"At last a biography of Princess Mary, the Queen's aunt--and a good one . . . She has long deserved a full study and in Elisabeth Basford, she has found a dedicated and sympathetic biographer, who has done her full justice." --Hugo Vickers Princess Diana is seen as the first British royal to tear up the rulebook in terms of what behavior befit a princess, and in her wake Catherine and Meghan are taking leaps and bounds in modernizing the monarchy. But before this trio of deservedly lauded and often lambasted women, there was a princess who paved the way. Born in 1897, Princess Mary was the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. Despite her Victorian beginnings, she strove to make a princess' life meaningful, using her elevated position to help those less fortunate and defying gender conventions in the process. From her dedication to the war effort, visiting wounded soldiers and training as a nurse, to her role as a peacemaker during the Abdication Crisis, Mary was one princess who redefined the title for the modern age.