Frank: Prince Francis of Teck, Queen Mary's Unruly Brother

His Serene Highness Prince Francis of Teck

Frank, or His Serene Highness Prince Francis of Teck, was born on 9th January 1870 in Kensington Palace, London. He was the third child and the second son of Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge and Prince Francis, Duke of Teck. The couple married in 1866, and Mary (May), the future Queen Mary, consort of King George V, was born in May 1867, followed by Adolphus (Dolly), Francis (Frank) and Alexander (Alge).

Frank was christened “Francis Joseph Leopold Frederick.” He was considered a handsome and enigmatic child. May referred to Frank and Dolly as the “beauty boys.”

Princess Mary Adelaide was titled H.R.H. because she was the granddaughter of King George III. Her husband was a lower-ranking serene highness because his parents Duke Alexander of Wurttemburg and Claudine, Countess von Hohenstein, had married morganatically (a royal to a non-royal), so their status slipped, and the duke and his descendants were barred from the Wurttemberg succession. May, Dolly, Frank and Alge were titled serene highnesses.

The Prince Expelled From Wellington College, Berkshire

Throughout his life, Frank courted trouble which frequently left him in disgrace with his siblings. As much as Queen Mary has been remembered for her constancy and formality, Frank was unruly, a gambler and a womaniser. He secretly gave the valuable Cambridge emeralds to his mistress Nellie. Queen Mary was not impressed, and she retrieved the family heirlooms. More about that later.

Frank and Dolly were educated at Wellington College, a prestigious public school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, that sits within four hundred acres of parkland. It was named after Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, and it opened in the late 1850s. Frank's time there ended abruptly; he was expelled for throwing “his housemaster over a hedge to win a bet.” He was dispatched to Cheltenham College in Gloucestershire to complete his education.

The Hohenstein (Teck) Family in Florence Exile

By September 1883, the Duke and Duchess of Teck had accrued eye-watering debts. They were much too extravagant and generous with their limited funds. The European mainland was less expensive than Britain to live in, so Francis, Mary Adelaide, May and initially Alge went into a cost-saving exile in Florence, Italy. To remain incognito, the duke and duchess called themselves the Count and Countess von Hohenstein, and the children followed their lead.

When Dolly, Frank and Alge (Alge attended Eton College) weren’t at school in England, they travelled to Florence or enjoyed holidays with their royal relations strewn across the continent. The two older boys suspected that Alge was their mother’s favourite and they entertained themselves by teasing him. In 1884 this led to a scolding letter from Mary Adelaide reminding them to humour their younger brother and to stop doling out punches, bruises, pinches and persistent teasing whenever they were together.

The three Teck's still in exile returned to live in England on May’s eighteenth birthday, the 26th May 1885. They took up residence in Kensington Palace.

Prince Frank's Military Career

Towards the end of the 1880s, Frank began his military training at the Royal Military College Sandhurst in Buckinghamshire. Queen Victoria was unsuccessful in persuading the Teck boys to serve in the Wurttemberg army so that they could claim power in the kingdom if or when an opportunity presented itself.

The ruling Wurttembergs were Catholic, and it was preferable in her eyes that a protestant Wurttemberger of the Teck line should sit on the throne. The army idea was dismissed by Francis and Mary Adelaide, and the Teck sons were sent into the British army.

Between 1889 and 1902, Frank served as a 2nd lieutenant with the 9^th Queen’s Lancers and the King’s Rifle Corps. He was a lieutenant, captain, aide-de-camp, staff captain, brevet-major and major in the 1st Royal Dragoons, where he spent most of his career.

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Frank was briefly seconded to the Egyptian Army in 1897, and he served in Ireland and at various U.K. bases, in India, and in the Transvaal during the South African Wars. He earned a military award, the Distinguished Service Order.

Thirty two-year-old Major Francis Teck retired from his army career in September 1902. He was then unemployed and under-employed according to his relations who wished he would behave.

Did Frank of Teck Have an Illegitimate Son?

Tomboy "Harry," Princess Maud of Wales was the youngest daughter of the future Edward VII and his wife Alexandra. She was reputedly besotted with Frank, but he was not interested in her or settling down. He could have married Maud simply to gain the money to pay off his staggering gambling debts and his future losses, but he resisted. In 1896 Maud married her cousin Prince Carl of Denmark, who ruled in Norway as King Haakon VII. Frank never married.

English actress Sarah Miles, star of Ryan’s Daughter (1970), has claimed that she is Frank’s great-granddaughter. Her grandfather Francis Remnant was born in 1894, and he believed that he was Frank’s illegitimate son. Francis’ daughter Clarice Vera Remnant was Sarah’s mother.

The 3rd Countess of Kilmorey and the Cambridge Emeralds

When Mary Adelaide died in 1897, Frank was bequeathed the impressive Cambridge emeralds, in total forty cabochon emeralds of various sizes that were installed in a set of jewellery. The emeralds had come into the family's possession when Frank's grandparents, Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, and his Duchess Augusta (of Hesse-Kassel) were in Frankfurt early in their marriage.

Two generations later and Frank was having an affair with the married society beauty Nellie (Ellen Constance), 3rd Countess of Kilmorey, who was a former lover of Edward VII. Frank lavished jewels on her, and he made a secret provision in his will that Nellie would take ownership of the Cambridge emeralds when he died.

Thirty-nine-year-old Frank died unexpectedly on 22nd October 1910 from pleurisy that he’d contracted at Balmoral after undergoing a minor operation. May, recently elevated to Queen Consort after Edward VII's death, had just spent a happy week reconciling with him, and she was overwhelmed with grief when she learned that he was gone. May rarely showed her emotions in public, but at Frank’s funeral at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, she shed tears. Frank was initially placed in the royal family vault, but he was later interred in the adjacent Frogmore burial ground.

Queen Mary Reclaims the Cambridge Emeralds for the Royal Collection

When the contents of Frank's will were discovered, May and her brothers were horrified that the family emeralds were to be permanently separated from the Cambridge's other pieces. They wanted the emeralds back from Nellie. May swiftly had Frank's will sealed so its details did not become public. (This royal will tradition continues).

Nellie, Countess of Kilmorey, refused to surrender the emeralds. She only obliged after negotiating an alleged £10000 payout for herself. More generous accounts claim that she gave the emeralds back for no or a lower fee.

Mary then arranged for the family emeralds to become part of the royal collection as components of the Delhi Durbar tiara, a necklace, earrings and stomacher. Later the emeralds were removed from the tiara and installed on the Vladimir Tiara that Mary acquired in 1924. Currently, Queen Camilla wears the Delhi Durbar tiara with just the diamonds adorning it.

The loss, albeit temporary, of the Cambridge emeralds became Frank's unfortunate legacy.

Here is a photograph of Mary Adelaide and her four children by Alexander Bassano in the National Portrait Gallery collection.

Source and Recommended Reading

Other Sources

• The Turbulent Tale of The Cambridge Emeralds Emerald Jewelry Set - Astteria
  One of the most fascinating - and slightly scandalous - is that behind emerald jewelry set known as the Cambridge Emeralds.
• Mary of Teck (1867-1953) | Dearest Mama
  
• The Cambridge Emeralds
  

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2023 Joanne Hayle