Princess Helene went over her fathers head and went right to the top, securing an audience with Pope Leo XIII himself to beg him to let her convert. I have at no time associated His Royal Highness the late Duke of Clarence, with the Whitechapel murderer or suggested that the murderer was of royal blood, Stowell wrote to The Times. He wrote: 'I think I had better go on taking them for a bit. When did Prince Albert die? [29] Of his private life, a childhood friend of Albert Victor later recalled that it was uneventful: "his brother officers had said that they would like to make a man of the world of him. After Albert's death, Victoria spent the first weeks of her widowhood with the Duchess as her only companion. Firstly, the entire nation was shell shocked that he was really gone, and shops shuttered their windows and doors in mourning. T. Eldon Stowellburned all documents related to his father's research on Jack the Ripper. They say all publicity is good publicity, but I think the royal family would majorly disagree with you on that one. The Prince of Mirrors by Alan Robert Clark is a historical novel which closely follows the factual trajectory of Albert Victor's documented life, and imaginatively interweaves how that life might have been emotionally. Until suddenly, the prince caught a dubious break. In 1889, the royal family started looking for potential brides for their son and heir, and landed on Prince Alberts sweet, beautiful cousin Princess Alix of Hesse. By 1891, another potential bride, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, was under consideration. All I can say is: live fast, die young, and leave one bad reputation. He spent Christmas at Mandalay and the New Year at Calcutta. Historically, as the famine of 1845-1921 devastated Ireland, real-life rector Robert Traill led efforts to fundraise and feed the hungry. [4], Though he learned to speak Danish, progress in other languages and subjects was slow. With the court looking into Lydias fate, Buckingham Palace worked overtime trying to cover up yet another one of Alberts youthful indiscretions. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. Samuel West played "Prince Eddy" in The Ripper (1997), having previously played Albert Victor as a child in the 1975 TV miniseries Edward the Seventh. [81] A week after the first letter, he asked Erskine, "I wonder if you really love me a little? This did not go his way. Albert's brother sadly did not marry had looser morals with married and unmarried women spreading syphilis through aristocratic circles. In the second letter, he asked his surgeon - named only as Roche - to send him more pills. [112] He admitted, however, that "the allegations of Prince Eddy's homosexuality must be treated cautiously. Richard Davie, of Nottingham-based IAA, said the letters lend weight to the suggestion Prince Albert (pictured) was a suspect. The princes missives indicate he was taking regular medicine for gleet. Whats that, you ask? Somerset's sister, Lady Waterford, denied that her brother knew anything about Albert Victor. *Disclaimer: The Jack the Ripper Tour contains graphic descriptions, stories and images that some people may find upsetting. He describes suffering from 'glete', a term used to describe the discharge caused by gonorrhoea, in the mornings. Recycling royals: How Charles will re-use chairs made for the coronations of his mother in 1953 and 'How can I fix this?' Any theory submitted without clear evidence to support it is always going to come under doubt and suspicion - and this is exactly the case with Juliens theory. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. Thanks for your time! At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. I'm a doctor and here are the 5 signs you may have intestinal parasites, Why I've ditched a lifetime of possessions and downsized at 70 for my children, How to give yourself a natural facelift for just 25p! Call for millions to take part in 'Homage of the People' to King Charles at the coronation sparks backlash NANA AKUA: Why I'm thrilled by the invitation to pledge my 'true allegiance' to King Charles III, MICK HUME: An oath of allegiance to the King? I am not prepared to discuss our grounds for doing so.. In Episode 4, Victorias awareness of the famine in Ireland was sparked by the writings of Irish rector Robert Traill. Aronson, p. 110; Cook, p. 9; Cornwell, pp. In Balmoral Castle, he proposed to Alix, but she did not return his affections and refused his offer of engagement. 199200. Lord Arthur Somerset to Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher, 10 December 1889, quoted in Cook, p. 197. 