Prince Eddy: The King Britain Never Had [Paperback]

Andrew Cook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2009

Prince Albert Victor, King Edward Vll's (r. 1901–10) first son and heir to the throne, 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 rumored (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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Andrew Cook is a brilliant investigative historian' ANDREW ROBERTS."

About the Author

Andrew Cook was the presenter and historical consultant of the Channel 4 documentary about the life of Prince Eddy. He is the author of three critically acclaimed books all published by Tempus. Ace of Spies: The True Story of Sidney Reilly ('Both a compelling narrative and a myth-shattering tour de force' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE), M: M15's First Spymaster ('A brilliantly researched biography' STELLA RIMINGTON) and To Kill Rasputin: The Life and Death of Grigori Rasputin (SERIALISED IN THE DAIL Y MAIL; 'A tale of blood, ice and thunderous politics, and Cook tells it both vividly and carefully' ROBERT SERVICE, author of Stalin: A Biography). He is a regular contributor on espionage history to The Guardian, The Times and History Today. He lives in Bedfordshire.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: The History Press (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752445928
• ISBN-13: 978-0752445922
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,109,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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27 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Less than convincing, August 29, 2008

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Average American - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prince Eddy: The King Britain Never Had (Paperback)

This biography of Prince Albert Victor (Eddy) attempts to rehabilitate his image. There are three issues : (1) Was Prince Eddy Jack the Ripper? (2) Was he intellectually slow? (3) Was he involved in the Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889 and thus gay/bi?

Prince Eddy makes a bad candidate for Jack the Ripper and that is easily disposed of - it might make for interesting reading, but not very possible.

Having read a few books concerning this person, I would definately say that he was on the dumb side. Too many contemporaries paint him as being lazy and unconcentrated and not knowing the meaning of the word "to read." The author simply chooses not to believe this and to think that his seeming lack of intelligence came from having bad, uninspiring teachers and being immature (and some have also suggested it was because he was hard of hearing like his mother).

As to the last issue, I also do not agree with the author. All other sources I've read do involve the Prince in the Cleveland Street scandal and state that there was a royal cover up. I won't go into the details except to state that this author discounts Lord Arthur Sommerset by stating that he and Prince Eddy barely knew each other and that Sommerset wound up only repeating the rumours his lawyer started to deflect interest off himself. This is conjecture in my opinion.

One can agree or disagree with these issues - we will never know for sure - but I would suggest further reading on this subject if one is interested. Don't take this biography as your only source. Suggested reading: " The Cleveland Street Scandal " by Colin Simpson,Lewis Chester and David Leitch (there is another book on this subject called "The Cleveland Street Affair" by H. Montgomery Hyde), "Prince Eddy and the Homosexual Underworld" by Theo Aronson, "Clarence: Was He Jack the Ripper" by Michael Harrison, and a newer one "The Prince, His Tutor and the Ripper" by Deborah McDonald. Further background information can be gained from some of the biographies of Prince Eddy's parents, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, or of his brother, King George V. As far as the Jack the Ripper rumours about Prince Eddy, there are a number of other books on this subject.

All in all, from reading this book I got the sense that Prince Eddy was probably just a very nice but spoiled, immature, shallow and not-very-intelligent person. And may I add heartless to that list since he was an very avid hunter. Having read "Prince Eddy: the King Britain Never Had" I find him less sympathetic than I previously did.