Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale

Prince Albert Victor
Duke of Clarence and Avondale
Photograph by W. & D. Downey, 1891
Born	Prince Albert Victor of Wales 8 January 1864 Frogmore House, Windsor, Berkshire, England
Died	14 January 1892(1892-01-14) (aged 28) Sandringham House, Norfolk, England
Burial	20 January 1892 Royal Vault, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle; later moved to Albert Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel
Names Albert Victor Christian Edward
House	Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Father	Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII)
Mother	Alexandra of Denmark
Signature
Education	Trinity College, Cambridge

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (Albert Victor Christian Edward; 8 January 1864 – 14 January 1892) was the eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra). From the time of his birth, he was second in the line of succession to the British throne, but did not become king or prince of Wales because he died before both his grandmother Queen Victoria and his father.

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

Albert Victor's intellect, sexuality, and mental health have been the subject of speculation. Rumours in his time linked him with the Cleveland Street scandal, which involved a homosexual brothel.^[1] However, there is no conclusive evidence that he ever went there, or that he was homosexual.^[2] Some authors have argued that he was the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, or that he was otherwise involved in the murders, but contemporaneous documents show that Albert Victor could not have been in London at the time of the murders, and the claim is widely dismissed.