John Charles Francis looked perfectly fine when he was born on 12th July 1905. Mother, Mary of Teck and father, King George V were proud parents as the news of their newborn reached the Commonwealth. But things would change four years later when Prince John had his first epileptic seizure. On June 22nd 1911 the Prince did not attend his father’s coronation.
The Prince lived on Wood Farm on Sandringham Estate with Charlotte Bill, his nanny and a coachman called Thomas Haverly. Even though Prince John was well looked after he was shredded away from public exposure and the only reasonable explanation for his isolation was because of his disability.
On 6th July 1918 the Royal family were photographed at Buckingham Palace to mark Johns’ parents Silver Wedding anniversary, but the Prince himself was not present.
The media weren’t interested covering the Prince’s whereabouts, when nowadays the story of a lonely prince would make front page news back then a disabled person was best forgotten.
Another worry for the family was if the Prince suffered a seizure in public, there was no medication available at the time to keep epilepsy under control.
At 5.30am on 18th January 1919 the phone rang at Buckingham Palace, it was Charlotte bringing the sad news to Queen Mary that her son had suffered a fatal seizure and had lost his life. The 13 year-old Prince had died away from his parents due to his seizures becoming more severe over the years.
His death was only portrayed as a half page article in the papers.
