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| Thomas of Lancaster 1st Duke of Clarence @Wikipedia |
(1397-1421)
1st Duke of Clarence
1412-1421
Earl of Albemarle 1412
Knight of the Bath 1399
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1401-1413
Commander of the English Fleet 1405
Son of Henry IV of England & Mary de Bohun, Countess of Derby.
Husband of Margaret Holland (1385-1439) mar 1411, daughter of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent & Alice FitzAlan & widow of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset.
His lover was:
Unnamed mistress.
Natural offspring:
Sir John Clarence (c1393-1431)
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| Albert Victor Duke of Clarence Prince Eddy @Tumblr |
Also known as:
Albert Victor Christian Edward
Eddy
Prince Eddy
Collars-and-Cuffs: " . . . He was still so coltishly tall and slight that his mother encouraged him to use extended collars and cuffs to help conceal his swan-like neck and delicate wrists, which earned him the nickname 'Collars-and-Cuffs'. . . ." (Queen Victoria's Matchmaking)
Albert Victor Christian Edward
Eddy
Prince Eddy
Collars-and-Cuffs: " . . . He was still so coltishly tall and slight that his mother encouraged him to use extended collars and cuffs to help conceal his swan-like neck and delicate wrists, which earned him the nickname 'Collars-and-Cuffs'. . . ." (Queen Victoria's Matchmaking)
Son of Edward VII of Great Britain & Alexandra of Denmark.
Physical appearance & personal qualities.
"In 1891 the 'dear Boy' was a thin young man, slightly taller than his brother and his sisters, with brown wavy hair that had started to recede, an oval face, an aquiline nose, large, gentle, doe-like eyes, and a buoyant little cavalry moustache which was waxed and turned up at the ends. His neck was astonishingly long -- 'a neck like a swan', as one of his family termed it; when not in uniform he was thus obliged to wear an unusually high starched collar, and from this necessity there arose his nickname of 'Collars-and-Cuffs' -- a nickname which his father the Prince of Wales, who dearly loved to tease Prince Eddy would recommend to child members of the Royal Family: 'Don't call him Uncle Eddy, call him 'Uncle-Eddy-Collars-and-Cuffs' this chaffing parent would genially exclaim." (Queen Mary)
Seductive & delightful, attractive to women.
"Prince Eddy had not inherited the temperament of either of his parents, but he had, in full measure, inherited their charm. He could, in his own languid way, be both seductive and delightful, and, as we shall see, he had already inspired one fatal passion in one foreign Princess. He was, in fact, attractive to women. He frankly preferred pleasure to any form of work." (Queen Mary)
From one amour to another.
"Romantic allures were a different story. His father had been an epic adulterer, so this is perhaps not surprising. Over the years Prince Eddy had moved from one amour to another, falling in and out of infatuation as easily and democratically as his father had – the ladies in question ranged from the commoner Sybil Erskine, to the faux-royal ‘princess’ Helene, Catholic daughter of a Bourbon pretender to the French throne (in an eerie glimpse of things to come, Eddy at one point offered to abdicate his right to the throne in order to marry this woman he loved), to Princess Alix of Hesse, whom he lost to Nicholas, the handsome young tsarevitch of Russia. In order to facilitate Prince Eddy’s entrance into the House of Lords, Queen Victoria in 1890 created him Duke of Clarence and Avondale – a fanciful choice on her part which drew its share of criticism (‘The only Duke of Clarence who is known to history,’ one such critic put it, ‘is the numb skull who was deservedly drowned in a butt of malmsey’ – and his portfolio of royal activities was increased: it was increasingly imperative that he get married." (Open Letters Monthly)
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| Albert Victor Duke of Clarence |
Duke of Clarence's lovers were:
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| Alix of Hesse 1899 |
1) Alexandra von Hessen (1872-1918)
"The mashers were the dandies of their day, dull-witted but debonair, dressing to impress women. And Eddy had one particular female in mind. He had developed a crush on one of his first cousins, thirteen-year-old Alexandra of Hesse. By this time Eddy had twice seen 'Alicky,' as the family called her, at family weddings. Nevertheless, the prince's attraction to Alicky did not prevent him from indulging in the usual pursuits practiced by Victorian men of his class. . . ." (Royal Pains)
