Prince John of the United Kingdom

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

Life

Prince John was born on July 12, 1905 as the youngest of six children of the future King George V of Great Britain and Ireland and his wife Mary of Teck in York Cottage in Norfolk. At his birth, Prince John was first in 6th place for the British throne. After the death of his grandfather Edward VII in 1910 and the accession of his father, he moved up to 5th place. Before him, his older brothers Eduard ranked (* June 23, 1894, † May 28, 1972 ), Albert (* December 14, 1895; † February 6, 1952 ), Henry ( * March 31, 1900, † June 10, 1974 ) and George (* December 20, 1902; † August 25, 1942 ). His older sister Maria ( * April 25, 1897, † March 28, 1965 ) was by the former regime, the female offspring disadvantaged, in 6th place.

Prince John suffered from epilepsy since the age of four and showed signs of autism. He was therefore largely shielded from the public, but had contact with peers. In 1917, Prince John lived with his valet and his nanny Charlotte " Lalla " Bill on the Wood Farm in Wolferton, Norfolk, a possession that belongs to the royal estate of Sandringham. He died there on January 18, 1919 in his sleep.

His eldest brother, later King Edward VIII, wrote after John's death to his former mistress, Freda Dudley Ward: " Of course I shall take the death of my little brother; do not think me cold -hearted, sweetheart, but I have already written you all about this little brother, that he was an epileptic and basically every day could have died! He was imprisoned for two years, no one but the family has seen him - and that too only once or twice a year. His death is the greatest relief that you can imagine; in silence we have always prayed for. "

In the public became Prince John after his death first forgotten. In some lexicons he was not mentioned and in several genealogical tables Prince John was also not listed. It was not until in 1996 a photograph surfaced at an auction of items from the estate of Edward VIII by the auction house Sotheby 's, which shows Prince John in a sailor suit, his fate was again taken up by the media and, inter alia, by the BBC under the Title The Lost Prince ( 2003) filmed.