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TECK, DUKE OF
Neg. No: GP (L) 1427
Neg. Size: 15"x12"
Neg. Date: 03-07-1897

copyright V&A

Sitter: Prince Francis (Paul(1) Louis Alexander), Duke of Teck (1837-1900).

Image displayed in:

Son of the unequal marriage of his father, a royal duke of Württemberg, with the Hungarian Countess Claudine Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde, from whom it was said that the Duke of Teck inherited his dark good looks, the young and impecunious soldier was married in 1866 to Princess Mary Adelaide, granddaughter of King George III.

Having had to give up his commission in the Austrian army to come and live in England, he occupied much of his time in redecorating their English residence, White Lodge in Richmond Park, and in helping his wife adorn herself with jewellery.

Having missed the opportunity of marrying his daughter to Prince Henry of Pless, one of the richest princes of Germany who had chosen Mary “Daisy” Cornwallis-West as his wife, the Duke of Teck aimed even higher and his Mary became engaged to Prince Albert Victor, the unstable and apathetic eldest son and heir of the Prince of Wales. After Prince Albert Victor’s sudden death, the Duke insisted that his daughter must be passed on to the next brother – as happened with the fiancée of the Tsarevich Nicholas upon his sudden death in 1865.

In this image the Duke wears a costume, which is an accurate representation of a French high-ranking soldier’s uniform of c. 1730 consisting of a white tunic with revers of blue trimmed with silver and a matching white waistcoat. The costume is completed with cloth breeches, high boots, and a powdered wig.

Although the Duke was photographed at the Ball, he visited the Lafayette studio three weeks later for a second series of portraits. The image seen here is from that date and was published in the Album commemorating the event.

 

Biog: Major-General in the British Army; eldest son of Prince Alexander of Württemberg; m (1866) Princess Mary Adelaide of Great Britain; father of Queen Mary.

Role: Capitaine, Garde du Roi 1660/1760.

Date: 3 July 1897.

Occasion: The Devonshire House Ball, 2 July 1897.

Location: Devonshire House, Piccadilly, London, W.

Descr: FL standing.

Costume: "... white cloth tunic with revers of blue trimmed with silver. White waistcoat to correspond. Cloth breeches, high boots, and powdered peruke." (The Times, 3 July 1897, p 12b)

Costume Supplier: -

Furniture & Props: Backdrop, painted to suggest the garden statuary at Devonshire House; studio balustrade; studio Persian rug.

Photographer: James Stack Lauder (1853-1923) trading as 'J Lafayette' at 179 New Bond Street, London, W.

Evidence of photographer at work: -

No of poses: 1 [but see also neg nos 1494 & 1494B, taken later in the studio].

1427.jpg (37718 bytes)
Prince Francis, Duke of Teck  Princess Mary, Duchess of Teck

tec1494b.html

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Provenance: Pinewood Studios; acquired 1989.

References:

Biog: Hugh Montgomery Massingberd ed., Burke's Royal Families of the World, Vol I, London, 1977, p 184; Who's Who; The Times, 23 January 1900, p 7d. (See also S.W. Jackman, The People's Princess: A Portrait of H.R.H. Princess Mary, Duchess of Teck, Shooters Lodge, 1984.)

Occasion: Sophia Murphy, The Duchess of Devonshire's Ball, London, 1984.

Role & Costume: The Daily Graphic, 3 July 1897, p 13 (line drawing); The Gentlewoman, 10 July 1897, p 50b & p 53 (line drawing); (of 1660) The Morning Post, 3 July 1897, p 7f; St. James's Gazette, 3 July 1897, p 9a; The Standard, 3 July 1897, p 4a; The Queen, 10 July 1897, p 76a; The Times, 3 July 1897, p 12b; (of 1760) The Daily Chronicle, 3 July 1897, p 7g.

Costume Supplier: -

Photographer: Copyright records, Public Record Office, Kew: Copy 1/431 3 August 1897 (1 pose registered).

Photography: The Daily Telegraph, 3 July 1897, p 9f; Black & White, 10 July 1897, p 38b.

Reproduced: Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball, July 2 1897: A Collection of Portraits in Costume of Some of the Guests, privately printed, 1899, p 11, (National Portrait Gallery Archives).

Acknowledgements: -

1. Burke's Royal Families of the World, Vol 1, London, 1977, adds here the name Karl (Charles).