"When the rest of his family began to realize the severity of Eddy's weak constitution and dissipated life, his father and grandmother felt that a suitable, sensible wife would be the proper anchor he needed. Queen Victoria suggested another of her granddaughters, Princess Alix of Hesse. Alix, in Victoria's opinion, showed great internal strength, and her widely-acknowledged beauty would certainly appeal to her wayward grandson. The queen was right, and Eddy dully began corresponding with his cousin Alix. Alix, however, was not the least bit interested in Eddy, and though she was wholly devoted to her grandmother, she resisted Victoria's influence on the matter and politely turned down Eddy's marriage proposal. Princess Alix would later become Empress of Russia when she married her lifelong love, Tsar Nicholas II. Eddy then pursued a romance with Princess Helene of Orleans, daughter of the pretender to the French throne. The couple were deeply in love, but Helene was a Catholic, and unless she converted, Eddy would automatically lose his place in the British succession if he married a Catholic. Helene offered to convert, but she was dissuaded by her father and by Pope Leo XIII." (About Royalty)
2) Annie Elizabeth Crook.
2) Annie Elizabeth Crook.
Also known as Annie Crook.
Natural offspring: Alice Margaret Crook.
"The story goes that Queen Victoria's grandson, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, met and fell in love with Annie Elizabeth Crook, a working class Catholic girl who was one of the models for famous painter Walter Sickert. They married in a secret ceremony where the witnesses were Walter Sickert and Annie's friend Mary Jane Kelly (who later became the fifth and final victim of Jack the Ripper). Prince Albert Victor and Annie Crook had a daughter together -- Alice Crook -- who was an heir to the British throne. In 1888, Queen Victoria and Prime Minister Robert Cecil discovered Prince Albert Victor's secret. . . So Queen Victoria and the Prime Minister ordered the kidnapping of Annie and Alice. A raid of Annie's apartment on Cleveland Street, London, was arranged, and Annie was placed into the custody of Sir William Gull, Queen Victoria's physician. Her certified her as insane, with some versions of the story contending the Queen Victoria instructed Gull to make her insane by impairing her brain functions, so she could never reveal the secret. However, Alice Crook was not in the apartment when it was raided. She was being looked after my Mary Jane Kelly, who -- along with her prostitute friends Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes -- decided to blackmail the government." (Behind the Curtain)
"According to the Masonic Conspiracy theory, Annie Crook secretly married Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence. It is true that she gave birth to a daughter, Alice, in 1885. On Alice's birth certificate are no details of her father, leading conspiracy theorists to the conclusion that he was in fact the prince." (Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia: 169)
"According to the Masonic Conspiracy theory, Annie Crook secretly married Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence. It is true that she gave birth to a daughter, Alice, in 1885. On Alice's birth certificate are no details of her father, leading conspiracy theorists to the conclusion that he was in fact the prince." (Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia: 169)
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| Helene d'Orleans @Wikipedia |
Daughter of: Philippe d'Orleans, Comte de Paris.
"Aged 16, tall and slender, she met Eddy, a 23-year-old cavalry officer who at the time was trying to woo Princess Alix of Hesse, his first cousin. . . Princess Alix rejected his advances in 1889 and the prince went on a lengthy tour of India. It was only on his return in May 1890 that the he belatedly realised Helene was 'everything that is nice in a girl.' The couple embarked on a whirlwind romance, exchanging dozens of missives, sometimes daily. Eddy wrote to his 'beloved one' from Balmoral and Sandringham. 'You are indeed to me an angel upon Earth,' he wrote. Yet the pair were apart. Helene travelled around Europe while Eddy was often stationed with the 10th Royal Hussars in York. . . The couple's union proved harder to arrange than Eddy hoped because of the Act of Settlement, which bars Catholics from the throne. . . ." (Telegraph)
4) Lydia Miller.
