Prince Albert Victor, Duke Of Clarence And Avondale
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Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (Albert Victor Christian Edward; 8 January 1864 – 14 January 1892) was the eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later
King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
and
Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...
) and grandson of the reigning British monarch,
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
. From the time of his birth, he was second in the line of
succession to the British throne Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, gender, legitimacy and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 an ...
, but did not become king or
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
because he died before both his grandmother and his father. Albert Victor was known to his family, and many later biographers, as "Eddy". When young, he travelled the world extensively as a
naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
cadet, and as an adult he joined the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
but did not undertake any active military duties. After two unsuccessful courtships, he became engaged to be married to
Princess Victoria Mary of Teck Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 January 1936 as the wife of King-Empe ...
in late 1891. A few weeks later, he died during a major pandemic. Mary later married his younger brother, who eventually became
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
in 1910. Albert Victor's intellect, sexuality, and mental health have been the subject of speculation. Rumours in his time linked him with the
Cleveland Street scandal The Cleveland Street scandal occurred in 1889, when a homosexual male brothel and Love hotel, house of assignation on Cleveland Street, London, was discovered by police. The government was accused of covering up the scandal to protect the names o ...
, which involved a homosexual brothel; however, there is no conclusive evidence that he ever went there, or was indeed homosexual. Some authors have argued that he was the
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
known as
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
, or that he was otherwise involved in the murders, but contemporaneous documents show that Albert Victor could not have been in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
at the time of the murders, and the claim is widely dismissed.


Early life

Albert Victor was born two months prematurely on 8 January 1864 at
Frogmore House Frogmore House is a 17th-century English country house owned by the Crown Estate. It is a historic Grade I listed building. The house is located on the Frogmore estate, which is situated within the grounds of the Home Park in Windsor, Berkshi ...
,
Windsor, Berkshire Windsor is a historic market town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British monarch. The town is situated west of ...
. He was the first child of
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
, and his wife
Alexandra of Denmark Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...
. Following his grandmother
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
's wishes, he was named ''Albert Victor'', after herself and her late husband,
Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...
. As a grandchild of the reigning
British monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...
in the male line and a son of the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
, he was formally styled ''His Royal Highness Prince Albert Victor of Wales'' from birth. He was christened ''Albert Victor Christian Edward'' in the private chapel of
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
on 10 March 1864 by the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, Charles Longley, but was known informally as "Eddy". His godparents were Queen Victoria (his paternal grandmother), King
Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein- ...
(his maternal grandfather, represented by his brother
Prince Johann of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Prince Johann of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (5 December 1825 – 27 May 1911) was the ninth of the ten children of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kasse ...
), King
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(his great-granduncle), the Dowager Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (his maternal great-grandmother, for whom the
Duchess of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge, one of several current royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom , is a hereditary title of specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. The title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) is heritable by male de ...
stood proxy), the
Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha This is a list of the Duchesses, Electresses and Queens of Saxony; the consorts of the Duke of Saxony and its successor states; including the Electorate of Saxony, the Kingdom of Saxony, the House of Ascania, Albertine, and the Ernestine duchies, ...
(his grandaunt by marriage, for whom the
Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz This is a list of the Duchesses and Grand Duchesses; the consorts of the Duke Mecklenburg and later the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Strelitz Duchess of Mecklenburg Mecklenburg-Schwerin Line (III) Mecklenburg-Strelitz Line Grand ...
stood proxy), the
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(his maternal great-grandfather, for whom
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (George William Frederick Charles; 26 March 1819 – 17 March 1904) was a member of the British royal family, a grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. The Duke was an army officer by professio ...
, stood proxy), the Crown Princess of Prussia (his paternal aunt, for whom Princess Helena, her sister, stood proxy) and Prince Alfred (his paternal uncle).


