03 November 2023 , 16:07
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There is a place on the Royal Family's Sandringham Estate that is given a body swerve by all members of the family – because it is said to be haunted by a controversial relative.
York Cottage, one of the houses that make up the estate in Norfolk, was given as a wedding present to the Duke and Duchess of York, the son and daughter-in-law of King Edward VII (then the Prince of Wales) in 1893. But before that, Prince Albert Victor, King Edward VII’s eldest son and the Queen’s great-uncle, had lived in the cottage up until he passed away in 1892.
Prince Albert Victor was a controversial figure who caused the Royal Family many problems as he was involved in a number of scandals in his tumultuous life. At one point, he was considered suspect No.1 in the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. He was born in 1864 in Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, but later moved to York Cottage, where he lived out most of his days.
Prince Albert Victor is said to haunt York Cottage (©Lee/Leemage)The exact date of the building has never been established and the late Queen did not inhabit it. It is said that is because York Cottage’s original long-term resident never left – and his spooky spirit still roams the hauntingly empty rooms.
Prince Albert Victor's link to Jack the Ripper came from rumours – as the accusations made their way around old London, people had two main reasons as to why he could have been behind the brutal murders of prostitutes.
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The first theory was that the prince went with a prostitute in the West Indies and later discovered he had contracted syphilis. It was alleged that the disease had spread to his brain and left him with an unquenchable fury, sparking a need to kill the sex workers in London.
However, there was also another unsubstantiated tale – that the Prince had fallen in love with and had a baby from a girl who hailed from Whitechapel – which made the senior royals very angry about the pairing. They therefore organised agents to silence anyone who knew of the set-up.
But both theories were rejected after it emerged Prince Albert Victor had a watertight alibi – he was staying with his grandmother Queen Victoria in Balmoral the night the two girls were killed.
He was also linked to the Cleveland Street Scandal in 1889. As the story goes, a male, homosexual brother was discovered by authorities – and Prince Albert Victor’s name came up as one of the visitors.
However, despite ups and downs, the Prince later went on to find love and proposed to Queen Mary, then Princess Victoria Mary of Teck. The happy couple set a date for their wedding, but, in 1891, just a week after his 28th birthday, Prince Albert Victor was inflicted with influenza and died.
King George V became King in his stead, but many claim Prince Albert Victor's unsettled spirit was unable leave his home and there have been reports of spooky goings-on ever since. Nowadays, it’s used as an estate office for Sandringham and is also a place to stay for employees.