Lover in 1891.
Also known as Lydia Manton (stage name).
"There were no prettier girls in the old cathedral city of Hereford than Lydia and Clara Miller, and no parents more proud of their children than John Miller, builder, and Ellen his wife. Miller did a good trade among the townsfolk, and was well patronized by the cathedral dignitaries. He worked for the Palace. . . Lydia's pretty face and her father's relations with the Palace and the close gave her the entree into a better kind of society than her social position entitled her to. She had a sweet voice, and that, combined with her pretty face, attracted the unmarried minor canons to the Millers' house at the upper end of Owen Street. The result was that when Lydia was eighteen her manners were far superior to those of other girls of her class, and she was just a little bit vain. . . Last summer she spent at Broadstairs, a quiet sea-side place in Kent, principally noted for having been a favorite resort of Charles Dickens. A short time ago she returned to London, and when behind the scenes at the Gaiety Theatre. When she was asked if she intended to rejoin the chorus, she laughed, and declared that she had no need of work. But it was noticed that there was a suspicion of hysteria in her flow of spirits, and that there were tears in her eyes when she bade an unusually affectionate farewell to her friends. It was also noticed that she wore a diamond bracelet which it was said had been given to her by Prince Albert Victor, the eldest son of the Prince of Wales, who may some day become King of England." " (The Illustrated American, Vol 8: 464)
"There was one thing she longed for more than anything, and that was an invitation to the annual Hunt Ball at the Shire Hall. She managed to get it, and the wife of one of the smaller clergy offered to chaperone her. . . She was almost sorry that she had come, when a tall, handsome young fellow, dressed in hunting 'pink,' was brought up and introduced to her. He asked her to dance, and as he led her to the upper end of the room among the great people of the land her head swam. She was happy, although she could not help noticing that the country ladies were annoyed at here intrusion into their sacred circle. For the rest of the evening her cavalier paid devoted attention to her. To make a long story short, a month after the Hunt Ball Lydia Miller had disappeared and three months later her mother was buried in the churchyard at Wethington, her native village." (The Illustrated American, Vol 8: 464)
"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. Although she was the nominal mistress of Lord Charles Montagu, 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." (Wikipedia)
Lydia Manton's other lover was:
Charles Montagu.
"The Gaiety Theatre is the home of burlesque n London. The girls who compose the chorus are noted for their beauty. For the past two years Lydia Manton has been conspicuous among them. She was pretty, and her photograph was displayed in the shop windows of London among the noted beauties of the day. Her chief admirer was Lord Charles Montagu, a brother of the Duke of Manchester. . . A few days later she had a quarrel with Lord Charles Montagu and the next morning the unfortunate girl was found by her maid dead in her bed. Lydia Manton, as she was known on the stage---Lydia Miller as she was known in Hereford---had poisoned herself with carbolic acid, and the bottle which had contained it stood on a table at her bedside." (The Illustrated American, Vol 8: 464)
5) Margarethe von Preussen.
6) Marie Jeanette Kelly.
"Aged 16, tall and slender, she met Eddy, a 23-year-old cavalry officer who at the time was trying to woo Princess Alix of Hesse, his first cousin. . . Princess Alix rejected his advances in 1889 and the prince went on a lengthy tour of India. It was only on his return in May 1890 that the he belatedly realised Helene was 'everything that is nice in a girl.' The couple embarked on a whirlwind romance, exchanging dozens of missives, sometimes daily. Eddy wrote to his 'beloved one' from Balmoral and Sandringham. 'You are indeed to me an angel upon Earth,' he wrote. Yet the pair were apart. Helene travelled around Europe while Eddy was often stationed with the 10th Royal Hussars in York. . . The couple's union proved harder to arrange than Eddy hoped because of the Act of Settlement, which bars Catholics from the throne. . . ." (Telegraph)
4) Lydia Miller.