Education

When Albert Victor was just short of seventeen months old, his brother,
Prince George of Wales Prince George of Wales (George Alexander Louis; born 22 July 2013) is a member of the British royal family. He is the eldest child of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales. George is the eldest grandchild of King Charl ...
, was born on 3 June 1865. Given the closeness in age of the two royal brothers, they were educated together. In 1871, the Queen appointed John Neale Dalton as their tutor. The two princes were given a strict programme of study, which included games and military drills as well as academic subjects. Dalton complained that Albert Victor's mind was "abnormally dormant". Though he learned to speak
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
, progress in other languages and subjects was slow. Sir
Henry Ponsonby Major-General Sir Henry Frederick Ponsonby (10 December 182521 November 1895) was a British soldier and royal court official who served as Queen Victoria's Private Secretary. Biography Born in Corfu, he was the son of Major-General Sir Frede ...
thought that Albert Victor might have inherited his mother's
deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
. Albert Victor never excelled intellectually. Possible physical explanations for Albert Victor's inattention or indolence in class include
absence seizure Absence seizures are one of several kinds of generalized seizures. These seizures are sometimes referred to as petit mal seizures (from the French for "little illness", a term dated in the late 18th century). Absence seizures are characterized by ...
s or his premature birth, which can be associated with learning difficulties, but Lady Geraldine Somerset blamed Albert Victor's poor education on Dalton, whom she considered uninspiring. Separating the brothers for the remainder of their education was considered, but Dalton advised the Prince of Wales against splitting them up as "Prince Albert Victor requires the stimulus of Prince George's company to induce him to work at all." In 1877, the two boys were sent to the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
's training ship, HMS ''Britannia''. They began their studies there two months behind the other cadets as Albert Victor contracted
typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
, for which he was treated by Sir William Gull. Dalton accompanied them as chaplain to the ship. 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''. Albert Victor was rated midshipman on his sixteenth birthday. They toured the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
, accompanied by Dalton, visiting the Americas, the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
, South Africa,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, the Far East,
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
,
Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, the
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and
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. They acquired
tattoos A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing pr ...
in Japan. By the time they returned to Britain, Albert Victor was eighteen. The brothers were parted in 1883; George continued in the navy and Albert Victor attended
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
. At Bachelor's Cottage,
Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places * Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia * Sandringham, Queensland, Australia * Sandringham, Victoria, Australia **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station **Electoral district of Sandringham * Sand ...
, Albert Victor was expected to
cram Cram may refer to: * Cram (surname), a surname, and list of notable persons having the surname * Cram.com, a website for creating and sharing flashcards * Cram (Australian game show), a television show * ''Cram'' (game show), a TV game show that ...
before arriving at university in the company of Dalton, French instructor Monsieur Hua, and a newly chosen tutor/companion,
James Kenneth Stephen James Kenneth Stephen (25 February 1859 – 3 February 1892) was an English poet, and tutor to Prince Albert Victor, eldest son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. Early life James Kenneth Stephen was the second son of Sir James Fitzjame ...
. Some biographers have said that Stephen was a
misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced f ...
, although this has recently been questioned, and he may have felt emotionally attached to Albert Victor, but whether or not his feelings were overtly homosexual is open to question. Stephen was initially optimistic about tutoring the prince, but by the time the party were to move to Cambridge had concluded, "I do not think he can possibly derive much benefit from attending lectures at Cambridge ... He hardly knows the meaning of the words ''to read''". At the start of the new term in October, Albert Victor, Dalton, and Lieutenant Henderson from ''Bacchante'' moved to Nevile's Court at Trinity College, which was generally reserved for accommodating dons rather than students. The prince showed little interest in the intellectual atmosphere, and he was excused from examinations, though he did become involved in undergraduate life.Cook, pp. 104–111. He was introduced to
Oscar Browning Oscar Browning OBE (17 January 1837 – 6 October 1923) was a British educationalist, historian and ''bon viveur'', a well-known Cambridge personality during the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. An innovator in the early development of ...
, a noted
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who gave parties and "made pets of those undergraduates who were handsome and attractive", and became friendly with Dalton's godson, Alfred Fripp, who later became his doctor and royal surgeon. It is not known whether he had any sexual experiences at Cambridge, but partners of either sex would have been available. In August 1884, he spent some time at
Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
studying German, before returning to Cambridge. 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. In 1888, he was awarded an honorary degree by the university. One of Albert Victor's instructors said he learnt by listening rather than reading or writing and had no difficulty remembering information, but
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (George William Frederick Charles; 26 March 1819 – 17 March 1904) was a member of the British royal family, a grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. The Duke was an army officer by professio ...
, had a less favourable opinion of him, calling him "an inveterate and incurable dawdler".
Princess Augusta of Cambridge Princess Augusta of Cambridge (19 July 1822 – 5 December 1916) was a member of the British royal family, a granddaughter of George III. She married into the Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and became the Grand Duchess of Mecklenbu ...
was also dismissive, calling him: "''si peu de chose"'' uch a small thing Much of Albert Victor's time at his post in
Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...
was spent drilling, which he disliked, though he did like to play
polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
. He passed his examinations, and in March 1887, he was posted to
Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...
where he was promoted to captain. He was given more public engagements, visited
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
, and opened the Hammersmith suspension bridge. 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. Into that world he refused to be initiated."


Cleveland Street scandal

In July 1889, the
Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
uncovered a male brothel operated by Charles Hammond in London's Cleveland Street. Under police interrogation, the
male prostitutes Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male pro ...
and
pimps Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...
revealed the names of their clients, who included Lord Arthur Somerset, an Extra
Equerry An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...
to the Prince of Wales. At the time, all homosexual acts between men were illegal, and the clients faced social ostracism, prosecution, and at worst, two years' imprisonment with hard labour. The resultant Cleveland Street scandal implicated other high-ranking figures in British society, and rumours swept upper-class London of the involvement of a member of the royal family, namely Prince Albert Victor. 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.
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

