John Charles Francis of Great Britain and Ireland

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Prince John of Great Britain and Ireland (1913)
Prince John (front, left) with his siblings (1912)

Prince John Charles Francis (born July 12, 1905 in York Cottage , Norfolk ; † January 18, 1919 Wood Farm, Wolferton, Norfolk) was the youngest child of King George V and his wife Maria von Teck .

Life

Prince John was born on July 12, 1905, the youngest of six children of the future King George V of Great Britain and Ireland and his wife Maria von Teck in York Cottage in Norfolk. When he was born, Prince John was initially sixth in line to the British throne . After the death of his grandfather Edward VII in 1910 and his father's accession to the throne, he moved to 5th place. His older brothers Eduard (June 23, 1894 - May 28, 1972), Albert (December 14, 1895 - February 6, 1952), Henry (March 31, 1900 - June 10, 1974) ranked ahead of him. and George (born December 20, 1902, † August 25, 1942). His older sister Mary (born April 25, 1897, † March 28, 1965) was in 6th place according to the regulation at the time, which disadvantaged female offspring.

Prince John had suffered from epilepsy from the age of four and showed signs of autism . He was therefore largely shielded from the public, but had contact with his peers. From 1917 Prince John lived with his valet and nanny Charlotte "Lalla" Bill on Wood Farm in Wolferton, Norfolk, an estate that is part of the Sandringham Royal Estate . He died there in his sleep on January 18, 1919.

After John's death, his eldest brother, who later became King Edward VIII, wrote to his mistress at the time, Freda Dudley Ward : “Of course the death of my little brother hits me; don't think I'm cold-hearted, my darling, but I've already told you everything about this little brother, that he was an epileptic and basically could have died any day !! He's been imprisoned for two years and nobody but the family saw him - and only once or twice a year. His death is the greatest relief one can imagine; We have always prayed for it in silence. "

In public, Prince John was initially forgotten after his death. In some encyclopedias he was not mentioned and in several genealogical tables Prince John was also not listed. It was only when a photo of Prince John in a sailor suit was auctioned off by the auction house Sotheby’s of objects from the estate of Edward VIII in 1996 that his fate was picked up again by the media and, among other things. a. Filmed by the BBC under the title The Lost Prince (2003).

literature

  • Helmut-Maria Glogger : The Secret Life of the Windsors. The whole truth . Knaur Taschenbuchverlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-426-77951-X .
  • Kitty Kelley: The Royals . Warner Books, New York 1997, ISBN 0-446-51712-7 .
    • German: The Royals. Glory and misery of a British family . Bastei-Verlag Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1998, ISBN 3-404-12871-0 .
  • Martha Schad (ed.): The Windsors (power and myth. The great dynasties). Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 2000.

Film adaptations and documentaries

  • 2003: The Lost Prince (TV movie)
  • 2008: Prince John: The Windsor's Tragic Secret (Documentary)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Prince John: The Windsors' Tragic Secret (2008), documentary by Paul Tilzey for Channel 4 .
  2. ^ Andrew Alderson: Tender letters from the Lost Prince . In: The Daily Telegraph, January 12, 2003, accessed July 31, 2013. (English)
  3. ↑ Peter-Philipp Schmitt: The lost prince. Queen Elisabeth's uncle John was born 100 years ago - and soon forgotten again. In: FAZ of December 22, 2005.

Web links

Commons : John Charles Francis of Great Britain and Ireland  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME John Charles Francis of Great Britain and Ireland
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johann Karl of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
BRIEF DESCRIPTION british prince
DATE OF BIRTH July 12, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH York Cottage , Norfolk
DATE OF DEATH January 18, 1919
Place of death Wood Farm, Wolferton, Norfolk