The spicy past of Fat Mary, the last Princess of Cambridge and the first People’s Princess

Today, the phrase People’s Princess has an unwavering association with the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

So it may come as a surprise to hear of a previous People’s Princess, a woman who was also known for her charitable work and who, like Diana, was a crowd favorite.

But that’s where the comparisons end. Because Princess Mary Adelaide would eventually gain a very different reputation thanks to her love of partying, lavish living and general excess.

Over time, “Fat Mary,” as she was called, had to flee the country.

Today, Princess Mary Adelaide is largely forgotten, although as the mother of Queen Mary – wife of George V – she was great-grandmother of King Charles and holds an important position in the royal family tree.

No doubt William and Kate’s daughter, Charlotte, Princess of Cambridge, will seek her out, as Mary Adelaide was the last to hold the title of Princess of Cambridge by her sister with her sister Augusta.

Born in 1933, Princess Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth was the daughter of Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, a granddaughter of King George III and first cousin of Queen Victoria.

The sisters also had a brother named George, who was Prince of Cambridge before inheriting his father’s dukedom.

The family grew up in Hanover, where their father served as Viceroy of the area – the King’s representative – on behalf of George IV and then William IV.

German was her native language.

As Mary Adelaide grew up, she became a favorite in the public eye – even more so than her sister.

And thanks to her charitable work, she soon became known as the “People’s Princess,” the same name later bestowed on Princess Diana.

At the age of 33, Mary Adelaide married another German-speaking, Austrian-born Prince Franz of Teck.

The couple would be known as the Duke and Duchess of Teck and had four children: Princess Mary, Prince Adolphus, Prince Francis and Prince Alexander.

Prince Mary and her husband lived for several years at White Lodge in Richmond Park, London. (Today White Lodge is home to the Royal Ballet School).

However, for all the apparent grandeur, they lived way beyond their means.

The couple became famous for their lavish parties and extravagant spending In 1883 they fled Britain to avoid their creditors.

They bounced between the family’s homes in Germany and Austria, at one point hiding in Florence. They did not return home until 1885.

Still, Queen Victoria was especially fond of their eldest daughter, Princess Mary, also known as Princess May.

Victoria visited the Princess at Kensington Palace (her own childhood home) shortly after Mary’s birth and wrote: “In the former bedroom, where Mummy and I slept, [I found] dear Mary, Aunt Cambridge, and the baby – a very fine child, with lots of hair – pinned up in a curl on top of his head.’

When she was older, Mary became engaged to Queen Victoria’s grandson, Prince Albert Victor, the eldest son of Prince Edward VII and his wife Alexandra.

However, disaster struck when he suddenly died of pneumonia when he was only 28 years old, the result of a flu pandemic.

As a result, Queen Victoria persuaded Mary Adelaide to marry his brother, Prince George, instead.

The couple married in May 1893 – just a few months before the death of her mother, Princess Mary Adelaide, who died on October 27, 1897 after emergency surgery.

However, her daughter, Princess Mary, later played a key role in the modern royal family we know today.

After the death of King Edward VII in 1901, Prince George became King and Princess Mary his Queen Consort.

They had two children together, King Edward VIII, who served only 325 days and was never crowned, and King George VI, Queen Elizabeth’s father.

The great-great-great-grandson of Princess Mary of Adelaide is Prince William, who was granted the dukedom of Cambridge upon his marriage in 2011.

Princess Charlotte has since been the first Princess of Cambridge.