"The monarchs we never had: Prince Albert Victor (1864–1892)"
Accessed 1 May 2010.
Letters exchanged between the
Treasury Solicitor The Government Legal Department (previously called the Treasury Solicitor's Department) is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Service. The department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor. This office go ...
, Sir
Augustus Stephenson Sir Augustus Frederick William Keppel Stephenson, (18 October 1827 in London – 26 September 1904) was a Treasury Solicitor and the second person to hold the office of Director of Public Prosecutions in England and Wales. Early life and family ...
, and his assistant, Hamilton Cuffe, make coded reference to Newton's threats to implicate Albert Victor. In December 1889, it was reported that the Prince and Princess of Wales were "daily assailed with anonymous letters of the most outrageous character" bearing upon the scandal. The Prince of Wales intervened in the investigation; no clients were ever prosecuted and nothing against Albert Victor was proven. Sir Charles Russell was retained to watch the proceedings in the case on behalf of Albert Victor. Although there is no conclusive evidence for or against his involvement, or that he ever visited a homosexual club or brothel,Aronson, p. 117. the rumours and cover-up have led some biographers to speculate that he did visit Cleveland Street, and that he was "possibly bisexual, probably homosexual". This is contested by other commentators, one of whom refers to him as "ardently heterosexual" and his involvement in the rumours as "somewhat unfair".Bradford, p. 10. The historian
H. Montgomery Hyde Harford Montgomery Hyde (14 August 190710 August 1989), born in Belfast, Ireland, was a barrister, politician (Ulster Unionist MP for Belfast North), prolific author and biographer. He was deselected by his party in 1959, losing his seat in th ...
wrote, "There is no evidence that he was homosexual, or even bisexual." While English newspapers suppressed mention of the Prince's name in association with the case, Welsh-language, colonial, and American newspapers were less inhibited. The ''New York Times'' ridiculed him as a "dullard" and "stupid perverse boy", who would "never be allowed to ascend the British throne". According to one American press report, when departing the Gare du Nord in Paris in May 1890, Albert Victor was cheered by a waiting crowd of English, but hissed and catcalled by some of the French; one journalist present asked him if he would comment "as to the cause of his sudden departure from England". 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. Somerset's sister, Lady Waterford, denied that her brother knew anything about Albert Victor. She wrote, "I am sure the boy is as straight as a line ... Arthur does not the least know how or where the boy spends his time ... he believes the boy to be perfectly innocent." Lady Waterford also believed Somerset's protestations of his own innocence. In surviving private letters to his friend
Lord Esher Viscount Esher, of Esher in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 November 1897 for the prominent lawyer and judge William Brett, 1st Baron Esher, upon his retirement as Master of the Rolls ...
, Somerset denies knowing anything directly about Albert Victor, but confirms that he has heard the rumours, and hopes that they will help quash any prosecution. He wrote,
I can quite understand the Prince of Wales being much annoyed at his son's name being coupled with the thing but that was the case before I left it ... we were both accused of going to this place but not together ... they will end by having out in open court exactly what they are all trying to keep quiet. I wonder if it is really a fact or only an invention of that arch ruffian H mmond
He continued,
I have never mentioned the boy's name except to Probyn, Montagu and Knollys when they were acting for me and I thought they ought to know. Had they been wise, hearing what I knew and therefore what others knew, they ought to have hushed the matter up, instead of stirring it up as they did, with all the authorities.
The rumours persisted; sixty years later the official biographer of George V,
Harold Nicolson Sir Harold George Nicolson (21 November 1886 – 1 May 1968) was a British politician, diplomat, historian, biographer, diarist, novelist, lecturer, journalist, broadcaster, and gardener. His wife was the writer Vita Sackville-West. Early lif ...
, was told by
Lord Goddard William Edgar Rayner Goddard, Baron Goddard, (10 April 1877 – 29 May 1971) was Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Chief Justice of England from 1946 to 1958, known for his strict sentencing and mostly conservative views despite be ...
, who was a twelve-year-old schoolboy at the time of the scandal, that Albert Victor "had been involved in a male brothel scene, and that a solicitor had to commit
perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...
to clear him. The solicitor was struck off the rolls for his offence, but was thereafter reinstated." In fact, none of the lawyers in the case was convicted of perjury or struck off during the scandal, but Somerset's solicitor, Arthur Newton, was convicted of obstruction of justice for helping his clients escape abroad, and was sentenced to six weeks in prison. Over twenty years later in 1910, Newton was struck off for twelve months for professional misconduct after falsifying letters from another of his clients, the notorious murderer
Dr Crippen Hawley Harvey Crippen (September 11, 1862 – November 23, 1910), usually known as Dr. Crippen, was an American homeopath, ear and eye specialist and medicine dispenser. He was hanged in Pentonville Prison in London for the murder of his wife C ...
. In 1913, Newton was struck off indefinitely and sentenced to three years' imprisonment for obtaining money by false pretences.


Tour of India

The foreign press suggested that Albert Victor was sent on a seven-month tour of
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
from October 1889 to avoid the gossip which swept London society in the wake of the scandal. This is not true; the trip had actually been planned since the spring. Travelling via
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...
,
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
and
Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
, Albert Victor arrived in
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
on 9 November 1889. He was entertained sumptuously in
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
by the
Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...
, and elsewhere by many other
maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...
hs. In
Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
he laid the foundation stone of the Glass House at the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens on 30 November 1889. He spent Christmas at
Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...
and the New Year at
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. Most of the extensive travelling was done by train, although elephants were ridden as part of ceremonies. In the style of the time, a great many animals were shot for sport. During the trip, Albert Victor met Mrs. Margery Haddon, the wife of a civil engineer, Henry Haddon. After several failed marriages and Albert Victor's death, Margery came to England and claimed the Prince was the father of her son, Clarence Haddon. There was no evidence and her claims were dismissed. She had become an
alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...
and seemed deranged. The allegations were reported to Buckingham Palace and the head of the police
Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...
investigated. Papers in
The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
show that neither courtiers nor Margery had any proof to support the allegation. In a statement to police, Albert Victor's lawyers admitted that there had been "some relations" between him and Mrs. Haddon, but denied the claim of fatherhood.Day, Peter and Ungoed-Thomas, John (27 November 2005
"Royal cover-up of illegitimate son revealed"
''The Sunday Times''. Times Online. Accessed 12 June 2017.
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. In 1933, he was charged with demanding money with menace and attempted extortion after writing to the King asking for
hush money Hush money is a term for an arrangement in which one person or party offers another an attractive sum of money or other enticement, in exchange for remaining silent about some illegal, stigmatized, or shameful behavior, action, or other fact abo ...
. 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. Haddon was found guilty and the judge, believing Haddon to be suffering from delusions, did not imprison him but bound him over for three years on the condition that he made no claim that he was Albert Victor's son. Haddon breached the conditions and was incarcerated for a year. Dismissed as a crank, he died a broken man. 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. On his return from India, Albert Victor was created
Duke of Clarence and Avondale Duke of Clarence and Avondale was a title awarded to a prince of the British royal family; the creation was in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. 'Clarence' is believed to refer to Clare in Suffolk; 'Avondale' refers to the valley of the Avon Wa ...
and Earl of Athlone on 24 May 1890, Queen Victoria's 71st birthday.


