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THBEDWARD VIII LETTER TO “FREDIE” DUDLEY WARD REGARDING THE DEATH OF HIS BROTHER JOHN
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About Auction
LiveJun 27, 2015 - Jun 29, 2015
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- Lot Description
A three-page double-sided handwritten letter to Mrs. W. Dudley Ward from Edward VIII regarding the death of his youngest brother, Prince John. The first two pages of the letter, dated January 17, 1919, and January 18 respectively, recount what the Prince has been doing in New Zealand. The next page, dated January 20, is a discussion of his young brother John’s death, which the Prince has just been told about. The letter reads in part, “Of course my little brother’s death plunges me into mourning; don’t think me very cold hearted sweethearted [sic] but I’ve told you all about that little brother darling and how he was an epileptic + might have gone West any day!! He’s been practically shut up for the last 2 years anyhow no one has even seen him except the family + then only once or twice a year + his death is the greatest relief imaginable or what we’ve always silently prayed for.” The Prince goes on to detail how he plans to get back to England to see her and his feelings about Prince John’s death: “What does all the mourning in the world matter to TOI et MOI? I’m terribly sorry for my sister who was going to a lot of parties in Feb. tho somehow I don’t think this mourning will last very long as I think the funeral was to-day; it looks to me as if as little was being made of it all as possible…no one wld. be more cut up if any of other 3 brothers were to die than I shld be but this poor boy had become more of an animal than anything else + was only a brother in the flesh and nothing else.” The letter is signed multiple times “E.” Accompanied by the original transmittal envelope affixed with black sealing wax with a handwritten notation that reads “Jan 17-18 -19.”
Prince John Charles Francis Windsor was 13 when he died in 1919. Had he lived, he would have been Queen Elizabeth’s uncle. The Prince’s medical issues are often cited as epilepsy, but it seems clear that he had other medical concerns as well. His health led the royal family to move John to Wood Farm in Norfolk. John was the subject of a 2003 BBC mini-series called The Lost Prince . Despite what Edward wrote to Dudley Ward, Queen Mary was said to have spent more time with John than with her other children. After his death, Prince John largely disappeared from history until the 2003 mini-series and a collection of photographs were discovered, bringing the Prince and his seclusion to light. This exposure has caused a media debate as to whether the Prince was mistreated by his family.
Largest page, 10 by 8 inches
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