On 14th January 1892, the Duke of Clarence, i.e Prince Albert Victor of Wales, Queen Victoria’s grandson died an untimely death.
Born in 1864, he was the eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) and in January 1892, he sucommbed to pneumonia as the great influenza of 1889 -1892 spread over Britain. His mother never fully recovered from this, asking servants to keep his rooms exactly as they were when he died.
Prince Albert Victor was the subject of many rumours during his death, including stories about his sexual orientation and even speculation which gathered momentum that he was actually serial killer, Jack the Ripper!
So what’s this got to do with Blantyre?! Well, actually, the Prince was a popular figure. For example, in the modern context of the late Queen Elizabeth II, he was the “Prince William” of his time, expected one day to be king. The nation was shocked. Grieving.
Shops in Blantyre closed for a day on the funeral and at High Blantyre, the Old Parish Church pulpit and below each window was draped in Black cloth as a symbol of the Nations mourning.