Potential brides

In 1889, Albert Victor's grandmother
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
expressed her wish that he marry his paternal cousin
Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine german: Alix Viktoria Helene Luise Beatrixrussian: Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova , house = Hesse-Darmstadt , father = Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine , mother = Princess Alice of the United Kingdom , birth_name ...
, who was one of her favorite granddaughters. In
Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...
, he proposed to Alix, but she did not return his affections and refused his offer of engagement. 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." In 1894, she married
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of ...
, another of Albert Victor's cousins. After her proposed match with Alix fell through, Victoria suggested to Albert Victor that he marry another first cousin,
Princess Margaret of Prussia English: Margaret Beatrice Feodora , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , birth_date = , birth_place = New Palace, Potsdam, Prussia, German Empire , d ...
. On 19 May 1890, she sent him a formal letter in which she expressed her opinions about Margaret's suitability to become Queen: "Of the few possible Princess (for of course any Lady in Society would never do) I think no one more likely to suit you and the position better than your Cousin Mossy  ... She is not regularly pretty but she has a very pretty figure, is very amiable and half English with great love for England which you will find in very few if any others." Although Albert Victor's father approved, Queen Victoria's secretary
Henry Ponsonby Major-General Sir Henry Frederick Ponsonby (10 December 182521 November 1895) was a British soldier and royal court official who served as Queen Victoria's Private Secretary. Biography Born in Corfu, he was the son of Major-General Sir Frede ...
informed her that Albert Victor's mother "would object most strongly and indeed has already done so." Nothing came of Queen Victoria's suggestion. By this time however, Albert Victor was falling in love with
Princess Hélène of Orléans , house = Orléans , father = Prince Philippe, Count of Paris , mother = Infanta Maria Isabel of Spain , birth_date = , birth_place = York House, Twickenham, England , death_date = , death_place = Castellammare di Stabia, It ...
, a daughter of
Prince Philippe, Count of Paris Prince Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris (Louis Philippe Albert; 24 August 1838 – 8 September 1894), was disputedly King of the French from 24 to 26 February 1848 as Louis Philippe II, although he was never officially proclaimed as such. ...
, a pretender to the French throne who was living in England after being banished from France in 1886. At first, Queen Victoria opposed any engagement because Hélène was
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. Once Albert Victor and Hélène confided their love to her, the Queen relented and supported the proposed marriage.Albert Victor writing to his brother, George, quoted in Pope-Hennessy, p. 198. Hélène offered to convert to the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
, and Albert Victor offered to renounce his succession rights to marry her. To the couple's disappointment, her father refused to countenance the marriage and was adamant she could not convert. Hélène travelled personally to intercede with
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
, but he confirmed her father's verdict, and the courtship ended. When Albert Victor died, his sisters Maud and
Louise Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...
sympathized with Hélène and treated her, not his fiancée
Princess Victoria Mary of Teck Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 January 1936 as the wife of King-Empe ...
, as his true love. Maud told her that "he is buried with your little coin around his neck" and Louise said that he is "yours in death". Hélène later became
Duchess of Aosta The Duchess of Aosta is the wife of the Duke of Aosta, a title created by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor in the 13th century. The Duchy of Aosta had already been ruled by the House of Savoy for some time; it is a corner of the Italian Alps now ...
. By 1891, another potential bride, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, was under consideration. Mary was the daughter of Queen Victoria's first cousin
Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck Princess Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth of Cambridge (27 November 1833 – 27 October 1897), later Duchess of Teck, was a member of the British royal family. She was one of the first royals to patronise a wide range of charities. Mary Ade ...
. Queen Victoria was very supportive, considering Mary ideal—charming, sensible and pretty. On 3 December 1891 Albert Victor, to Mary's "great surprise", proposed to her at
Luton Hoo Luton Hoo is an English country house and Estate (land), estate near Luton in Bedfordshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Most of the estate lies within the civil parish of Hyde, Bedfordshire. The Old English language, Saxon word wikt:hoo#Etym ...
, the country residence of the Danish ambassador to Britain. The wedding was set for 27 February 1892.