Lover in 1891.
Also known as Lydia Manton (stage name).
"There were no prettier girls in the old cathedral city of Hereford than Lydia and Clara Miller, and no parents more proud of their children than John Miller, builder, and Ellen his wife. Miller did a good trade among the townsfolk, and was well patronized by the cathedral dignitaries. He worked for the Palace. . . Lydia's pretty face and her father's relations with the Palace and the close gave her the entree into a better kind of society than her social position entitled her to. She had a sweet voice, and that, combined with her pretty face, attracted the unmarried minor canons to the Millers' house at the upper end of Owen Street. The result was that when Lydia was eighteen her manners were far superior to those of other girls of her class, and she was just a little bit vain. . . Last summer she spent at Broadstairs, a quiet sea-side place in Kent, principally noted for having been a favorite resort of Charles Dickens. A short time ago she returned to London, and when behind the scenes at the Gaiety Theatre. When she was asked if she intended to rejoin the chorus, she laughed, and declared that she had no need of work. But it was noticed that there was a suspicion of hysteria in her flow of spirits, and that there were tears in her eyes when she bade an unusually affectionate farewell to her friends. It was also noticed that she wore a diamond bracelet which it was said had been given to her by Prince Albert Victor, the eldest son of the Prince of Wales, who may some day become King of England." " (The Illustrated American, Vol 8: 464)
"There was one thing she longed for more than anything, and that was an invitation to the annual Hunt Ball at the Shire Hall. She managed to get it, and the wife of one of the smaller clergy offered to chaperone her. . . She was almost sorry that she had come, when a tall, handsome young fellow, dressed in hunting 'pink,' was brought up and introduced to her. He asked her to dance, and as he led her to the upper end of the room among the great people of the land her head swam. She was happy, although she could not help noticing that the country ladies were annoyed at here intrusion into their sacred circle. For the rest of the evening her cavalier paid devoted attention to her. To make a long story short, a month after the Hunt Ball Lydia Miller had disappeared and three months later her mother was buried in the churchyard at Wethington, her native village." (The Illustrated American, Vol 8: 464)
"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. Although she was the nominal mistress of Lord Charles Montagu, 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." (Wikipedia)
Lydia Manton's other lover was:
Charles Montagu.
"The Gaiety Theatre is the home of burlesque n London. The girls who compose the chorus are noted for their beauty. For the past two years Lydia Manton has been conspicuous among them. She was pretty, and her photograph was displayed in the shop windows of London among the noted beauties of the day. Her chief admirer was Lord Charles Montagu, a brother of the Duke of Manchester. . . A few days later she had a quarrel with Lord Charles Montagu and the next morning the unfortunate girl was found by her maid dead in her bed. Lydia Manton, as she was known on the stage---Lydia Miller as she was known in Hereford---had poisoned herself with carbolic acid, and the bottle which had contained it stood on a table at her bedside." (The Illustrated American, Vol 8: 464)
5) Margarethe von Preussen.
6) Marie Jeanette Kelly.
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| Prince Eddy & Princess May |
7) Mary of Teck.
"The bride-hunt finally stopped on Princess May of Teck, the daughter of Duchess ‘Fat Mary’ of Teck, a granddaughter of George III. Princess May (who would be known to the British public as Princess Mary) had all the qualities thought most beneficial to the aimless and dissolute prince: she was upright, intelligent, circumspect, and grounded. In addition she met with Victoria’s approval, and the 70-year-old Queen had become a shrewd judge of character. Prince Eddy dutifully resigned himself to propose. May’s family was impoverished (biographer Kenneth Rose refers to them, snidely but correctly, as “professional poor relations”), her own prospects were limited, and Prince Eddy was extremely amiable and good-looking – she accepted, and an 1892 wedding date was set." (Open Letters Monthly)
8) Mary Jane Haddon (1886-?)
