Prince Albert Victor, King Edward VII's (r. 1901-10) first son and heir to the throne, and popularly known as Eddy, has virtually been airbrushed out of history. Eddy was as popular and charismatic a figure in his own time as Princess Diana a century later. As in her case, his sudden death in 1892 resulted in public demonstrations of grief on a scale rarely seen at the time, and it was even rumoured (as in the case of Diana) that he was murdered to save him besmirching the monarchy. Had he lived, he would have been crowned king in 1911, ushering in a profoundly different style of monarchy from that of his younger brother, who ultimately succeeded as the stodgy George V. Eddy's life was virtually ignored by historians until the 1970s, when myths began to accumulate and his character somehow grew horns and a tail. As a result, he is remembered today primarily as a suspect in the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888 and for his alleged involvement in the Cleveland Street homosexual scandal of 1889. But history has found Eddy guilty of crimes he did not commit.
Now, for the first time, using modern forensic evidence combined with Eddy's previously unseen records, personal correspondence and photographs, Andrew Cook proves his innocence. "Prince Eddy" reveals the truth about a key royal figure, a man who would have made a fine king and changed the face of the British monarchy.
- ISBN10 075246910X
- ISBN13 9780752469102
- Publish Date 26 August 2011 (first published 1 January 2006)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint The History Press Ltd
- Format eBook (Kindle)
- Pages 320
- Language English