Personal life

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. A week after the first letter, he asked Erskine, "I wonder if you really love me a little? ... I should be very pleased if you did just a little bit." In late 1891, the Prince was implicated as having been involved with a former Gaiety Theatre chorus girl, Lydia Miller (stage name Lydia Manton), who committed suicide by drinking
carbolic acid Phenol (also called carbolic acid) is an aromaticity, aromatic organic compound with the molecular chemical formula, formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatility (chemistry), volatile. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () ...
."The Suicide A Chorus Girl In London", ''Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser'' (Manchester, England), Saturday, 10 October 1891, p. 5 Although she was the nominal mistress of
Lord Charles Montagu Lord Charles Greville Montagu (1741 – 3 February 1784) was the last Royal Governor of the Province of South Carolina from 1766 to 1773, with William Bull II serving terms in 1768 and 1769-1771. He also was the commander of the Duke of Cumbe ...
, who gave evidence at the inquest, it was alleged that he was merely a cover for the Prince, who had requested she give up her theatrical career on his behalf, and that the authorities sought to suppress the case by making the inquest private and refusing access to the depositions. Similarly to the Cleveland Street scandal, only overseas newspapers printed Albert Victor's name, but regional British newspapers did quote the radical London newspaper ''The Star'' which published: "It is a fact so well known that the blind denials of it given in some quarters are childishly futile. Lydia Manton was the ''petite amie'' of a certain young prince, and that, too, quite recently." It was labelled "a scandal of the first magnitude ... on the lips of every clubman", and compared to the Tranby Croft affair, in which his father was called to give evidence at a trial for slander. Rumours also surfaced in 1900, after Albert Victor's death, of his association with another former Gaiety girl, Maude Richardson (birth name: Louisa Lancey), and that the royal family had attempted to pay her off. In 2002, letters purported to have been sent by Albert Victor to his solicitor referring to a payoff made to Richardson of £200 were sold at
Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought to ...
auction house in London. Owing to discrepancies in the dates and spelling of the letters, one historian has suggested they could be forgeries. In mid-1890, Albert Victor was attended by several doctors. In Albert Victor's and other correspondence, his illness is only referred to as "fever" or "
gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...
". Some biographers have assumed he was suffering from "a mild form of venereal disease", perhaps
gonorrhea Gonorrhea, colloquially known as the clap, is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium '' Neisseria gonorrhoeae''. Infection may involve the genitals, mouth, or rectum. Infected men may experience pain or burning with ...
, which he may have suffered from on an earlier occasion, but the exact nature of his illness is unknown. Letters dated 1885 and 1886 from Albert Victor to his doctor at Aldershot (known only as "Roche") detail that he was taking medicine for 'glete' (gleet), then a term for gonorrhea discharge.


Death

Just as plans for both his marriage to Mary and his appointment as
Viceroy of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingd ...
were under discussion, Albert Victor fell ill with influenza in the pandemic of 1889–1892. He developed pneumonia and died at
Sandringham House Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a estate ...
in
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
on 14 January 1892, less than a week after his 28th birthday. His parents the Prince and Princess of Wales, his sisters Princesses Maud and Victoria, his brother Prince George, his fiancée Princess Mary, her parents the Duke and Duchess of Teck, three physicians (Alan Reeve Manby,
Francis Laking Sir Francis Henry Laking, 1st Baronet, (9 January 1847 – 21 May 1914) was an English physician who was Surgeon-Apothecary in Ordinary to Queen Victoria, and Physician-in-Ordinary to King Edward VII and King George V. Life He was educated ...
and William Broadbent) and three nurses were present. The Prince of Wales's chaplain, Canon Frederick Hervey, stood over Albert Victor reading prayers for the dying. The nation was shocked. Shops put up their shutters. The Prince of Wales wrote to Queen Victoria, "Gladly would I have given my life for his". Princess Mary wrote to Queen Victoria of the Princess of Wales, "the despairing look on her face was the most heart-rending thing I have ever seen." His younger brother Prince George wrote, "how deeply I did love him; & I remember with pain nearly every hard word & little quarrel I ever had with him & I long to ask his forgiveness, but, alas, it is too late now!" George took Albert Victor's place in the
line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.queen consort on George's accession. Albert Victor's mother, Alexandra, never fully recovered from her son's death and kept the room in which he died as a shrine. At the funeral, Mary laid her bridal wreath of orange blossom upon the coffin. James Kenneth Stephen, Albert Victor's former tutor, refused all food from the day of Albert Victor's death and died 20 days later; he had suffered a head injury in 1886 which left him suffering from
psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...
. The Prince is buried in the Albert Memorial Chapel close to
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gar ...
. His tomb, by
Alfred Gilbert Sir Alfred Gilbert (12 August 18544 November 1934) was an English sculptor. He was born in London and studied sculpture under Joseph Boehm, Matthew Noble, Édouard Lantéri and Pierre-Jules Cavelier. His first work of importance was ''The Kis ...
, is "the finest single example of late 19th-century sculpture in the British Isles".Roskill, Mark (1968). "Alfred Gilbert's Monument to the Duke of Clarence: A Study in the Sources of Later Victorian Sculpture." ''The Burlington Magazine''. Vol. 110 Issue 789, pp. 699–704. A recumbent effigy of the Prince in a Hussar uniform (almost impossible to see properly ''in situ'') lies above the tomb. Kneeling over him is an angel, holding a heavenly crown. The tomb is surrounded by an elaborate railing, with figures of saints. The perfectionist Gilbert spent too much on the commission, went bankrupt, and left the country. Five of the smaller figures were only completed with "a greater roughness and pittedness of texture" after his return to Britain in the 1920s. One obituary, written by a journalist who claimed to have attended the majority of Albert Victor's public appearances, stated:
He was little known personally to the English public. His absence at sea, and on travels and duty with his regiment, kept him out of the general eye ... at times, there was a sallowness of hue, which much increased the grave aspect ... not only in the metropolis, but throughout the country, somehow, it was always said, 'He will never come to the throne.


