13 biggest mysteries surrounding the British royal family

Public as their lives are, members of the royal family have always managed to maintain at least a bit of mystery…

In April 1483, King Edward IV of England died, and his eldest son, Edward V, age 12, ascended the throne with his uncle, his father’s brother, the Duke of Gloucester, as “protector of the realm.” But soon after, the Duke sent Edward V and his next youngest brother, aged 10 (Richard, Duke of York) to the Tower of London (both a residence and a prison) – for their own “protection.” In June, the Duke declared himself King Richard III. Edward and his brother were never seen again. Two skeletons found in the Tower are believed to be the brothers, and Richard III has long been suspected of having his nephews murdered.

In 1560, Amy Robsart turned up dead at the bottom of a staircase, her neck broken. Amy’s tragedy, however, was convenient for Queen Elizabeth I, who was thought to be in love with Amy’s husband, Robert Dudley. Rumours quickly spread – that Elizabeth had ordered the murder of Amy. Still, some believe Amy was suicidal or that she had a pre-existing condition (cancer that had spread to her bones) that made her more likely to gravely injure herself.

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Queen Elizabeth II is the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, who was the daughter of King George III’s fourth son, Edward, Duke of Kent. That Her Majesty The Queen is descended from Victoria isn’t in question. But since the day of Victoria’s birth, there have been questions as to Victoria’s royal lineage. Some believe her father wasn’t Edward, but rather a “friend” of Victoria’s mother. Two reasons (or should we say genetically inherited conditions): Victoria was the first member of the royal family to have children with haemophilia, and King George III was the last member diagnosed with porphyria. The current royal family refuses to indulge such speculation.

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Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (and later King of Hanover), was Queen Victoria’s father’s brother. In May of 1810, his valet, Joseph Sellis, was found, his throat cut, in his quarters in the Duke’s house. It was eventually ruled a suicide, but many believed it was the Duke who slit Joseph’s throat, either out of anger or romantic jealousy or even possibly in self-defence. It’s unlikely the truth will ever be known.

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When Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, 42, died in December 1861, typhus was said to be the cause. But today, the actual reason is debated with some doctors hypothesising Albert had been suffering for years with undiagnosed cancer of the stomach or bowels (he’d been complaining of digestive issues for years) and others believing Albert died of sepsis caused by underlying Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis (which would explain his month-long demise and the digestive issues). Because Queen Victoria forbade an autopsy, we may never know.

Queen Victoria’s fifth child, Princess Louise may have, at age 18, given birth to a son sired by her brother’s tutor. What is known is at the time, the royal obstetrician’s son adopted a newborn, named Henry, and told his children he was the son of Princess Louise. In 2004, Henry’s descendants were denied a sample of Henry’s DNA for testing and, unlike the files of her siblings, Princess Louise’s are closed to the public. So the mystery lives on…

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After Prince Albert’s death in 1861, a distraught Queen Victoria declared an unprecedented two-year royal mourning period. In 1863, she may have begun a close, personal relationship with her servant, John Brown, lasting 20 years (until John’s death at age 56). To the chagrin of Victoria’s advisors, the public referred to Victoria as “Mrs. Brown,” and her children referred to John as “Mama’s Lover.” Victoria treated John like a member of the family, even gifting him a house. Her diaries are filled with gushing references to him, and her final wishes had her buried with mementos of both Albert and John.

Prince Albert Victor, a grandson of Queen Victoria, was the eldest son of King Edward VII but predeceased his father at age 28 and so never became king. But Eddy, as he was nicknamed, will go down in history as someone people believe(d) was Jack the Ripper, the killer of at least five women in the Whitechapel section of London in 1888. Although news reports indicated Eddy was nowhere near Whitechapel at the time, questions arose and continue to this day because of Eddy’s mysterious life (it seems he was a closeted gay man) and death – he died of influenza in 1892, but some believe he died of syphilis and might have committed the murders while in the throes of syphilitic insanity. The question is, was Prince Eddy left-handed? Because Jack the Ripper seems to have been!

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When Prince Alfred, the 24-year-old grandson of Queen Victoria died on February 6, 1899, the press reported a tumour had caused his death. But the circumstances strongly suggest he shot himself with a revolver during his parents’ 25th-anniversary celebration and died soon after. The young prince was known to have had an emotionally challenging childhood, and his short adulthood was described by his aunt Vicky, as “dissipated.”

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