The royal tragedies you’ve never heard of
The Windsor heartbreaks, such as the deaths of the other Prince George and Prince William, that have almost faded from memory
The end of August marks two famous tragedies – the assassination of Lord Mountbatten in 1979 and 18 years later, the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in a car crash. But what of the other secret sorrows that are almost forgotten? Kerry took a look for The Saturday Telegraph. Here’s what she found:
This week, 42 years ago, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, much-loved uncle of Prince Philip and mentor to Prince Charles, was killed by an IRA bomb while lobster-fishing with his family in Ireland.
It was August 27 and the 79-year-old was at his home Classiebawn Castle in County Sligo. A party of seven set off to go fishing on his boat, including Lord Mountbatten, his daughter Patricia, her husband Lord John Bradbourne, their 14-year-old twin boys, Timothy and Nicholas, John’s mother, Lady Doreen Bradbourne, and 15-year-old Paul Maxwell who worked on the boat. At 11.45am, an IRA bomb exploded, killing Mountbatten, Nicholas and Paul. Lady Bradbourne died the following day.
On September 5, Mountbatten received a ceremonial funeral in Westminster Abbey and was buried in Romsey Abbey, Hampshire. Almost two decades later, Westminster Abbey would be the setting for Diana, Princess of Wales’ funeral after she died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.
But what of the other tragedies that time is erasing? We take a look at some of the saddest royal stories fast becoming forgotten:
The mysterious death of the other Prince George: The end of August is unlucky for the Royal Family – on August 25, 1942, the popular and handsome Prince George, Duke of Kent, was killed in an air crash when his RAF plane crashed in Caithness, en-route to Iceland. A total of 14 people died, with one survivor. While some mystery surrounds what happened, pilot error was officially blamed. George, 39, was the charismatic and rakish uncle to the Queen, younger brother to Edward VIII and George VI. He was married to Princess Marina and had three children – Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Prince Michael of Kent and Princess Alexandra. According to biographer Christopher Wilson, there was an extra person on the plane – a woman – and the true details were covered up and George airbrushed from history.
The Lost Prince: Another brother to George VI and Edward VIII, was poor Prince John, known as The Lost Prince. Diagnosed with epilepsy and it’s now thought autism, John was sent to live in Wood Farm, Sandringham, with his governess. His family visited him occasionally. On January 18, 1919, John passed away aged just 13, after a severe seizure and was buried after a private funeral at Sandringham. Edward callously wrote of his death, “this poor boy had become more of an animal than anything else and was only a brother in the flesh and nothing else.”
The tragic death of Princess Cecilie: When Prince Philip was 16 and studying at Gordonstoun in Scotland, his sister Cecilie, husband Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse, sons Ludwig, six, and Alexander, four, and mother-in-law Grand Duchess Eleonore, died in a plane crash on November 16 1937, in Ostend, Belgium. They were on their way to the wedding of Georg’s brother Prince Louis, in London and it emerged Cecilie, who was eight months pregnant, had given birth to a son on the flight. Their daughter, Johanna, who was not on the plane, was adopted by Louis and Princess Margaret but died two years later from meningitis.
The untimely loss of the other Prince William: Before the Duke of Cambridge, there was another handsome, dashing pilot Prince William, son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and the Queen’s cousin. After studying at Cambridge and Stanford, he took a job with the diplomatic service and indulged in his passion for flying – including piloting himself to Japan in 1968. However, again – at the end of August - on the 28th of the month, 1972, William’s life was cut short when his plane crashed during an air show in Wolverhampton. He was 30 years old. In a tragic twist, Henry had suffered a stroke two years before and his wife Princess Alice revealed she never told him their son was killed. He died two years later.
For one day only - enjoy special access to Diana’s statue
It was 24 years ago this week that Kensington Palace became the poignant place of pilgrimage for thousands mourning the shocking loss of Diana, Princess of Wales. And now, thanks to special access being granted to Diana’s statue in her former home’s Sunken Garden, people will be able to visit between 3-5pm on Tuesday August 31 - the anniversary of her death.
Due to the pandemic, the palace and gardens are currently only open from Wednesday to Sunday. However, Historic Royal Palaces announced the walkway surrounding the garden will be open for anyone wanting to commemorate Diana on this first anniversary since the bronze memorial was unveiled by William and Harry on July 1.
A spokesman said: “We acknowledge that there will be interest in viewing the statue on that day. So we will be providing access to the Cradle Walk which is essentially the beautiful walkway around the Sunken Garden.”
Entry is free and no booking necessary. However, floral tributes are not permitted. So, if you do pop along with a bunch of flowers it’s fine to place them at the palace’s Golden Gates – just like thousands did 24 years ago.
Meet the most stylish Euro royal
Don’t tell Princess Beatrice but there’s another royal namesake who’s scooped the crown as Tatler magazine’s most stylish European royal. She’s Beatrice Borromeo, the chic wife of Monaco’s House of Grimaldi royal Pierre Casiraghi.
The 36-year-old is an Italian aristocrat and worked as a political journalist and documentary maker, before marrying the youngest son of Princess Caroline and grandson of Grace Kelly. And just like the late great Princess Grace, she’s red-carpet dynamite too.
Tbh, we’re now a little bit obsessed and we’d bet our M&S Sparks card on the fact she was Lady Kitty Spencer’s wedding frocks inspo. When Beatrice married Pierre in 2015 she wore five different gowns, two by Valentino for her civil ceremony in Monaco’s Grimaldi Palace and two by Armani Privé for the religious service at her family’s castle on Lake Maggiore, Italy. For the pre-wedding Italian party, the bride wore Alberta Ferretti. Queen Beatrice of wardrobe wonders, we salute you!
Spencer film trailer drops and we’re VERY excited!
Ever since we heard Kristen Stewart had signed up to star as Diana in Pablo Larraín’s Spencer film, we’ve been counting down the days for its release. Well, book your seats people for November 5 as fireworks hit your local flicks, and we’ll all be not-so-silently judging Kristen’s performance against benchmark-setting Emma Corrin’s star turn in The Crown. Watch the trailer here, we think it’s going to be a close call.
The official teaser dropped just a day after the first poster for the film was released, and our first impression is a solid Professor Higgins ‘by George, she’s got it’ thumbs up when you finally hear Kristen speak with Diana’s distinctive tone. “The accent is intimidating as all hell because people know that voice, and it’s so, so distinct and particular,” she told InStyle earlier this year.
Set in December 1991, the film revolves on that pivotal Christmas at Sandringham when Diana decides her marriage to Prince Charles is over. “It’s a physical assertion of the sum of her parts, which starts with her given name; Spencer,” said Kristen. “It is a harrowing effort for her to return to herself, as Diana strives to hold onto what the name Spencer means to her.”
Spencer is making its premiere at the Venice Film Festival starting this week, so expect reviews to roll in fast. Ooh, pass the popcorn!
Royal Travel: Afternoon tea by the palace
We love a regal day out and Kerry and family were excited to head to The Goring hotel, near Buckingham Palace, to try out their afternoon tea. The Goring is a royal favourite - famously where Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge stayed the night before her wedding to Prince William and is the last family-owned luxury hotel in London.
Each summer, they have a special guest in residence - Shetland pony Teddy - and host a Teddy the Shetland Pony Afternoon Tea. From the impeccably English decor, to the exquisite finger sandwiches, it was a perfect afternoon out. Our favourites were the Teddy-shaped biscuits, mini-scones and apple crumble tarts. After a fabulous feast, the children headed to Teddy’s five-star stable to say hello. While Teddy is about to head home, our tip is to book now for next summer because this year sold out fast.