Editing Mary of Teck (section)

==Queen mother==
[[George V died]] on 20 January 1936, after his physician, [[Lord Dawson of Penn]], gave him an injection of [[morphine]] and [[cocaine]] that may have hastened his death.<ref>{{Citation |last=Watson |first=Francis |title=The Death of George V |journal=History Today |volume=36 |pages=21–30 |year=1986 |pmid=11645856}}</ref> Mary's eldest son ascended the throne as Edward VIII. She was then to be known as ''Her Majesty Queen Mary''.

Within the year, Edward's intention to marry his twice-divorced American mistress, [[Wallis Simpson]], led to his abdication. Mary disapproved of divorce as it was contrary to the teaching of the [[Anglican Church]], and thought Simpson wholly unsuitable to be the wife of a king. After receiving advice from British prime minister [[Stanley Baldwin]], as well as the [[Dominion]] governments, that he could not remain king and marry Simpson, [[Abdication of Edward VIII|Edward abdicated]].

Though loyal and supportive of her son, Mary could not comprehend why Edward would neglect his royal duties in favour of his personal feelings.<ref>Airlie, p. 200</ref> Simpson had been presented formally to both King George V and Queen Mary at court,<ref>Windsor, p. 255</ref> but Mary later refused to meet her either in public or privately.<ref>Windsor, p. 334</ref> She saw it as her duty to provide moral support for her second son, the reserved [[Prince Albert, Duke of York]]. Albert ascended the throne on Edward's abdication, taking the name George VI. When Mary attended the [[coronation of George VI]], she became the first British [[dowager queen]] to do so.{{efn|According to custom, crowned heads did not attend coronations of other kings and queens.<ref>Pope-Hennessy, p. 584</ref>}} Edward's abdication did not lessen her love for him, but she never wavered in her disapproval of his actions.<ref name="dnb" /><ref>Edwards, p. 401 and Pope-Hennessy, p. 575</ref>

[[File:Queen Mary with Princess Elizabeth and Margaret.jpg|thumb|upright|Queen Mary with her granddaughters, Princesses [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon|Margaret]] (front) and [[Elizabeth II|Elizabeth]], May 1939|alt=Elderly Mary and the two girls in formal dress]]

After her reign, Mary returned to live in her main London residence [[Marlborough House]], where she had also lived as Princess of Wales. Mary took an interest in the upbringing of her granddaughters [[Elizabeth II|Elizabeth]] and [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon|Margaret]]. She took them on various excursions in London, to art galleries and museums. (The princesses' own parents thought it unnecessary for them to be burdened with a demanding educational regime.)<ref>Edwards, p. 349</ref> In May 1939, Mary was in a car crash: her car was overturned but she escaped with minor injuries and bruises.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 May 1939 |title=Find Queen Mary Has No Broken Bones; But Physicians Reveal Painful Injury to Her Eye |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/05/25/archives/find-queen-mary-has-no-broken-bones-but-physicians-reveal-painful.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>

During the [[Second World War]], George VI wished his mother to be evacuated from London. Although she was reluctant, she decided to live at [[Badminton House]], Gloucestershire, with her niece [[Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort (sportswoman)|Mary, Duchess of Beaufort]], the daughter of her brother [[Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge|Adolphus]].<ref>Pope-Hennessy, p. 596</ref> Her personal belongings were transported from London in seventy pieces of luggage. Her household, which comprised fifty-five servants, occupied most of the house, except for [[Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort|the Duke]] and Duchess's private suites, until after the war. The only people to complain about the arrangements were the royal servants, who found the house too small.<ref>{{Citation |title=Burke's Peerage & Gentry, 107th edition |pages=vol. I p. 308 |year=2003 |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |no-pp=true |chapter=Duke of Beaufort, 'Seat' section}}</ref>

From Badminton, in support of the war effort, Queen Mary visited troops and factories and directed the gathering of scrap materials. She was known to offer lifts to soldiers she spotted on the roads.<ref>Pope-Hennessy, p. 600</ref> In 1942, her son [[Prince George, Duke of Kent|George]], Duke of Kent, was [[Dunbeath air crash|killed in an air crash]] while on active service. Mary finally returned to Marlborough House in June 1945, after the war in Europe had resulted in the defeat of [[Nazi Germany]].

Mary was an eager collector of objects and pictures with a royal connection.<ref>Pope-Hennessy, p. 412</ref> She paid above-market estimates when purchasing jewels from the estate of [[Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)|Dowager Empress Marie of Russia]]<ref>{{Citation |last=Clarke |first=William |title=The Lost Fortune of the Tsars |year=1995}}</ref> and paid almost three times the estimate when buying the family's Cambridge Emeralds from Lady Kilmorey,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Leigh |first=David |date=26 March 2007 |title=Secret wills of the royals - a tale of mistresses, jewels and cover-ups |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/mar/27/monarchy.topstories3 |access-date=16 June 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> the mistress of her late brother [[Prince Francis of Teck|Prince Francis]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Thomson, Mark |title=Document – A Right Royal Affair |date=29 August 2005 |publisher=BBC Radio 4}}<br />See also [http://www.proni.gov.uk/introduction_kilmorey_d2638-2.pdf Kilmorey Papers (D/2638)] (pdf), [[Public Record Office of Northern Ireland]].</ref> After Francis's death, Mary had intervened to ensure his will was sealed by a court to cover his affair with Kilmorey. This set a precedent for royal wills to be sealed.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/mar/27/monarchy.topstories3|title=Secret wills of the royals - a tale of mistresses, jewels and cover-ups|work=The Guardian|first=David|last=Leigh|date=26 March 2007|accessdate=7 April 2023}}</ref> In 1924, the famous architect [[Sir Edwin Lutyens]] created [[Queen Mary's Dolls' House]] for her collection of miniature pieces.<ref>Pope-Hennessy, pp. 531–534</ref> She has sometimes been criticised for her aggressive acquisition of ''[[objets d'art]]'' for the [[Royal Collection]]. On several occasions, she would express to hosts, or others, that she admired something they had in their possession, in the expectation that the owner would be willing to donate it.<ref>Rose, p. 284</ref>

Mary's extensive knowledge of, and research into, the Royal Collection helped in identifying artefacts and artwork that had gone astray over the years.<ref>Pope-Hennessy, p. 414</ref> The royal family had lent out many pieces over previous generations. Once she had identified unreturned items through old inventories, she would write to the holders, requesting that they be returned.<ref>Windsor, p. 238</ref> In addition to being an avid collector, Mary also commissioned many gifts of jewellery, including rings which she presented to her ladies-in-waiting on the occasion of their engagements.<ref>{{Citation |title=S. J. Rood – a brief history |url=http://www.sjrood.weebly.com |work=S. J. Rood – Jewellers |access-date=4 December 2018}}</ref>