Francis, Duke of Teck
| Francis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Duke of Teck | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Photograph by Alexander Bassano circa 1888 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Count Francis von Hohenstein 28 August 1837 Esseg, Slavonia, Austrian Empire (modern-day Osijek, Croatia) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 21 January 1900 (aged 62) White Lodge, Richmond Park, Surrey, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Burial | 27 January 1900 Royal Vault, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Francis, Duke of Teck, Background and early military careerFrancis was born on 28 August 1837 in 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 .
He was educated at the Austro-Sardinian War and was awarded the gold medal for distinguished service at the Battle of Solferino and the bronze war medal, 1859.[2]
In 1863, Francis was created Prince of Teck, with the style of Serene Highness, in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He served during the Austro-Prussian War[citation needed] and retired from the Austrian Army when he married and moved to England in 1866. Marriage and dukedom.jpg) As the product of a morganatic marriage, and without succession rights to the throne, Francis was not acceptable as a husband for princesses in most of the European royal houses.[3] 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) Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the younger daughter of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the 7th and youngest son of King George III. The couple married on 12 June 1866 at St Anne's Church, Kew, in Surrey.[4] They had one daughter and three sons:[2]
He was created Duke of Teck by the King of Württemberg in 1871.[5] Later military careerTeck was made 49th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers (Post Office Rifles) on 16 August 1876.[7]
He was attached to the staff of British General Sir Battle of Tel-el-Kebir, the Khedive's Star, and the Order of Osmanieh, first class.[2] On his return from Egypt he was gazetted a Colonel in the British Army.[8]
The Duke of Teck was made Colonel ( 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 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 and Germany. They eventually returned to the UK in 1885. Later lifeWith an Lord Salisbury 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."[13] Nevertheless, the Queen gave her official consent to the engagement on 12 December 1891.[14] 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, 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, 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, as well as the Adels-Casino in Vienna and the Herren-Casino in Stuttgart.[2] The Duke of Teck died on 21 January 1900 at White Lodge.[15] He was buried next to his wife in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.[16] There is a pub in Prince of Teck .
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