Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale

Who was Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale?

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, was the eldest son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and the grandson of the reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria. From the time of his birth, he was second in the line of succession to the British throne, but he did not become king because he died before his father and his grandmother, the Queen.

Albert Victor was known to his family, and many later biographers, as "Eddy". When young, he travelled the world extensively as a naval cadet. As an adult he joined the British Army, but did not undertake any active military duties. After two unsuccessful courtships, he was engaged to be married to Princess Mary of Teck in late 1891. Just a few weeks later, he died during an influenza pandemic. Mary later married his younger brother, George, who became King George V in 1910.

Albert Victor's intellect, sexuality and sanity have been the subject of much speculation. Rumours linked him with the Cleveland Street scandal, which involved a homosexual brothel, but there is no conclusive evidence verifying or disproving the rumours or his sexual orientation. Some authors have argued that he was the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper; however, contemporary documents show that Albert Victor could not have been in London at the time of the murders, and the claim is widely dismissed.