2023 Secret Chamber Tours LTD. The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. Lydia Manton was the petite amie of a certain young prince, and that, too, quite recently. Funding for MASTERPIECE is provided by Viking and Raymond James, with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The Masterpiece Trust, created to help ensure the series' future. [14], The brothers were parted in 1883; George continued in the navy and Albert Victor attended Trinity College, Cambridge. "Victorian Scandal Revealed". Queen Victoria's grandson and heir to the British throne, the handsome Prince Albert Victor - or 'Eddy' - had an illustrious future ahead of him. And until now it had always been thought that Prince Albert's unexpected passing on. Although this is almost certainly untrue, it did force the Princes lawyers to admit he had some relations with the woman, tarnishing his name even further. 'He didn't fit the description for Jack who was meant to have been an ordinary Joe, not a member of the aristocracy. Queen Victoria's first son and second child, Albert Edward, was born 9 . Queen Victoria's nephew Prince Albert Victor was identified as a suspect for the five unsolved Ripper murders of women in the East End of London in 1888. [89][90] Owing to discrepancies in the dates and spelling of the letters, one historian has suggested they could be forgeries. Take that, nerds. 42 Even if Haddon's claim had been true, as with other illegitimate births it would have made no difference to the royal line of succession. [57] Travelling via Athens, Port Said, Cairo and Aden, Albert Victor arrived in Bombay on 9 November 1889. Prince Albert Victor, a grandson of Queen Victoria, was the eldest son of King Edward VII but predeceased his father at age 28 and so never became king. Ernest had suffered from a venereal disease in his late teens and early twenties, most likely as the consequence of living a wild, promiscuous lifestyle. The first letter was written while he was training to be an army officer in 1885, He describes suffering from 'glete', a term used to describe the discharge caused by gonorrhoea, writing: 'I have taken those capsules regularly, four a day. In his 1972 book that explored the prospect of Prince Albert being the Ripper, the crime writer Michael Harrison stated there was not 'the slightest evidence' the royal had had syphilis. [60] In Bangalore he laid the foundation stone of the Glass House at the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens on 30 November 1889. Then again, maybe she had another reason to reject him. Well, he sure didnt forget about Prince Albertand that wasnt a good thing. So when Stephen heard of the princes passing, he did not respond well. All Rights Reserved. The Prince's involvement in the murders has been routinely debunked due to a lack of evidence that showed he ever had the STD. Case in point: For a time, people actually thought that he was the notorious Jack the Ripper, the terrifying assailant who was terrorizing the night workers of the Whitechapel district in London during Alberts life. Years later, Margery traveled to England and claimed that she had given birth to Alberts son. In 1889, one of the most infamous scandals England had ever seen broke out, and Prince Albert was right in the middle. Maud told her that "he is buried with your little coin around his neck" and Louise said that he is "yours in death". ". He developed pneumonia and died at Sandringham House in Norfolk on 14 January 1892, less than a week after his 28th birthday. Sounds more like the stuff of a Stalinist people's republic. The prince, Knight claimed, had wed a Catholic woman from Whitechapel and fathered a secret child. Mary of Teck writing to Queen Victoria, quoted in Pope-Hennessy, p. 226. In Episode 4, Alberts brother Ernest began a series of treatments using mercury. Cook, Andrew (2005). From the time of his birth, he was second in the line of succession to the British throne, but did not become king or Prince of Wales because he died before both his grandmother and his father. By 1890, Prince Albert was back in England and had been around the block when it came to scandalous affairs. Heck no. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Stephen, a cousin of the writer Virginia Woolf, suffered from the bi-polar disorder that ran through their family and was often in a mentally fragile state. "[30], In July 1889, the Metropolitan Police uncovered a male brothel operated by Charles Hammond in London's Cleveland Street. [53] In 1913, Newton was struck off indefinitely and sentenced to three years' imprisonment for obtaining money by false pretences. He was given more public engagements, visited Ireland and Gibraltar, and opened the Hammersmith suspension bridge. Gull began believing his patient was Jack the Ripper, and he conspired with the police commissioner to cover it up. The allegations were reported to Buckingham Palace and the head of the police Special Branch investigated. Kneeling over him is an angel, holding a heavenly crown. Prince Albert's Death: Much Speculation, Few Answers Except, uh, Gilbert was so obsessed with getting every detail right, he bankrupted himself before he could finish his masterpiece and had to flee the country. Most of us can only dream of the life Prince Albert Victor was born into. The mystery has led to numerous theories as to the true identity of the killer and spawned countless books, TV documentaries and films. 