Legacy

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. The radical politician
Henry Broadhurst :''See also Harry Broadhurst'' Henry Broadhurst (13 April 1840 – 11 October 1911) was a leading early British trade unionist and a Lib-Lab politician who sat in the House of Commons for various Midlands constituencies between 1880 and 190 ...
, who had met both Albert Victor and his brother George, noted that they had "a total absence of affectation or haughtiness". On the day of Albert Victor's death, the leading
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician,
William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
, wrote in his personal private diary "a great loss to our party". However, Queen Victoria referred to Albert Victor's "dissipated life" in private letters to her eldest daughter, which were later published. In the mid-20th century, the official biographers of Queen Mary and King George V,
James Pope-Hennessy James Pope Hennessy CVO (20 November 1916 – 25 January 1974) was a British biographer and travel writer. Early life Richard James Arthur Pope-Hennessy was born in London on 20 November 1916, the younger son of Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope ...
and
Harold Nicolson Sir Harold George Nicolson (21 November 1886 – 1 May 1968) was a British politician, diplomat, historian, biographer, diarist, novelist, lecturer, journalist, broadcaster, and gardener. His wife was the writer Vita Sackville-West. Early lif ...
respectively, promoted hostile assessments of Albert Victor's life, portraying him as lazy, ill-educated and physically feeble. The exact nature of his "dissipations" is not clear, but in 1994
Theo Aronson Theodore Ian Wilson Aronson (13 November 1929 – 13 May 2003) was a royal biographer whose easy manner enabled him to earn the trust of his subjects. He was the son of a Latvian Jewish storekeeper, born at Kirkwood, South Africa and educated ...
favoured the theory on "admittedly circumstantial" evidence that the "unspecified 'dissipations' were predominantly homosexual". Aronson's judgement was based on Albert Victor's "adoration of his elegant and possessive mother; his 'want of manliness'; his 'shrinking from horseplay'; ndhis 'sweet, gentle, quiet and charming' nature", as well as the Cleveland Street rumours and his opinion that there is "a certain amount of homosexuality in all men". He admitted, however, that "the allegations of Prince Eddy's homosexuality must be treated cautiously." Rumours that Prince Albert Victor may have committed, or been responsible for, the
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
murders were first mentioned in print in 1962. 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 Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
district of London, and either he or several high-ranking men committed the murders in an effort to cover up his indiscretion. Though such claims have been repeated frequently, scholars have dismissed them as fantasies, and refer to indisputable proof of the Prince's innocence. For example, on 30 September 1888, when
Elizabeth Stride Elizabeth "Long Liz" Stride ( Gustafsdotter; 27 November 1843 – 30 September 1888) is believed to have been the third victim of the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, who killed and mutilated at least five women in the Whitecha ...
and Catherine Eddowes were murdered in London, Albert Victor was over 500 miles (over 800 km) away at Balmoral, the royal retreat in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, in the presence of Queen Victoria, other family members, visiting
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
royalty and a large number of staff. According to the official
Court Circular The Court Circular (CC) is the official record that lists the engagements carried out by the monarch of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms; the Royal Family; and appointments to their staff and to the court. It is issued by St Ja ...
, family journals and letters, newspaper reports and other sources, he could not have been near any of the murders. Other fanciful conspiracy theories are that he died of
syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...
or poison, that he was pushed off a cliff on the instructions of
Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British statesman. Churchill was a Tory radical and coined the term 'Tory democracy'. He inspired a generation of party managers, created the National Union of ...
, or that his death was faked to remove him from the line of succession. Albert Victor's posthumous reputation became so bad that in 1964
Philip Magnus Sir Philip Magnus, 1st Baronet (7 October 1842 – 29 August 1933) was a British educational reformer and politician, who represented the London University constituency as a Unionist Member of Parliament from 1906 to 1922. He had previously ...
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. In 1972, Michael Harrison was the first modern author to re-assess Albert Victor and portray him in a more sympathetic light. Biographer Andrew Cook continued attempts to rehabilitate Albert Victor's reputation, arguing that his lack of academic progress was partly due to the incompetence of his tutor, Dalton; that he was a warm and charming man; that there is no tangible evidence that he was homosexual or bisexual; that he held liberal views, particularly on
Irish Home Rule The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for Devolution, self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1 ...
; and that his reputation was diminished by biographers eager to improve the image of his brother, George.


