H.R.H. THE PRINCESS ROYAL (Hansard, 30 March 1965)

§ THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (THE EARL OF LONGFORD)
My Lords, I beg to move the Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper:
"That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty to express the deep sorrow of this House at the great loss which Her Majesty has sustained by the death of Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal; to condole with Her Majesty on this sad occasion, and to express to Her Majesty the dutiful and loyal concern which this House will ever feel in all that may affect Her Majesty and the Royal Family."
My Lords, as my Motion declares, anything that affects Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family is the immediate concern of your Lordships House. To-day, in common with another place, we join in expressing to Her Majesty our sincere condolences and our warm sympathy on the death of a senior and greatly respected member of her family, the Princess Royal. The only daughter of our much loved Queen Mary and King George V, Princess Mary was seventeen when the First World War broke out. She belonged, therefore, to the generation that bore the brunt of that merciless struggle. The war gave her many opportunities for activities which soon became the pattern of her life—a life spent to a degree exceptional even for the Royal Family, in public service. The survivors of the First War will remember how at Christmas, 1915, now just on fifty years ago, she organised "Princess Mary's Gift Boxes" for every sailor afloat and every soldier at the front.
942 I will not recount in detail to your Lordships the variety of her interests and the multitude of causes that she helped. Many of them will be known to your Lordships from your own personal experience. But I ought particularly to mention with gratitude nursing, and especially the Red Cross; the Girl Guide movement; the Army, in which she was Colonel-in-Chief of many Regiments, both British and Commonwealth; her travels abroad on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen—and here I might mention, as an example of the way the Princess Royal did things, that in 1960 she visited every Caribbean island in the Commonwealth—and finally her many interests in the North of England, and particularly in York shire.
Her involvement in any cause she took up was never perfunctory and she was never content to be anything like a figurehead. She was naturally shy and reserved, and if some who did not know her found her at first a little formidable, they soon discovered that she had a deep feeling for people, a great sense of humour and a formidable grasp of the details and the essential purpose of any cause that she espoused. She was completely at ease with young people. No wonder she was loved and esteemed in Yorkshire; and, above all, it was no wonder that Leeds University chose her as its Chancellor. She put much more into life than she took out, and I am sure that a11 of your Lordships would wish to join me in expressing to Her Majesty, and also to the two sons of Her Royal Highness, our profound sorrow on this sad occasion. I beg to move.

§ LORD CARRINGTON
My Lords, we who sit on these Benches would like to associate ourselves with the Motion which has been so well moved by the noble Earl the Leader of the House. All your Lordships in one way or another know of the 943 countless organisations and activities in which the Princess Royal took part, and many of us will have first-hand knowledge of the interest and hard work she put into them. Yet I think it is true to say that the Princess Royal did not hit the headlines and was much less well known than one would have expected. This, I feel, was as she would have wished it. I do not suppose that it ever occurred to her that she deserved gratitude or fame for what she did. What she did, she did because it was her duty and inclination, and, in addition, she seemed to enjoy that duty because she was always interested in whatever she was doing. Her interests were wide and varied. I for one, like many of my noble friends, remember particularly her interest in farming and her cattle and in the many visits that she made to the Royal Show.
In all these activities she will be sadly missed, and not least by those whose privilege it was to serve her. Many years ago my mother had for a number of years the honour to be her Lady-in-Waiting and I learned at first hand from her how the Princess Royal was beloved by those around her. As I have said, there was no thought of reward for any of the countless activities in which she took part; yet something very important did emerge from those years of service. That was the respect, the love, the affection and the admiration of all those whom she served. I think she would have felt that that was the only worthwhile reward.