Lover in 1889.
"The bride-hunt finally stopped on Princess May of Teck, the daughter of Duchess ‘Fat Mary’ of Teck, a granddaughter of George III. Princess May (who would be known to the British public as Princess Mary) had all the qualities thought most beneficial to the aimless and dissolute prince: she was upright, intelligent, circumspect, and grounded. In addition she met with Victoria’s approval, and the 70-year-old Queen had become a shrewd judge of character. Prince Eddy dutifully resigned himself to propose. May’s family was impoverished (biographer Kenneth Rose refers to them, snidely but correctly, as “professional poor relations”), her own prospects were limited, and Prince Eddy was extremely amiable and good-looking – she accepted, and an 1892 wedding date was set." (Open Letters Monthly)
8) Mary Jane Haddon (1886-?)
Lover in 1889.
Also known as:
Marjory Katherine Masters Haddon
Margery Haddon.
Wife of: Henry Haddon, Engineer of Indian State Railways
Natural Offspring: Clarence Guy Gordon Haddon (1890-1940).
The daughter of a civil servant, she was a vivacious woman brought up in Calcutta, then the seat of colonial power in India. By the time she met the duke, she was married to a civil engineer, Henry Haddon. . . After the ball, one of a number during the tour of India by the duke and his younger brother, the future King George V, Haddon claimed she and the duke became lovers. The following year she is said to have given birth to her son, Clarence Guy Gordon Haddon. . . By 1914, after a number of failed marriages, she had descended into alcoholism and seemed almost deranged. That year she was arrested outside the gates of Buckingham Palace after shouting she was the mother of the Duke of Clarence’s illegitimate son." (Alexander Palace)
Wife of: Henry Haddon, Engineer of Indian State Railways
Natural Offspring: Clarence Guy Gordon Haddon (1890-1940).
The daughter of a civil servant, she was a vivacious woman brought up in Calcutta, then the seat of colonial power in India. By the time she met the duke, she was married to a civil engineer, Henry Haddon. . . After the ball, one of a number during the tour of India by the duke and his younger brother, the future King George V, Haddon claimed she and the duke became lovers. The following year she is said to have given birth to her son, Clarence Guy Gordon Haddon. . . By 1914, after a number of failed marriages, she had descended into alcoholism and seemed almost deranged. That year she was arrested outside the gates of Buckingham Palace after shouting she was the mother of the Duke of Clarence’s illegitimate son." (Alexander Palace)
"During his tour of India in 1889, Prince Albert Victor became acquainted with Margery Haddon, the wife of Henry Haddon, a civil engineer. Following the death of the Prince, Mrs Haddon came to England, claiming him to be the father of her son, Clarence Haddon. The matter was investigated by the head of the police Special Branch and now an alcoholic, Margery Haddon's claims were eventually dismissed although she is believed to have had an affair with the Prince. The 1920s saw a re-emergence of her claims, when her son, Clarence, published a book 'My Uncle George V'. Clarence Haddon was later charged with demanding money with menace and attempted extortion after writing to King George V asking for money to silence him. At the trial, documents revealed that Haddon's enlistment papers, marriage certificate, officer's commission, demobilisation papers and employment records all recorded his birth as in or before 1887, which was two years prior to when Albert Victor met his mother. Finding him guilty, the judge, who believed him to be suffering from delusions, bound him over for three years on the condition that he ceased his claims that he was the son of the Duke of Clarence. Haddon breached the conditions and was later jailed for a year." (English Monarchs)
