This formidable woman laid down the rules in no uncertain terms: “You are a member of the British Royal Family,” she declared. ‘We are never tired and we all love hospitals’?

It is often said that the late Queen Elizabeth was deeply influenced by her father, George VI, especially when it came to matters of duty.

The way he carried out the task given to him thanks to the reckless behavior of his elder brother, Edward VIII, is still admired.

But when it came to steely determination, there was another example for the young Princess Elizabeth: that of her strong grandmother, Mary, who once explained the rights and wrongs to another royal family as follows:

‘You are a member of the British Royal Family. We are never tired and we all love hospitals.”

Queen Elizabeth II pictured visiting the opening of the new Royal National Ear Nose and Throat and Eastman Dental Hospital premises in London in 2020

Queen Mary envisioned the opening of a new hospital wing at Roehampton Hospital in 1925

The generations after Queen Mary have remained true to her maxim, even as the eldest of her two sons notoriously grew weary of it ‘Princing’ as he called it, before eventually resigning in disgrace.

Whatever the criticism of the royal finances, no one can doubt the sincerity of their actions across the country – including many hospitals, of course.

Today, Queen Mary seems an increasingly distant figure than the younger ones, but she was an important figure in the life of the royal family and undoubtedly had an influence on her granddaughter Elizabeth, who would later become queen.

According to her official biographer, James Pope-Hennessy, Mary had been a shy child – ‘a tall, pink and white, lanky girl’ – overshadowed by her exuberant mother, the party-loving Duchess of Teck.

Mary, on the other hand, became a somewhat serious woman with strong passions.

Set between the 19th and 20th centuries, Queen Mary connected the present to a rapidly disappearing world of the past, having been the first consort to speak English as her native language for 400 years.

During World War I, Queen Mary instituted austerity measures at the palace, rationing food and visiting wounded and dying soldiers in hospital.

Prince William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, meet staff during a visit to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in Liverpool in January earlier this year

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, meets medical staff and survivors at Panzi Hospital, Bukavu, South Kivu Province in October 2022

The Queen Mother being introduced to the staff at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, in 1995

It was also her idea to send every British soldier during the First World War a gold-plated cigarette box with her photo – the Queen had a good grasp of public relations.

The Queen’s support of her husband was invaluable during the second half of his reign, as she advised him on speeches and used her extensive knowledge of history to advise him on political matters.

In the late 1920s, King George V became increasingly ill, but Queen Mary paid special 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’.