Lady May Abel Smith

Lady May Helen Emma Abel Smith (formerly Lady May Cambridge, née Princess May of Teck; 23 January 1906 – 29 May 1994) was a relative of the British royal family. She was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and a niece of Queen Mary. She led a private life in Britain. From 1958 until 1966, she lived in Brisbane, while her husband, Sir Henry Abel Smith, served as the governor of Queensland. Early life She was born as Her Serene Highness Princess May Helen Emma of Teck at Claremont House, near Esher in Surrey, England. Her parents were Prince Alexander of Teck, great-grandson of King George III, and the former Princess Alice of Albany, granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She was named May after her paternal aunt Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (later Queen Mary) who was married to King George V, Helen after her maternal grandmother Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany and Emma after her maternal great-aunt Queen Emma of the Netherlands. During the First World War, anti-German feeling led her family to abandon their German titles. Princess May of Teck thus became known as Lady May Cambridge, after her father assumed the last name Cambridge and was granted the Earldom of Athlone. Lady May served as a bridesmaid in 1919 to Princess Patricia of Connaught; in 1922 to her first cousin Princess Mary; and in 1923 to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on her marriage to Mary's brother the Duke of York (later King George VI). Marriage Lady May married Sir Henry Abel Smith, member of the rich Smith family, on 24 October 1931 in Balcombe, Sussex, close to the Athlone residence at Brantridge Park. One of her bridesmaids was 5-year-old Princess Elizabeth of York. Another of the bridesmaids, Princess Ingrid of Sweden, introduced her brother, Prince Gustaf Adolf to his future wife, Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who was also a bridesmaid.