File:Brass printing plate commemorating King George V and Queen Mary, 1911 (16901725965).jpg

On 24 March 1953 Queen Mary, grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II, died at the age of 85 years. Born in 1893, Mary’s father was a minor German Duke and her mother a granddaughter of England’s King George III. At the age of 24 she was engaged to her second cousin Albert Victor – the heir to the British throne, and the grandson of Queen Victoria. Sadly, shortly after their engagement Albert died from influenza. However, Queen Victoria considered Mary to be such a suitable consort for a crown prince that she then arranged her engagement to Albert’s brother, and the new heir to the throne, Prince George. The couple became the Duke and Duchess of York and went on to have six children, including the future kings Edward VIII and George VI (the father of Queen Elizabeth II).

In 1901 the Duke and Duchess visited New Zealand as part of a tour of the British Empire, as a form of tribute to the services rendered by members of the Commonwealth during the Anglo-Boer War. George V became King in 1910 and Mary became Queen consort, and supported him throughout the First World War. Upon George’s death in 1936 she became the Queen mother, and saw the abdication of her son Edward VIII to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Mary died 10 weeks before the coronation of her granddaughter Elizabeth in 1953.

This image is taken from a brass printing plate commemorating the ascension of George and Mary to the throne. Mary is seated to the right of the King George. This plate comes from a series of printing materials created by the Government Printing Office, the official government printer and producer of material for Government departments until 1990.

Archives reference: AAUR W3549 130/ B124

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