6869. As for the evidence. The Duke of Clarence's full style, as proclaimed at his funeral by Garter King of Arms, was: "[the] Most High, Mighty, and Illustrious Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, Earl of Athlone, Duke of Saxony, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick". Though Knights information had allegedly come from the grandson of Albert Victor and his anonymous wife, this theorymuch like Dr. Thomas Stowellsfailed to prove a single thing. [118], Albert Victor's posthumous reputation became so bad that in 1964 Philip Magnus called his death a "merciful act of providence", supporting the theory that his death removed an unsuitable heir to the throne and replaced him with the reliable and sober George V.[119] In 1972, Michael Harrison was the first modern author to re-assess Albert Victor and portray him in a more sympathetic light. Prince Alberts parents were on board, and he even wrote to his brother confessing, You have no idea how I love this sweet girl now, and I feel I could never be happy without her. But then it took a tragic turn. Traill is also the ancestor of Victoria writer Daisy Goodwin! And that wasnt all. But compared to other mourners, Alexandra got off incredibly easy. In the late 1800s, an influenza epidemic was sweeping through Europe, and Prince Albert got supremely and tragically unlucky. He hardly knows the meaning of the words to read". In his youth, Stowell was friends with Caroline Acland, the daughter of a royal family physician named Sir William Gull. Find out about new shows, get updates on your favorite dramas and mysteries, enjoy exclusive content and more! However, a Jack the Ripper expert today rubbished the prospect that these letters proved Prince Albert Victor, who was known as Eddy, was the ripper. ', Freshly discovered letters claim he turned to killing after contracting syphilis from a prostitute and going insane. The royal, known as Eddy, was first implicated in the Ripper killings in 1970 by the British Physician Dr Thomas Stowell. While one day she was planning her fairy tale royal wedding, now she was planning her fiancs funeral. The radical politician Henry Broadhurst, who had met both Albert Victor and his brother George, noted that they had "a total absence of affectation or haughtiness". 'Besides, Prince Albert was in Scotland at the time of one of the murders. In the mid-20th century, the official biographers of Queen Mary and King George V, James Pope-Hennessy and Harold Nicolson respectively, promoted hostile assessments of Albert Victor's life, portraying him as lazy, ill-educated and physically feeble. In Gary Lovisi's parallel universe Sherlock Holmes pastiche, "The Adventure of the Missing Detective" in Sherlock Holmes: The Hidden Years, Albert Victor is portrayed as a tyrannical king, who rules after the deaths (in suspicious circumstances) of both his grandmother and father. [72] At first, Queen Victoria opposed any engagement because Hlne was Roman Catholic. Howard, Philip (11 March 1975). Episode 4 depicted friction between Victoria and her government due to Britains Corn Laws, which some of her members cited as the reason Britain could not increase the famine relief efforts. A few weeks later, he died during a major pandemic. 'I'm no legal expert, but a written document that would appear to back up a motive for a murder suspect would be worthy of closer scrutiny by investigating police officers today. Of course, this just pushed the couple to even more desperate measures. [11], In 1879, after a great deal of discussion between the Queen, the Prince of Wales, their households and the Government, the royal brothers were sent as naval cadets on a three-year world tour aboard HMS Bacchante. [110] However, Queen Victoria referred to Albert Victor's "dissipated life" in private letters to her eldest daughter,[111] which were later published. Schoolchildren aged 11 are being given history lessons in Did Jack the Ripper have a copycat rival? . In 1885 and 1886, just as he was finishing his career at Cambridge, Prince Albert started up a lengthy correspondence with his doctor. Yet even so, there was a strange energy about him that, as one commenter put it, made people whisper, He will never come to the throne. Well, he never didand the reasons why are tragic. Remember Prince Alberts teenage tutor, the romantic James Kenneth Stephen? Yet even at that moment, he was hiding a huge secret. Prince Albert Victor, who was Queen Victoria's grandson, was identified many years ago as potentially being the mystery man behind the Whitechapel murders. "[44], While