LORD REA
My Lords, it is with a very sincere sense of loss and sorrow that I associate myself and the noble Lords on these Benches with the humble Address to Her Majesty. Like many of your Lordships, if I am not out of order in saying so, I happen to be of roughly the same generation as the late Princess Royal and her Royal brothers; and it was natural that those of my generation should follow with special interest what information there was about the human, personal and individual characteristics of this happy and devoted Royal Family, apart from their high position and their public assiduity and duty towards their official responsibilities.
Much has already been written and said about the modest and conscientious way in which our Princess dedicated herself 944 to the demands on her time and her energies in a role which called for very much self-sacrifice and self-discipline, and I shall not enlarge upon those fine qualities. She fulfilled our ideas of what a Royal Princess and a great lady should be. But there is one aspect about which I think there is a particular poignancy. She must have known how highly she was regarded and appreciated, but I have a feeling that her own innate modesty hid from her the knowledge that she was greatly loved throughout the land, that those who met her, and those who did not have that privilege, all looked upon her with real admiration and affection, as a gentle and kind and lovable person, a beloved daughter and sister and mother, who somehow held all those positions in the hearts of the highest and the lowliest in the land. With our humble sympathy for Her Majesty, we add our grief for the Princess's sons and for their families, who suffer this great loss.

§ BARONESS SWANBOROUGH
My Lords, the tribute I would pay to Princess Mary is as a woman to a very great Royal lady. Hers was truly a purpose-fule life, dominated by a strong natural reserve and controlled by her belief in the obligations of her birthright. She had only one standard—the highest; and never to fall below it was her determined aim. Her thoughtfulness, her understanding, above all her thoroughness, were legendary among those who have worked with her. She travelled far and wide to fulfil public duties and never thought of sparing herself. But the happiest times of all were those spent with her grandchildren, or in her rose garden. She never counted the cost to herself, and she gave so generously that her contribution was accepted as the normal out-pouring from a source that could be drawn on ad infinitum.
Her honours were many, her interests manifold and her responsibilities varied. As Chief Controller of the Women's Royal Army Corps, as Commandant-in-Chief of the British Red Cross Society, as President or Patron of the major national voluntary bodies, she gave leadership to the women of Great Britain. This she did so quietly and unobtrusively that the respect and honour she automatically commanded generated the bond of deep loyalty which everyone had for her.
945 Those of us who had for Princess Mary not only a great regard but a very deep affection learned much from her serene dedication to the country she loved so well. We learned from her that those who set standards can get them accepted by living them to the full. We shall never forget how truly her example convinced those who worked with her that to honour an unspoken obligation is even more binding than an agreement sealed and signed or an officially witnessed undertaking. The sadness of the women of Great Britain is for ourselves. I am sure that our gladness is that we have had the honour to know and serve a very great lady.

THE LORD BISHOP OF MANCHESTER
My Lords, I know that had his Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury not been abroad, he would have been here to-day to associate himself with ail that has been said, and to express on the Church's behalf our sympathy for the Royal Family and our appreciation of all that the Princess Royal did for the country and for the Commonwealth. At every Sitting of this House, prayers are offered for the well-being of the Royal Family, and it is but natural that we here should feel a special sense of loss when death carries off one of its members out of human sight.
A familiar face will no longer be seen on our great and Regal occasions. I do not think that the Princess Royal herself would have chosen the great position which she occupied, for she was, as as been said, retiring by nature. A11 the more gratitude is due to her for the exemplary way in which she carried out all her public duties. And how manifold they were! In these, she was active right up to the end.
The years dealt kindly with her, for she seemed to grow in serenity, charm and quiet beauty. Deeply attached to her family and to Yorkshire, where she made her home, she will be sadly missed in that wide county. The manner of her going has been strangely characteristic: quietly, quickly, unobtrusively, she has slipped away, with a good day's work well done.
Her brother, King George VI, concluded one of his Christmas broadcasts by quoting Wordsworth's line on The Skylark. Wordsworth referred to it as a 946 Type of the wise who soar But never roam, True to the kindred points Of heaven and home. These lines perhaps fittingly describe the plan and purpose of the noble life to which we now pay tribute. May she rest in peace and, by the mercy of God, may she inherit that everlasting Kingdom for which our prayers ever make request!

EARIL ATTLEE
My Lords, as one of the oldest generation, I should like to add my support to this Motion. Her Royal Highness was an extremely good friend to me and to my wife over many years. My mind goes back 50 years ago, when a charming young girl came down to Salisbury Plain, where I was stationed, and I showed her over the trenches we were digging. That charming young girl was the Princess Royal. At that early age she had come all that way to see how a new armoured division was getting on. I would add my support to this Motion.