Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary; 25 April 1897 – 28 March 1965) was a member of the British royal family. She was the third child and only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary and was born during the reign of Queen Victoria, her great-grandmother. Mary was the paternal aunt of the current British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Her education started at home. World War I brought Mary out of seclusion as she launched a charity campaign to support British troops and sailors. She eventually became
Mary of Teck Albert, Duke of York, who ascended the throne on Edward's abdication, taking the name George VI. When Mary attended the coronation, she became the first British dowager queen to do so. Edward's abdication did not lessen her love for him, but she never wavered in her disapproval of his actions. Mary took an interest in the upbringing of her granddaughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and took them on various excursions in London, to art galleries and museums. (The princesses' own parents thought it unnecessary for them to be taxed with any demanding educational regime.) During the Second World War, George