after the war, a period marked by civil unrest over social conditions, [[Irish War of Independence|Irish independence]], and [[Indian nationalism]].<ref>Edwards, p. 311</ref>

In the late 1920s, George became increasingly ill with lung problems, exacerbated by his heavy smoking. Mary paid particular attention to his care. During his illness in 1928, one of his doctors, Sir [[Farquhar Buzzard]], was asked who had saved the King's life. He replied, "The Queen".<ref>Gore, p. 243</ref> In 1935, George and Mary celebrated [[Silver Jubilee of George V|their silver jubilee]], with celebrations taking place throughout the British Empire. In his jubilee speech, George paid public tribute to his wife, having told his speechwriter, "Put that paragraph at the very end. I cannot trust myself to speak of the Queen when I think of all I owe her."<ref>''The Times (London)'', Wednesday, 25 March 1953 p. 5</ref>