Fictional portrayals

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.
Bob Clark Benjamin Robert Clark (August 5, 1939 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his work in the Canadian film industry throughout the 1970s and 1980s, where he was responsible ...
's
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
mystery ''
Murder by Decree ''Murder by Decree'' is a 1979 mystery thriller film directed by Bob Clark. It features the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who are embroiled in the investigation surrounding the real-life 1 ...
'' was released in 1979 with "Duke of Clarence (Eddy)" played by Robin Marchal. ''
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
'' was released in 1988 with Marc Culwick as Prince Albert Victor.
Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...
played "Prince Eddy" in ''The Ripper'' (1997), having previously played Albert Victor as a child in the 1975 TV miniseries ''
Edward the Seventh ''Edward the Seventh'' is a 1975 British historical drama series, made by ATV in 13 episodes. Based on the biography of King Edward VII by Philip Magnus, it starred Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria, Timothy West as the elder Edward VII, wi ...
''. Older versions of Albert Victor in ''Edward the Seventh'' are played by Jerome Watts and
Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in ''The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in ''A ...
. From 1989 to 1998
Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...
and
Eddie Campbell Eddie Campbell (born 10 August 1955) is a British comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Chicago. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of ''From Hell'' (written by Alan Moore), Campbell is also the creator of the semi-au ...
published the graphic novel ''
From Hell ''From Hell'' is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions. Set during the Whitechapel murders of ...
'' in serialized form, which is based on Stephen Knight's theory. It was adapted into a 2001 film of the same name by the
Hughes brothers Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes (born April 1, 1972), known together professionally as the Hughes brothers, are American film directors and producers. The pair, who are twins, are known for co-directing visceral, and often violent, movies, inclu ...
.
Mark Dexter Mark Lee Dexter (born 21 April 1973) is an English actor who trained at RADA. Life and career Dexter was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. As a teenager, he was an early member of the Central Junior Television Workshop which led t ...
portrayed both "Prince Edward" and "Albert Sickert". The story, based largely on the same sources as ''Murder by Decree'', is also the basis for the play ''Force and Hypocrisy'' by Doug Lucie. A pair of
alternative history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alter ...
novels ''King and Joker'' (1976) and ''Skeleton in Waiting'' (1990), written by
Peter Dickinson Peter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE FRSL (16 December 1927 – 16 December 2015) was an English author and poet, best known for children's books and detective stories. Dickinson won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association ...
, are the adventures of a fictitious royal family descended from an Albert Victor who survived and reigned as King Victor I. In Gary Lovisi's parallel universe
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...
, "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. The Prince also appears as the murder victim in the first of the
Lord Francis Powerscourt Lord Francis Powerscourt is a fictional Victorian-Edwardian detective who has appeared in fifteen novels by the author David Dickinson. Background Powerscourt is descended from Irish aristocracy, his ancestral home is Powerscourt House in Cou ...
crime novels ''Goodnight Sweet Prince'', and as a murder suspect in the novel ''Death at Glamis Castle'' by
Robin Paige Susan Wittig Albert, also known by the pen names Robin Paige and Carolyn Keene, is an American mystery writer from Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. Albert was an academic and the first female vice president of Southwest Texas State Uni ...
. In both '' The Bloody Red Baron'' (volume 2 of ''
Anno Dracula ''Anno Dracula'' is a 1992 novel by British writer Kim Newman, the first in the ''Anno Dracula'' series. It is an alternate history using 19th-century English historical settings and personalities, along with characters from popular fiction. ...
'' series) by
Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula (1931 ...
and the novel ''I, Vampire'' by Michael Romkey, he has become a
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
. In the former, he is the British monarch during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. ''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. Two
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
series published as part of its ''
Elseworlds ''Elseworlds'' was the publication imprint (trade name), imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that took place outside the DC Universe Canon (fictional), canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realitie ...
'' imprint feature Prince Albert ("Eddy") as a minor character: ''
Gotham by Gaslight ''Gotham by Gaslight'' is a DC Comics one-shot by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola, with inks by P. Craig Russell. The story revolves around a 19th-century version of Bruce Wayne making his debut as Batman just as Jack the Ripper has arrived in G ...
'' and '' Wonder Woman: Amazonia''.


Titles, styles, honours and arms


Titles and styles

*8 January 1864 – 24 May 1890: ''His Royal Highness'' Prince Albert Victor of Wales *24 May 1890 – 14 January 1892: ''His Royal Highness'' The Duke of Clarence and Avondale The Duke of Clarence's full style, as proclaimed at his funeral by
Garter King of Arms The Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ...
, was: " heMost 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".


Honours

British honours Cokayne, G. E.; Gibbs, Vicary; Doubleday, H. A. (1913). ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant'', London: St Catherine's Press
Vol. III, p. 262
*KG: Royal Knight of the Most Noble
Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...
, ''3 September 1883'' *KP: Extra Knight of the Most Illustrious
Order of Saint Patrick The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is a dormant British order of chivalry associated with Ireland. The Order was created in 1783 by George III of the United Kingdom, King George III at the request of the then Lord Lieutenant of Irelan ...
, ''28 June 1887'' *ADC: Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Queen, ''21 June 1887'' *LLD: Doctor of Laws,
University of Dublin The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...
, ''1887'' *LLD: Doctor of Laws,
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, ''1888'' *Sub-Prior of the
Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...
, ''1888'' Foreign honours * Grand Cross of the
Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...
* Grand Cross of the Royal Military
Order of the Tower and Sword The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit ( pt, Antiga e Muito Nobre Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower an ...
, ''5 March 1885'' * Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished
Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...
, with Collar, ''23 January 1885'' *
Order of Osmanieh The Order of Osmanieh or Order of Osmaniye ( ota, نشانِ عثمانیہ) was a civil and military decoration of the Ottoman Empire. History The order was created in January 1862 by Sultan Abdülaziz. With the obsolescence of the Nişan-i ...
, 1st Class in Diamonds * Grand Cross of the
Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...
* Knight of the
Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation The Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation ( it, Ordine Supremo della Santissima Annunziata) is a Roman Catholic order of chivalry, originating in Savoy. It eventually was the pinnacle of the honours system in the Kingdom of Italy, which ce ...
, ''8 January 1885'' * Grand Cross of the
Order of the Southern Cross Emperor Pedro I of Brazil founded the National Order of the Southern Cross ( pt, Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul) as a Brazilian order of chivalry on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate the independence of Brazil (7 September 1822) ...
* Grand Cross of the
Saxe-Ernestine House Order The Saxe-Ernestine House Order (german: link=yes, Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden)Hausorden
Herz ...
, ''1883'' * Grand Cross of the Grand Ducal Hessian Order of Ludwig, ''30 April 1884'' * Grand Cross of the
Order of the White Falcon Order of the White Falcon (german: Hausorden vom Weißen Falken) is a grand-ducal order of Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, founded by Duke Ernest Augustus on 2 August 1732, and renewed in 1815 by Charles Augustus. Description In the early 2 ...
, ''1885'' * Knight of the
Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...
, ''11 October 1883'' * Knight of the Royal
Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the P ...
, ''8 January 1885'' * Knight of the
Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King ...
, ''8 January 1885'' * Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold, ''1885'' * Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, ''1887''