English newspapers suppressed mention of the Prince's name in association with the case, Welsh-language,[45] colonial, and American newspapers were less inhibited. Prince Albert Victor died aged 28 and was the son of the then-Prince of Wales Edward VII. 8081. Yep, he took Alberts bride from his cold, dead hands. According to Dr Stowell, Prince Albert Victor contracted syphilis in the West Indies. [20] He was introduced to Oscar Browning, a noted don who gave parties and "made pets of those undergraduates who were handsome and attractive",[21] and became friendly with Dalton's godson, Alfred Fripp, who later became his doctor and royal surgeon. "Alfred Gilbert's Monument to the Duke of Clarence: A Study in the Sources of Later Victorian Sculpture.". How old was Bertie when Prince Albert died? [33] The prostitutes had not named Albert Victor, and it is suggested that Somerset's solicitor, Arthur Newton, fabricated and spread the rumours to take the heat off his client. Yeahthis went weird (and steamy) places. Albert Victor's intellect, sexuality, and mental health have been the subject of speculation. In 1890, Prince Albert Victor started suffering from a mysterious but powerful illness, and a series of doctors tried to treat him around the clock for something they variously named a fever or gout. However, historians think there might have been a risqu culprit behind his sickness: Yet another bout of venereal disease. "[101] George took Albert Victor's place in the line of succession, eventually succeeding to the throne as George V in 1910. Lets just, Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress, Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs First Wife, Revealing Facts About Joi Lansing, The Forgotten Glamour Goddess, Funny Facts About Rodney Dangerfield, The King Who Got No Respect, Gaudy Facts About Alva Vanderbilt, The Gilded Age Queen, Cunning Facts About Bess of Hardwick, The Tudor Secret-Keeper. Then suddenly, it all went so wrong. However, once again, no solid evidence to support this theory has ever come to light and it is probable that this theory is nothing more than purely fanciful speculation. According to the people who stumped for this grisly theory, Prince Albert was the perfect suspect: He already had a (potential) history of visiting houses of ill repute, and he had enough royal clout to get coppers off his trail. [80], In 1891, Albert Victor wrote to Lady Sybil St Clair Erskine that he was in love once again, though he does not say with whom. He died young and unexpectedly at the age of 42 in December 1861. During his life, the bulk of the British press treated Albert Victor with nothing but respect and the eulogies that immediately followed his death were full of praise. Just as plans for both his marriage to Mary and his appointment as Viceroy of Ireland were under discussion, Albert Victor fell ill with influenza in the pandemic of 18891892. The sculptor Albert Gilbert created the princes effigy, a stunning piece of work that depicts Albert surrounded by angels. [77] Hlne later became Duchess of Aosta. [55] This is not true;[56] the trip had actually been planned since the spring. "[9] In 1877, the two boys were sent to the Royal Navy's training ship, HMS Britannia. Perhaps suffering a psychotic breakand not helped by his emotions for the fallen princeStephen refused every single bit of food from the day of Alberts passing onward. Over the years, there have been many theories surrounding the identity of Jack the Ripper. 10:35 p.m. According to Dr Stowell, Prince Albert Victor contracted syphilis in the West Indies. Cook, pp. Get the scoop on the true history behind Victoria Season 2 Episode 4, and see images from the era of Her Majestys reign. Prince Albert Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was the husband and first cousin to Queen Victoria. Did Prince Albert have syphilis? In order to sidestep the religion issue, Helene offered to convert, and everything seemed like it was going to end up okay in the end. Try his hand again at marriage to distract the public with a royal wedding. Now, mentor-mentee relationships can get tangled at the best of times, but Prince Albert and Stephen took it to the next level. At his trial the following January, the prosecution produced documents showing that Haddon's enlistment papers, marriage certificate, officer's commission, demobilisation papers and employment records all showed he was born in or before 1887, at least two years before Albert Victor met Mrs. Haddon. Long-limbed and slim, he was strikingly handsome in a rakish way, and he had absolutely no problem using his good looks to charm people. Stowell theorized that Eddy, crazed by the effects of syphilis, committed the murders. Now freshly discovered letters. ADVERTISEMENT HmmMaybe Mary of Teck did the right thing after all. (May have died of GPI (syphilis) age 28 +6 days) . 