"LONDON: In the spiciest bit of royal gossip from the vault of history, newly-released government papers show that the current British Queen's great-uncle, 'Prince Eddy', grandson of the strait-laced Queen Victoria, fathered an illegitimate son during an imperial visit to India and his shamed royal family subsequently moved heaven and earth to cover it up. The Prince, who officially bore the title Duke of Clarence, was known to be one of the more debauched members of a family that has had its share of lotharios, gay young blades, randy rascals and princes. On a visit to India with his younger brother, Britain's future King George V, the 25-year-old 'Prince Eddy' whose real name was Albert Victor, is revealed to have been bowled over by a vivacious young married woman Margery Haddon. The Prince and Mrs. Haddon, the wife of a staid civil engineer based in Kolkata, embarked on a feverish, if brief, love affair. The end result, Mrs. Haddon always claimed, was her son, born in 1890 and fatefully and significantly named Clarence Guy Gordon Haddon. The love child, a source of considerable shame in a British Raj still living by Victorian principles of propriety, subsequently arrived in London with his sensational claim of having the Duke of Clarence for a father. The Prince's mistress, who was herself less than discreet in the years after their liaison, also came to London and is known to have haunted the neighbourhood of Buckingham Palace, shouting that she was the mother of the Duke's son." (Times of India)
" . . . Eddy's military aide, Lieutenant George Rogers, who, inter alia had arranged for Eddy to meet Margery in the first place, was himself implicated in her divorce. The implication too was that he had fathered Clarence, although his family had told Police that he had acted as a royal scapegoat for this royal relationship and that his family had provided maintenance payments for Clarence even though he was not his true father -- although whether this was on his own behalf or on behalf of Eddy is not clear. Moreover, an unnamed spokesman from Lewis and Lewis, the Duke's solicitors during the divorce proceedings, agreed that 'certainly there were some relations' (between Margery and Eddy), although he denied that there was any child from the union." (Royal Bastards.)
9) Maude Richardson.
"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 auction house in London. Owing to discrepancies in the dates and spelling of the letters, one historian has suggested they could be forgeries." (Wikipedia)
"The next year, Eddy became ill with what may have been venereal disease. Doctors in attendance referred to it as “fever” or “gout.” Rumors spread of Eddy’s intimate relations with a chorus girl of the Gaiety Theater, Lydia Manton and later with chorus girl, Maude Richardson. The royal family reportedly payed off Maude for her silence. Shortly after, Eddy proposed to Princess Mary of Teck, and she accepted to the great relief of the royal family. But, the wedding never happened." (Empowered Women in History)
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| Sybil Fane Countess of Westmorland c1900 |
10) Sybil Fane, Countess of Westmorland (1871-1910)
British aristocrat & socialite
Also known as Sybil St. Clair Erskine.
Daughter of: Robert Francis St. Clair-Erskine, 4th Earl of Rosslyn & Blanche Adeliza FitzRoy.
Wife of: Antony Mildmay Julian Fame, 13th Earl of Westmorland, mar 1892
" . . . The young earl had a younger sister, Lady Sybil St. Clair Erskine, whom he [Edward VII] adored, and of whom he said 'there was no more beautiful face, with the most wonderful laughing eyes'. She had a 'rollicking jollity and a devil-may-care life'. Harry, Sybil, their siblings and two stepsisters had grown up together at Easton, the house Daisy Brooke inherited as a child. Sybil Erskine had not the 'depth' or political passion of Daisy or the literary talent of another sister the Duchess of Sutherland. But she would become the next passion of Eddy's life." (Prince Eddy: The King Britain Never Had: 241)
"There was just one more T to be crossed before the prince was fully ready to commit to May. On November 29, Eddy wrote to Lady Sybil St. Clair-Erskine asking whether there was any truth to the rumor that she had become engaged to Lord Burghers, the Duke of Westmorland's son. Stung by her affirmative reply, the prince responded, 'Don't be surprised if you hear before long that I am engaged also, for I expect it will come off soon." (Royal Pains: A Rogues's Gallery of Brats, Brutes , and Bad Seeds)
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