The letters reveal a scandalous detail. Like every good little royal, Alberts parents expected him to study at a prestigious college, and he was all set to go to Cambridge. Hitchens, Christopher (8 November 1990). Aronson, p. 197 and Cook, pp. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. Mary of Teck writing to Queen Victoria, quoted in Pope-Hennessy, p. 226. [1] Some authors have argued that he was the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, or that he was otherwise involved in the murders, but contemporaneous documents show that Albert Victor could not have been in London at the time of the murders, and the claim is widely dismissed. [117] Other fanciful conspiracy theories are that he died of syphilis or poison, that he was pushed off a cliff on the instructions of Lord Randolph Churchill, or that his death was faked to remove him from the line of succession. 196, 200. Prince Albert was the product of an unhappy marriage. You dont get much darker than Alberts legacy. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. The Corn Laws were a system of importation restrictions in place during the time of the famine in Ireland. In 1933, he was charged with demanding money with menace and attempted extortion after writing to the King asking for hush money. However, while sifting through the list of suspects, one of the most shocking names you might encounter is that of Prince Albert Victor. ADVERTISEMENT After that, it wasnt long before society whispered that the prince was also a regular visitor; not a good look in the hetero-normative Victorian era. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at [email protected]. While this may not seem like a huge deal today, it was definitely a big deal back then. Over the years, different versions of his personality, mental stability, and manner of death have appeared. Whats more, Dr Stowell went on to claim that the Royal family were fully aware of both Prince Albert Victors deteriorating mental health and his secret identity as Jack the Ripper. The Prince, who was the son of King Edward VII and was once second in line to the throne, wrote to the surgeon: 'I have taken those capsules regularly, four a day. Did Queen Victoria remarry after Albert's death? According to Dr. Stowell, a syphilis outbreak occurred in the Caribbean. Unfortunately for Prince Albert, Princess Helene was Roman Catholic. 'Besides, Prince Albert was in Scotland at the time of one of the murders. Albert Victor was known to his family, and many later biographers, as "Eddy". Though such claims have been repeated frequently, scholars have dismissed them as fantasies, and refer to indisputable proof of the Prince's innocence. Right, thats not suspicious at all. 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. He died from tercery STD in his 40's. STD's in Victorian England . 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".