Suzannah Lipscomb reveals the dark history of the British royal family

Here’s a look at the most chilling royal scandals I’ll explore in the new episodes:

Prince George and Kiki Preston

Prince George was the uncle of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger brother of Prince Edward, later Edward VIII. In the 1920s, like many young people who exorcised their wartime sorrows through an excess of fun, both princes were often seen drinking and dancing in London’s cabaret clubs. George soon went one step further. He appeared in public in women’s clothing and was rumored to have had a relationship with Noel Coward at a time when gay sex was still a crime punishable by prison.

But his downfall came from his association with American socialite Kiki Preston, who belonged to the infamous ‘Happy Valley’ group – a group of wealthy settlers in Kenya who became known for their debauchery. Author June Woolerton told me that Kiki was nicknamed ‘the girl with the silver syringe’ and that it was she who introduced Prince George to drugs. And Edward – so famous for the later scandal of his abdication – was the one who intervened to prevent this scandal and save his brother’s life.

Edward VII and the sex chair

As heir to the throne, the future Edward VII, better known as Bertie, began an affair with an Irish actress named Nellie Clifden and, worse, fell in love with her. It was a scandal of such proportions that his father, Prince Albert, staged an intervention, taking a long walk in the rain with Bertie and trying to talk to him.

On his return to Windsor, Albert became seriously ill and died three weeks later. Queen Victoria was convinced that Bertie was responsible for his father’s illness and death. In the aftermath, the chastened Bertie married Princess Alexandra of Denmark, but it wasn’t long before he found new lovers and visited Parisian sex workers.

As the decades progressed and he found his performance diminishing, he commissioned a special piece of furniture to help: the siege of amour – a custom-made sex chair. With two padded sections, foot bars and handles similar to a CrossFit trainer, it is designed to handle his increasing size.

But author Cat Arnold thinks it might also be designed to address another problem. There is room for a third participant to cheer the prince up when his enthusiasm wanes…

The princes in the tower

The story of the disappearance of Edward IV’s two young sons in 1483 is well known. But the question of who murdered 12-year-old Edward V and his nine-year-old brother, Richard Duke of York, who were last seen in the Tower of London, remains unsolved.

Their uncle, King Richard III, has long been at the top of the list of suspects. Others have accused Richard III’s henchman, the Duke of Buckingham, or the man who won Richard’s crown at the Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry VII. But there is compelling evidence that points to very different circumstances: did their murder prove so unsolvable because the boys survived?

The theft of the Crown Jewels

Ten years after Charles II’s restoration to the throne and his coronation with Crown Jewels newly made for the occasion (the previous set had been sold and melted down), a daring man named “Colonel” Thomas Blood attempted to rob the jewels from the Tower . from London. The jewels were kept under the watchful eye of the elderly Talbot Edwards, whom Blood befriended and then arranged for his eligible cousin to marry Edwards’ spinster daughter.

On the day the alleged couple was supposed to meet, Blood came by with a group of men. Accompanied by Edwards to view the jewels, they approached the poor man and seized the crown, the orb and the sceptre, crushing the crown to make transportation easier and shoving the orb into a man’s trousers, before trying to run away to escape. horses.

The theft was only thwarted by chance at the last minute, but the strange thing about this story is that Thomas Blood, after being caught red-handed stealing the Crown Jewels, was not punished. Scientific professor Nadine Akkerman has a fascinating theory that suggests why Charles II released him and there was a plea deal and espionage involved.

James VI and Esmé Stewart

In 1579, James VI was 13 years old and King of Scotland. His father, Lord Darnley, was dead, having been murdered twelve years earlier. His mother, Mary Queen of Scots, had been imprisoned in England by Elizabeth I after Scottish nobles forced her to abdicate in favor of James – so the young king had been largely raised by his strict tutor, George Buchanan, who administered beatings on the spot offered. of love.

So when James’ cousin, after being sent away, the handsome French 37-year-old diplomat, Esmé Stewart, arrived in Scotland and lavished affection on the young king, James took it in stride. Expensive gifts and grand titles followed, but it was rumored that this was more than a family relationship.

The recent Sky Atlantic drama series Mary & George has reminded us that James was bisexual in later life – he married and had children with Anne of Denmark, and maintained intimate relationships with his male favorites, including the handsome George Villiers. But National Museum of Scotland curator Dr Anna Groundwater suggested to me that as a teenager, long before the adult king formed his own consensual relationships, he was subject to grooming by Esmé Stewart.

The Royals: A History of Scandals airs on Tuesdays at 9pm on More4 and can be streamed on Channel 4.

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