Jack the Ripper royal conspiracy theories

Among the many persons suggested as connected to the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888 is Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence (1864-1892). He was a grandson of Queen Victoria and eldest son of the Prince of Wales. He was then known as Prince Albert Victor of Wales, or, informally, as Prince Eddy

The various theories that the Duke of Clarence either was the Ripper, or prompted others to perform the murders to cover up alleged misdeeds, have been comprehensively dismissed by reputable historians.

Contents

1 Theories naming him the killer 2 Theories naming him as the impetus for the killings 3 Fictional portrayals 4 External links

Theories naming him the killer

The first reference to the Duke of Clarence as a Ripper suspect appears to be in 1962, when Phillippe Jullien author of Edouard VII, a biography of Eddy's father, made a passing reference to rumours suggesting that Prince Eddy and the Duke of Bedford were responsible for the murders. Which Duke of Bedford was supposed to be Eddy's colleague at the time of the murders was left uncertain. During the Ripper murders, the Duke was sixty-nine-year old Francis Charles Hastings Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford (1819 - 1891). He would be shortly succeeded by George William Francis Sackville Russell, 10th Duke of Bedford (1852-1893) and then by Herbrand Arthur Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford (1858-1940), both in their thirties at the time. Jullien did not mention his sources of those rumours. His own book is believed to be the first recording them.

In 1970, Dr. Thomas Eldon Alexander Stowell published his article A Solution. Though Eddy was not named in the article itself, Stowell clearly presented him as being Jack the Ripper. Stowell claimed that Eddy actually died of syphilis and that the official report of his death by pneumonia should be dismissed. Stowell further claimed that syphilis had driven Eddy insane. In this state of mind he had perpetrated the five "canonical" Jack the Ripper murders. Following Mary Jane Kelly's murder, Eddy was restrained by his own family and so was unable to continue the series of murders. Stowell claimed that his sources for the article were accounts written in private by Sir William Withey Gull. The article was published shortly before Stowell's own death on November 8, 1970. His papers were reportedly burned by his family. It has been suggested that Stowell could have served directly or indirectly as Jullien's source.

Stowell's article attracted enough attention to place Eddy among the most notable Ripper suspects. However, later Ripperologists have noted several problems with this theory. Gull died on January 29, 1890, and so could not have been Stowell's source concerning Eddy's death. But even if Gull was the source concerning the murders, records of Prince Eddy's activities and whereabouts at the time of the five canonical murders do not confirm his presence in London. Mary Ann Nichols was murdered on August 31, 1888. From August 29 to September 7, 1888 Eddy was reportedly in Grosmont , North Yorkshire. Annie Chapman was murdered on September 8, 1888. From September 7 to September 10, 1888 Eddy was reportedly in York, also in North Yorkshire. Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were both killed during the early hours of September 30, 1888. From September 27 to September 30, 1888 Eddy was reportedly in Abergeldie , Scotland. Later on the date of the murders Eddy is stated to be still in Abergeldie and having dinner with Queen Victoria, who was his grandmother, visiting members of the German Imperial family and William Ewart Gladstone, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Mary Jane Kelly was murdered on November 9, 1888. From November 2 to November 12, 1888, Eddy was reportedly in Sandringham Norfolk. However, defenders of this theory have suggested that Eddy could have been secretly traveling to London or alternatively that the official records had been forged.

In 1978, Frank Spiering published his book Prince Jack further supporting this theory. Spiering claimed to have found a copy of Gull's private notes in the library of the New York Academy of Medicine . Supposedly the notes included a confession by Eddy himself under a state of hypnosis. Spiering also suggested that Eddy died due to an overdose of morphine administered to him under directions of Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, another Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and possibly his own father, the later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. The New York Academy of Medicine has since denied possessing the records Spiering mentioned. Consequently Spiering's writings have been widely dismissed as a combination of Stowell's previous theory with Spiering's own fictions. Spiering himself has been accused of being more interested in sensationalism rather than genuine historical research. However the theory had already gained enough support to not be clearly dismissed.

Theories naming him as the impetus for the killings

Meanwhile other theories had surfaced implicating in the Jack the Ripper murders not only Prince Eddy but the Royal family and a number of notable figures associated with it. This idea first came into public attention thanks to the BBC documentary series Jack the Ripper. The series contained five episodes, aired weekly between July 20 and August 17, 1973.

The series contained testimonies by Joseph Gorman, an obscure London artist who took the name Joseph Sickert, claiming to be the illegitimate son of noted painter Walter Richard Sickert. Sickert is known to have been an acquaintance of Eddy. Princess Alexandra, Eddy's mother who like Walter was from Denmark, had introduced the two men in the hope that Walter would teach Eddy about London social life.