Military

*''1877–1879'': Cadet aboard training ship HMS ''Britannia'',
Dartmouth, Devon Dartmouth () is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the western bank of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes. It lies within the ...
*''1879–1880'': Cadet, HMS ''Bacchante'' *Mid, ''1880–1883'': Promoted to
Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
, HMS ''Bacchante'' *Lt, ''1886–1887'': Appointed
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
, 10th (Prince of Wales' Own) Royal Hussars *Capt, ''1887'': Promoted to
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
,
9th Queen's Royal Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but wa ...
*Capt, ''1887–1889'':
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, 3rd
King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...
*Maj, ''1889–1892'':
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
, 10th (Prince of Wales' Own) Royal Hussars


Honorary military appointments

British * Honorary Colonel, 4th Regiment, Bengal Infantry * Honorary Colonel, 4th Bombay Cavalry * Honorary Colonel, 1st Punjab Cavalry * Honorary Colonel, Third City of London Rifle Volunteer Corps (
7th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment The 7th (City of London) Battalion of the London Regiment was a volunteer unit of the British Army from 1860 until 1961. Recruited from London working men, it sent volunteers to the Second Boer War, saw extensive service on the Western Front dur ...
) 1890–92


Arms

With his dukedom, Albert Victor was granted a coat of arms, being the
royal arms of the United Kingdom The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the royal arms for short, is the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. These arms are used by the King in his official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Varia ...
, differenced by an
inescutcheon In heraldry, an escutcheon () is a shield that forms the main or focal element in an achievement of arms. The word can be used in two related senses. In the first sense, an escutcheon is the shield upon which a coat of arms is displayed. In the s ...
of the arms of Saxony and a
label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...
of three points
argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
, the centre point bearing a cross
gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...
.Neubecker, p. 96.


Ancestry


Footnotes


References

* Aronson, Theo (1994). ''Prince Eddy and the Homosexual Underworld''. London: John Murray. . * Bradford, Sarah (1989). ''King George VI''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. . * Cadbury, Deborah (2017). ''Queen Victoria's Matchmaking''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. . * Cook, Andrew (2006). ''Prince Eddy: The King Britain Never Had''. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus Publishing Ltd. . * Cornwell, Patricia (2003). ''Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed''. London: Time Warner Paperbacks. . * Duff, David (1980). ''Alexandra: Princess and Queen''. London: Collins. . * Harrison, Michael (1972). ''Clarence: The life of H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864–1892)''. London and New York: W. H. Allen. . * Hyde, H. Montgomery (1970). ''The Other Love: An Historical and Contemporary Survey of Homosexuality in Britain''. London: Heinemann. . * Hyde, H. Montgomery (1976). ''The Cleveland Street Scandal''. London: W. H. Allen. . * Knight, Stephen (1976). '' Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution''. New York: McKay. . * Lees-Milne, James (1981). ''Harold Nicolson: A Biography. Volume 2: 1930–1968'' London: Chatto & Windus. . * Marriott, Trevor (2005). ''Jack the Ripper: The 21st Century Investigation''. London: John Blake. . * McDonald, Deborah (2007). ''The Prince, His Tutor and the Ripper''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Co. . * Meikle, Denis (2002). ''Jack the Ripper: The Murders and the Movies''. Richmond, Surrey: Reynolds and Hearn Ltd. . * Neubecker, Ottfried (1976). ''Heraldry: sources, symbols and meaning''. New York: McGraw-Hill. . * Nicolson, Harold (1952). ''King George the Fifth: His Life and Reign''. London: Constable. * Pope-Hennessy, James (1959). ''Queen Mary: 1867–1953''. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. * Pope-Hennessy, James; Vickers, Hugo (ed.) (2018). ''The Quest For Queen Mary''. London: Zulieka. * Rumbelow, Donald (2004). ''The Complete Jack the Ripper: Fully Revised and Updated'' Penguin Books. . * Van der Kiste, John (September 2004; online edition January 2008)
"Albert Victor, Prince, duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864–1892)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press. Accessed 1 May 2010. (Subscription required)


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, Prince 1864 births 1892 deaths Military personnel from Berkshire 19th-century British Army personnel 19th-century nobility 9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers 10th Royal Hussars officers Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Burials at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle Deaths from influenza Deaths from pneumonia in England English Anglicans English people of Danish descent House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (United Kingdom) Infectious disease deaths in England Jack the Ripper King's Royal Rifle Corps officers People from Windsor, Berkshire People of the Victorian era Dukes of Clarence Albert Victor Princes of the United Kingdom Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England Knights of the Garter Knights of St Patrick Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Children of Edward VII Sons of emperors Sons of kings