Inside of a German Castle in July 1900, the second son of Queen Victoria Prince Alfred
was gravely ill. He had a deadly bout of throat cancer that would take his life, but in the
year before his death, he had a huge tragedy to deal with, following the death of his 24
year old son who died under rather suspicious circumstances. Alfred, Queen Victoria’s
fourth child and Second son was a man who has throughout history been overshadowed,
but he was a man who’s children became Queens and rulers, but he was the third in line to
the throne of Queen Victoria. However his death was incredibly sad and tragic, and it
put a significant amount of strain on his mother Queen Victoria who died the year after.
But what is the story of the horrific death of Queen Victoria’s son?
Prince Alfred was born on the 6th August 1844 at Windsor Castle. He was affectionately known
as Alfie, and at the time he was second in the line of succession behind his older brother
The Prince of Wales. He was baptised as was expected with a royal child, and he would
remain second in line to the British throne from his birth until his older brother Edward
and his wife Alexandra of Denmark had their first child, Prince Albert Victor. But he
would fall further down the line the line of succession as his brother had more children.
But he would as a child enter the Royal Navy at the age of 12, and he passed a separate
exam and became a naval cadet at the age of 14. He was on a number of ships and he also
took part in official visits to different countries.
But when the King of Greece in 1862 abdicated, Prince Alfred was chosen to succeed him, however
the government of Britain banned this, as the Queen was in opposition to the plan. The
plans had already been made for Alfred to become the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, and Victoria
had these plans for him. He did stay within the navy and was promoted, and was described
as ‘having a great natural ability for handling a fleet,’ and he was noted to have become
a ‘first class fighting admiral.’ But The Prince was made the Duke of Edinburgh
in 1866 and he then began a voyage around the world. He visited many countries, including
being the first member of the royal family to visit Australia, and he stayed for around
5 months and was very well received. However during the visit, he would experience an incident
which could have killed him, and would affect his health for a significant time.
On the 12th March 1868 whilst in Sidney, Alfred was visiting a beachfront suburb to raise
funds for the Sydney Sailor’s Home. But whilst at the party and fundraiser, he was
shot in the back by a revolver fired by Henry James O’Farrel. In this the bullets struck
him to the right of his spine. He was then treated by six nurses over two weeks who gave
him round the clock care, and during the violent struggle, a man had managed to wrestle the
gun away from O’Farrel before he continued to fire at the Prince. O’Farrel was later
executed for his crimes.
Alfred did recover from his injury and he then continued to command his ship where he
went to Hawaii and also went on to New Zealand, becoming the first royal to visit here too.
He then travelled on to India, and he was quite clearly an asset for Queen Victoria
and was a man who was quite a talented international statesman. But for some time Queen Victoria
had been intending to marry Alfred to Princess Dagmar of Denmark, but she then went against
this due to issues between European countries. However during a visit to see his sister Princess
Alice, Alfred met Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. On the 23rd January 1875, Alfred
married her, and she was the second and only surviving daughter of Emperor Alexander II
of Russia. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh as they were now known came to London, but
their marriage was not a happy one, and it’s believed Alfred’s wife was more obsessed
in becoming a London Socialite.
Alfred continued his career in the navy, and he continued to command a number of ships,
and eventually he was promoted to admiral on the 18th October 1887. He was also the
Commander in Chief of the Navy, and he then became Admiral of the Fleet. It was said that,
‘as a Commander-in-Chief, the Duke of Edinburgh had, in my humble opinion, no equal. He handled
a fleet magnificently, and introduced many improvement in signals and manoeuvring." He
"took a great interest in gunnery. "The prettiest ship I have ever seen was the [Duke of Edinburgh's
flagship] HMS Alexandra. I was informed that £2,000 had been spent by the officers on
her decoration.’ Despite being a brilliant statesman, he was also a very good naval officer,
but following the death of his uncle, he then became the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Alfred gave up his British allowance and seat in the House of Lords and the Privy Council,
but he kept Clarence House as his residence in London. He travelled to the Duchy, and
was regarded as a foreigner, but over time he did become rather popular in the Duchy,
but he also won the favour of his subjects.
But his only son Alfred would get involved in a scandal in 1899, and he then allegedly
shot himself in January 1899. The family were celebrating Alfred and Maria’s 25th wedding
anniversary at Schloss Friedestein at the time, but their son would be missing. He was
being looked after at the family home, before he was sent to a Sanitorum where he died,
but it’s probable that this death had a huge impact on Alfred’s life and his moods.
His death was allegedly caused by ‘chronic cerebral affection,’ however at this time
Prince Alfred was very ill himself. A newspaper front he time described the feelings regarding
his health, and it was said ‘there was universal sorrow and sympathy, it appears that owing
to ill health he was unable to accompany to Duches to London on their usual visit to London
last summer. The Duke tried three different cures for his illness, but more unfavourable
symptoms manifested themselves in June, and a carcinomatous growth appeared on the root
of the tongue.’
It was clear that Prince Alfred was suffering from throat cancer. It was also said that,
‘Eventually paralysis of the heart unexpectedly supervened and the Duke passed away. The Duchess
of Saxe-Coburg and the other members of the family wer represent at the time. Her Majesty
the Queen received the news of the death of her son with remarkable sorrow and sympathy.
Cover morning has been ordered. The body of the late Duke is now lying in state in the
Church of St Moritz.’ His mother would outlive him by a year, before Queen Victoria died,
and a memorial to Alfred was decimated in the grounds of Balmoral after his death.
Throughout his life Prince Alfred, or Alfred the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had proven
himself to have been a brilliant prince. He was a fantastic member of the navy, and in
the decades after his death the world would need naval officers like him as the First
World War broke out. He had been ill for some time, and his death could have been made quicker
due to the fact he may have smoked, and throat cancer within a short amount of time claimed
the life of Queen Victoria’s second son.
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