Francis, Duke Of Teck
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Francis, Duke of Teck (Francis Paul Charles Louis Alexander; 28 August 1837 – 21 January 1900), known as Count Francis von Hohenstein until 1863, was an Austrian-born nobleman who married into the
British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...
. His wife, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, was a first cousin of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
. He was the father of Queen Mary, the consort of
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...
. Francis held the Austrian title of Count of Hohenstein (''Graf von Hohenstein''), and the German titles of Prince (''
Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...
'') and later Duke of Teck (''Herzog von Teck''), and was given the style of
Serene Highness His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style (manner of address), style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Until 1918, it was also associated with the p ...
in 1863. He was granted the British style of
Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adjec ...
in 1887.


Background and early military career

Francis was born on 28 August 1837 in Esseg,
Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...
(now Osijek,
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
), and christened ''Franz Paul Karl Ludwig Alexander''. His father was Duke Alexander of Württemberg, the son of Duke Louis of Württemberg. His mother was Hungarian Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde. The marriage was morganatic, meaning that Francis had no succession rights to the Kingdom of Württemberg. His title at birth was Count Francis von Hohenstein, after his mother was created Countess von Hohenstein in her own right by Emperor
Ferdinand I of Austria Ferdinand I ( 19 April 1793 – 29 June 1875) was Emperor of Austria from March 1835 until his abdication in December 1848. He was also King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Croatia and King of Bohemia, Bohemia (as Ferdinand V), King of Lombardy– ...
. He was educated at the Imperial and Royal Technical Military Academy from 1849 to 1853 and joined the Imperial Austrian Army as a
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
in the 1st Lancers in 1854. He transferred to the Guard Squadron in 1858 and later became a Captain ('' Rittmeister'') in the 7th Hussars. He served as Orderly Officer under Count von Wimpffen in Italy during the Austro-Sardinian War and was awarded the gold medal for distinguished service at the Battle of Solferino and the bronze war medal, 1859.'TECK', ''
Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...
'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn,
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, Dec 200
accessed 4 Jan 2012
/ref> In 1863, Francis was created Prince of Teck, with the style of ''
Serene Highness His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style (manner of address), style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Until 1918, it was also associated with the p ...
'', in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He served during the Austro-Prussian War and retired from the Austrian Army when he married and moved to England in 1866.


Marriage and dukedom

As the product of a
morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...
, and without succession rights to the throne, Francis was not acceptable as a husband for princesses in most of the European royal houses. Further, Francis had little income in comparison with other European princes. He thus married into a richer family, by marrying his father's third cousin (in descent from
George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; ; 30 October / 9 November 1683 â€“ 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Em ...
) Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the younger daughter of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the 7th and youngest son of King
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
. The couple married on 12 June 1866 at St Anne's Church, Kew, in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
. They had one daughter and three sons: * Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (1867–1953); later Queen Mary, consort of
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...
of the United Kingdom. * Prince Adolphus of Teck (1868–1927); later Duke of Teck and Marquess of Cambridge. * Prince Francis of Teck (1870–1910). * Prince Alexander of Teck (1874–1957); later Earl of Athlone. He was created Duke of Teck by the King of Württemberg in 1871.


