Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
His Royal Highness Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (Albert Victor Christian Edward Wettin) (January 8, 1864 - January 14, 1892) was born in Windsor, England, the eldest son of the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) and Alexandra of Denmark, and was therefore the second in line to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Born two months premature, he was of limited intellect - perhaps even somewhat retarded [1], and when he reached young adulthood his dandyism earned him the nickname Prince Collar and Cuffs. He was known to his family as Eddy.
Prince Albert Victor and his brother George served as Naval cadets on the HMS Bacchante until 1883, after which he was sent to Trinity College, Cambridge. However, the Prince showed no ability as a student, and in 1885 he was sent to join the Army, in the Tenth Hussars Cavalry Regiment.
Three women were lined up as possible brides for the Prince. The first, in 1889, was Princess Alix of Hesse (future Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia), who did not return his affection. The second, in 1890, was Princess Helene of Orleans, whom he also loved, but the engagement had to be cancelled when Helene (the great-granddaughter of the last King of the French) declined to give up her Roman Catholic faith.
Finally, Prince Albert Victor (now Duke of Clarence and Avondale) became engaged to Princess Mary of Teck (also known as Princess May), but before the marriage could take place he died of pneumonia at Sandringham House in Norfolk. He was 28 years old and unmarried, and his death left his younger brother, Prince George, heir to the throne. Prince George married his brother's fiancée, with whom he was in love and had a long and happy marriage. He later succeeded to the throne as King George V.
The official biography of Queen Mary by James Pope-Hennessy euphemistically stated that the Prince's private life was "dissipated". The official biographer of King George V, Harold Nicholson, stated in his diaries that it appeared that Prince Albert Victor had been involved in a major scandal and there had been a cover-up at the highest levels.
What is now clear is that this concerned his involvement in the Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889 - the exposure of a 'rentboy' brothel in central London's Cleveland Street patronised by gentlemen and aristocrats. The release of Public Record Office police papers in 1975 concerning the case, and more importantly, the publication of the letters of one of the other participants in the scandal, Lord Arthur Somerset, (see Hyde, Aronson and Lees-Milne) have confirmed the Prince's involvement beyond reasonable doubt.
In recent times the Duke of Clarence and Avondale has been the centre of rumors that he was, or associated with, Jack the Ripper. However, such theories have been comprehensively dismissed by reputable historians, who note, among other factors, that the Prince was, in fact, in Scotland at the time of several of the murders.
The first reference to the Duke of Clarence as a Ripper suspect appears to be in 1962, when Phillippe Jullien author of Edouard VII, a biography of Eddy's father, made a passing reference to rumors suggesting that Prince Eddy and the Duke of Bedford were responsible for the murders. Which Duke of Bedford was supposed to be Eddy's colleague at the time of the murders was left uncertain. At the time of the murders the active Duke was sixty-nine-year old Francis Charles Hastings Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford (1819 - 1891). He would be shortly succeeded by George William Francis Sackville Russell, 10th Duke of Bedford (1852-1893) and then by Herbrand Arthur Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford (1858-1940), both in their thirties at the time. Jullien did not mention his sources of those rumors. His own book is believed to be the first recording them.
In 1970, Dr. Thomas Eldon Alexander Stowell published his article A Solution. Though Eddy was not named in the article itself, Stowell clearly presented him as being Jack the Ripper. Stowell claimed that Eddy actually died of syphilis and that the official report of his death by pneumonia should be dismissed. Stowell further claimed that syphilis had driven Eddy insane. In this state of mind he had perpetrated the five canonical Jack the Ripper murders. Following Mary Jane Kelly's murder he was finally restrained by his own family and so was unable to continue the series of murders. Stowell claimed that his sources for the article were accounts written in private by Sir William Withey Gull. The article was published shortly before Stowell's own death on November 8, 1970. His papers were reportedly burned by his family. It has been suggested that Stowell could have served directly or indirectly as Jullien's source.
In any case the article attracted enough attention to place Eddy among the most notable Ripper suspects. However, later Ripperologists have noted several problems with this theory. Gull died on January 29, 1890, and so could not have been Stowell's source concerning Eddy's death. But even if he was the source concerning the murders, records of Prince Eddy's activities and whereabouts at the time of the five canonical murders do not confirm his presence in London. Mary Ann Nichols was murdered on August 31, 1888. From August 29 to September 7, 1888 Eddy was reportedly in Grosmont, North Yorkshire. Annie Chapman was murdered on September 8, 1888. From September 7 to September 10, 1888 Eddy was reportedly in York, also in North Yorkshire. Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were both killed during the early hours of September 30, 1888. From September 27 to September 30, 1888 Eddy was reportedly in Abergeldie, Scotland. Later on the date of the murders Eddy is stated to be still in Abergeldie and having dinner with Queen Victoria, who was his grandmother, visiting members of the German Imperial family and William Ewart Gladstone, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Mary Jane Kelly was murdered on November 9, 1888. From November 2 to November 12, 1888, Eddy was reportedly in Sandringham Norfolk. However defenders of this theory have suggested that Eddy could have been secretly traveling to London or alternatively that the official records had been forged.
In 1978, Frank Spiering published his book Prince Jack further supporting this theory. Spiering claimed to have found a copy of Gull's private notes in the library of the New York Academy of Medicine. Supposedly the notes included a confession by Eddy himself under a state of hypnosis. Spiering also suggested that Eddy died due to an overdose of morphine administered to him under directions of Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, another Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and possibly his own father, the later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. The New York Academy of Medicine has since denied possessing the records Spiering mentioned. Consequently Spiering's writings have been widely dismissed as a combination of Stowell's previous theory with Spiering's own fictions. Spiering himself has been accused of being more interested in sensationalism rather than genuine historical research. However the theory had already gained enough support to not be clearly dismissed.
Meanwhile another theory had surfaced implicating in the Jack the Ripper murders not only Prince Eddy but the Royal family and a number of notable figures associated with it. This theory first came into public attention thanks to the BBC documentary series Jack the Ripper. The series contained five episodes, aired weekly between July 20 and August 17, 1973.
The series contained testimonies by Joseph Gorman, an obscure London artist who took the name Joseph Sickert, claiming to be the illegitimate son of noted painter Walter Richard Sickert. Walter is known to have been an acquaintance of Eddy. Princess Alexandra, Eddy's mother who like Walter was from Denmark, had introduced the two men in the hope that Walter would teach Eddy about London social life.
Joseph Gorman was also the main source used by author Stephen Knight (September 26, 1951 - July, 1985) in his work Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution, first published in 1976. Gorman later denied that his alleged father was involved in the killings.
Gorman's claims have also been dismissed by historians and Ripperologists. However Knight's book was successful enough at its time and has been constantly in print ever since. Through its success, this theory has become a popular one, especially for fictional adaptations of the case.
Joseph Gorman's account makes the following claims:
Prince Albert Victor died of pneumonia on January 14, 1892. However many rumours and conspiracy theories suggest alternatives. One theory believes that he actually died of syphilis. Another claims that he died of a morphine overdose, deliberately administered to him. Yet another claims that he survived until the 1920s in an asylum on the Isle of Wight and that his death was faked to remove him from the line of succession. There is no particular evidence to support any of these contentions.
Through his connection to the above mentioned theories the Duke of Clarence and Avondale has occasionally been portayed in fiction. His appearances in film include:
This is an Article on Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence Military career
Prospective royal brides
Engagement of Mary of Teck
Cleveland Street Scandal
Jack The Ripper rumors
Death
The Duke of Clarence and Avondale in fiction
References
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