196, 200. In November 1970, The Criminologist published an article by Dr. Thomas Stowell, an octogenarian surgeon with some thoughts about the identity of Jack the Ripper. You dont get much darker than Alberts legacy. They were designed to favor domestic grain farmers by heavily taxing imported graineven during times when food production was inhibited. [20] Leaving Cambridge in 1885, where he had already served as a cadet in the 2nd Cambridge University Battalion, he was gazetted as an officer in the 10th Hussars. Need more proof? The conspiracy theories surrounding Albert Victor have led to his portrayal in film as somehow responsible for or involved in the Jack the Ripper murders. [22] In August 1884, he spent some time at Heidelberg University studying German, before returning to Cambridge. [67][68] He persisted in trying to convince Alix to marry him, but he finally gave up in 1890 when she sent him a letter in which she told him "how it grieves her to pain him, but that she cannot marry him, much as she likes him as a Cousin. To be fair, despite his dismal school record and lack of encyclopedic knowledge, Prince Albert Victor had a lot of other things going for him besides his royal titles. For days, he struggled to survive, and his family waited on tenterhooks. While this may not seem like a huge deal today, it was definitely a big deal back then. He wrote: 'I think I had better go on taking them for a bit. . Moreover, no attempts were made to restrain Prince Albert Victor until after the Double Event (the murders of Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes on the same night). He was the second son born to Ernest III, Duke . Rumours in his time linked him with the Cleveland Street scandal, which involved a homosexual brothel; however, there is no conclusive evidence that he ever went there, or was indeed homosexual. As it turns out, the deceased Prince Albert left a wake of destruction and tragedy that rivaled any of the scandals he made when he was alive. Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. Mark Dexter portrayed both "Prince Edward" and "Albert Sickert". I read just sufficiently to make certain that there was nothing of importance, Dr. Stowell told the press at the time. Over time, the disease progressed until it began to attack his brain. 213217; Cook, p. 10; McDonald pp. In both The Bloody Red Baron (volume 2 of Anno Dracula series) by Kim Newman and the novel I, Vampire by Michael Romkey, he has become a vampire. This page was last edited on 18 April 2023, at 22:59. [114][115] It was later alleged, among others by Stephen Knight in Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution, that Albert Victor fathered a child with a woman in the Whitechapel district of London, and either he or several high-ranking men committed the murders in an effort to cover up his indiscretion. Dr Stowell suggested he had either possessed or had seen evidence to back up this theory 80 years before and appeared on a BBC current affairs programme discussing it. Despite Stephens doubts, Prince Albert and his entourage went to Cambridge anywayand he received a shocking education. Sure, the prince floundered in his studies like everyone predicted, but he proved very successful in society. 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Believe it or not, the biggest blow to Prince Albert Victors legacy came from inside his own family. 7,000 troops from 40 countries hold full-scale rehearsal as RAF base is Latin translation of 'long live Queen Camilla, long live King Charles' will greet royal couple as they enter Rare 12th century coin that depicts Malcolm IV of Scotland will go on show in Dunfermline to mark the King's Do not sell or share my personal information. Cmon now. [64], In the 1920s, however, the son, Clarence, repeated the story and published a book in the United States, My Uncle George V, in which he claimed he was born in London in September 1890, about nine months after Albert Victor's meeting with Mrs. Haddon. According to the report, "The Prince's sallow face turned scarlet and his eyes seemed to start from their orbits," and he had one of his companions upbraid the fellow for impertinence.[47]. Queen Victoria was very supportive, considering Mary idealcharming, sensible and pretty. According to Acland, her father had treated a young gay man with syphilis, which he had possibly contracted from a prostitute in the West Indies. [58] He was entertained sumptuously in Hyderabad by the Nizam,[59] and elsewhere by many other maharajahs. Five of the smaller figures were only completed with "a greater roughness and pittedness of texture" after his return to Britain in the 1920s.[106]. The distraught queen forbade an autopsy, which could have determined the caused of the royal consort's death with more certainty.Something needed to take the blame, and for the last 150 years, typhoid got the stick.