Joseph Gorman was also the main source used by author Stephen Knight (September 26, 1951 - July, 1985) in his work Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution, first published in 1976. Gorman later denied that his alleged father was involved in the killings.

Gorman's claims have also been dismissed by historians and Ripperologists. However Knight's book was successful enough at its time and has been constantly in print ever since. Through its success, this theory has become a popular one, especially for fictional adaptations of the case.

Joseph Gorman's account makes the following claims, many of which have been criticised as innacurate:

• Prince Eddy was not homosexual as is often stated, but rather bisexual. Walter Sickert had introduced him to an Annie Elizabeth Crook, a shop girl. (Records of the time report her as daughter of William and Sarah Crook).
• Eddy and Annie proceeded to have an affair that resulted in a pregnancy. Eddy decided to marry his lover in a secret ceremony despite the fact she was Catholic (although records show that her family actually was not Catholic). The sole witnesses to the ceremony were Walter Sickert and Mary Jane Kelly, as friends of Eddy and Annie respectively. Their child was born as Alice Margaret Crook. (Records of the time confirm Alice's birth to have happened between April and July, 1885 but not the identity of her father).
• Eddy had his wife and daughter settled in an apartment in Cleveland Street and contacted them as often as he could. In 1888, the existence of an illegitimate great-grandchild came to Queen Victoria's attention. She informed Lord Salisbury of the matter. Queen and Prime Minister were supposedly both afraid that knowledge of the existence of Alice as a Catholic heir to the throne would result in a revolution. (This claim fails to consider that such a marriage would have been invalid under British law, and any child of such a marriage would not have been in line for the throne. Also according to the Act of Settlement 1701 only Protestant descendants of the Royal family, who have not, furthermore, married a Catholic, can succeed to the English Crown. Members of the Royal family who convert to Catholicism or marry Catholics simply lose their rights of succession to the throne).
• Lord Salisbury proceeded to order a raid on the apartment. Eddy was placed in the custody of his family while Annie was placed in the custody of Sir William Withey Gull. The latter supposedly conducted experiments on her, driving her insane. She would die in 1920 after spending more that thirty years in a mental institution. (However there seem to be records of the time that mention her living with her mother and daughter following the Jack the Ripper murders).
• Alice was supposedly in the care of Mary Jane Kelly during and after the raid. Kelly at first was content to hide the child, but then she decided to blackmail the government along with her friends Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman and Elizabeth Stride (Ripperologists point out that the Ripper victims were not known to be acquainted to each other and reports of their activities and whereabouts during the year of their death don't seem to suggest a connection). Lord Salisbury supposedly assigned Gull to deal with the threat they posed. The murders were supposedly performed by Gull with the assistance of coachman John Netley and Sir Robert Anderson (1841 - November 15, 1918) who was the Assistant Commissioner of the Criminal Investigation Division of Scotland Yard at the time (Knight replaced Anderson's role in the alleged murder plot with Walter Sickert). Catherine Eddowes' murder was supposedly a case of mistaken identity. She was known to have used the alias Mary Ann Kelly and supposedly got confused with Mary Jane Kelly.
• Alice survived the events of the case and would live well into old age. She later became Walter Sickert's mistress and therefore Joseph's mother.

Joseph Gorman's claims have been dismissed as ludicrous by the vast majority of historians.

Other authors have made further modifications to this theory. For example, Jean Overton-Fuller promoted Sickert from a knowing accomplice to being Jack the Ripper himself (a theme later followed by crime novelist Patricia Cornwell in her book Portrait of a Killer, but without the royal connection). Authors Andy and Sue Parlour have used the basic royal conspiracy theory but with Prince Eddy getting ripper victim Mary Jane Kelly pregnant instead of Annie Crook.

Fictional portrayals

Through his connection to the above mentioned theories, the Duke of Clarence and Avondale has occasionally been portayed in fiction. His appearances in film include:

• David Wickes ' Jack the Ripper, first released on October 21, 1988. The actor portraying him was Marc Culwick .
• Janet Meyers ' The Ripper, first released on December 6, 1997. The actor portraying him was Samuel West.
• The Hughes Brothers' From Hell, first released on September 8, 2001. The actor portaying him was Mark Dexter . This film was based upon a graphic novel of the same title by Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell

External links

• Casebook: Jack the Ripper - The Royal Conspiracy debunks Knight's theory.