Object of the Day: A Mug Commemorating the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary, 1935

In my growing collection of Royal commemorative mugs, only one of them wasn’t created in honor of a coronation. This mug is a souvenir of the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary (of Teck), celebrating twenty-five years (1910-1935) of their reign.


Regular readers of Stalking the Belle Époque know that I have a particular fondness for Mary of Teck. She’s my favorite of the deceased Royals. Mary of Teck was responsible for amassing a large portion of the exceptional items in the Royal Collection. She was a consummate collector who had a wide range of methods of obtaining attractive objects. Historians and lovers of beautiful things owe Mary of Teck a debt of gratitude. Without her, we would not have access to many of these remarkable works of art.

King George V—especially when compared with the lives of the peculiar George III and the wild George IV—was a conventional man who preferred to stay at home with his family and amuse himself with his stamp collection. He tirelessly led his country through World War I and worried about the rise of Adolf Hitler. Though he was considered a trifle grumpy by his children, and though he didn’t care much for technology, he made the first Royal radio broadcast and led England into a new age. George was concerned about what would happen to Britain after his death. He was said to have little to no respect for his eldest son, Prince Edward, whom he considered a philanderer and rogue, and, though he wasn’t overly demonstrative, much preferred his son, Prince Albert whom he called, “Bertie,” (later King George VI). George V was especially fond of his eldest granddaughter whom he called “Lilibet.” Today, we know “Lilibet” as Queen Elizabeth II. She showed her fondness for her grandfather by calling him, “Grandpa England.”

George worried that chaos would ensue if Prince Edward took the throne, saying, "After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself within 12 months.” Conversely, he was recorded as saying, "I pray to God my eldest son (Edward) will never marry and have children, and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne."

George was correct. After George V’s death—shortly following his Silver Jubilee—in 1935, King Edward VIII ascended to the throne and then quickly abdicated so that he could marry his “love,” Wallis Simpson. “Bertie” took the throne on the day that would have been his brother’s coronation. This allowed “Lilibet” to become Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

King George V and Queen Mary
(while still Duke of York and Princess Victoria
Mary of Teck) shortly before their marriage
in 1893.
The Royal Collection

Mary of Teck outlived her husband and three of her children. She spent her later years aggressively adding art and artifacts to the Royal Collection. In 1952, after the death of King George VI (her son), she realized that she had lung cancer and that she would not live much longer. Eager to see Elizabeth take the throne, she insisted that in the event of her death, the coronation was not to be postponed. Mary died in 1953 at age 85—ten weeks before Elizabeth’s coronation. The coronation proceeded as planned.