Later military career

Teck was made Honorary Colonel of the 1st Surrey Artillery Volunteers on 15 June 1867 and continued as supernumerary Honorary Colonel of the 1st City of London Artillery after the units merged in 1883. He was also made Honorary Colonel of the 49th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers (Post Office Rifles) on 16 August 1876. He was attached to the staff of British General Sir Garnet Wolseley during the Egyptian campaign of 1882. He received the
silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...
for the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir, the Khedive's Star, and the Order of Osmanieh, first class. On his return from Egypt he was gazetted a Colonel in the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. The Duke of Teck was made Colonel (''
Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...
'') à la suite of the 25th (1st Württemberg) Dragoons "Queen Olga" on 6 March 1889, and a ''
Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...
'' in the
Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...
on 18 October 1891.Karl Spieß and Hans Ritter, ''Geschichte des Dragoner-Regiments Königin Olga (1. Württ.) Nr. 25'' (Ludwigsburg, 1913), p. 509 He was made a supernumerary Major-General in the British Army in July 1893 and a ''
Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...
'' in the German Army on 18 April 1895. Because Francis had no inheritance, the couple lived on Mary Adelaide's Parliamentary allowance of £5,000 per annum (equivalent to ca. £525,000 in 2013), supplemented by income from her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge. Mary Adelaide's requests to her cousin,
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
, for more funds were met with refusal; however, they were granted a grace-and-favour apartment in Kensington Palace,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and a country house, White Lodge, the former Royal deer-hunting lodge in
Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, Cha ...
, Southwest London. The Duke and Duchess lived beyond their means, leading to the build-up of large debts. In 1883, the Tecks fled the UK to continental Europe, where they stayed with relatives in
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
and Germany. They eventually returned to the UK in 1885.


Later life

With an
Order in Council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...
on 1 July 1887, Queen Victoria granted Francis the style of ''
Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adjec ...
'', as a gift to celebrate her
Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali language, ...
. Despite this, the Tecks were still seen as minor relatives, with little status or wealth. Their fortunes improved when their only daughter, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (known as "May" to her family) became engaged to the second-in-line to the British throne, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale. There was initial opposition to the match from the Duke of Clarence's parents, the
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
and
Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (; ) is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales. The Princess is the apparent future queen consort, as "Prince of Wales" is a title reserved by custom for the heir apparent to the Monarchy of the ...
. Arthur Balfour wrote to
Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...
in 1890 that "(t)he Teck girl they won't have because they hate Teck and because the vision of Princess Mary haunting Marlborough House makes the Prince of Wales ill." Nevertheless, the Queen gave her official consent to the engagement on 12 December 1891. The death of the Duke of Clarence only six weeks later was a cruel blow. However, Princess May consented when the Duke of Clarence's brother (and next in the line of succession), Prince George, Duke of York, proposed to her instead. In 1897, the Duchess of Teck died, leaving Francis a widower. He continued to live at White Lodge, Richmond, but did not carry out any royal duties. In ''
Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...
'', the Duke of Teck listed his recreations as "a little of all". He was President of the Royal Botanic Society and a member of numerous clubs, including
White's White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is London's oldest club and therefore the oldest private members' club in the world. It moved to its current premises on St James's St ...
, the Marlborough Club, the Bachelors' Club, the Army and Navy Club, the United Service Club, the Cavalry Club, the Naval and Military Club, the Travellers Club, The Hurlingham Club, the Ranelagh Club, and the
Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...
, as well as the Adels-Casino in Vienna and the Herren-Casino in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
. The Duke of Teck died on 21 January 1900 at White Lodge. He was buried next to his wife in the Royal Vault at
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculia ...
. There is a pub in Earls Court, London, called the Prince of Teck.


Honours and arms

* : ** Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown ** Grand Cross of the Friedrich Order * : ** GCB: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable
Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
(civil division), ''12 June 1866'' ** Egypt Medal, ''1882'' ** Khedive's Star, ''1882'' ** GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the
Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...
, ''30 June 1897'' ** KStJ: Knight of Justice of the Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem * Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of the House Order of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore, ''11 June 1866'' *
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
: Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, ''1869'' * : Grand Cross of the Grand Ducal Hessian Order of Ludwig, ''9 July 1881''''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen'' (1883), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen"
p. 14
/ref> * : Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class, ''1882'' *
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
: Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, ''28 July 1891''


Ancestry


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Teck, Prince Francis, Duke Of 1837 births 1900 deaths Emigrants from the Austrian Empire Immigrants to the United Kingdom People from Osijek Francis Francis Dukes of Teck People of the Austro-Prussian War British Army major generals British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights of Justice of the Order of St John Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Burials at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle Residents of White Lodge, Richmond Park