John Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

**Prince John** (John Charles Francis; July 12, 1905 - January 18, 1919) was a member of British royal family. He was youngest child of George V and Mary of Teck. At time of his death, he was 5th in Line to the British throne.

He had five older siblings, Edward, Duke of Windsor (1894-1972), George VI (1895-1952), Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (1897-1965), Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1900-1974) and Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902-1942).

## Early Life

Prince John was born at York Cottage on the Sandringham Estate on 12 July 1905, at 3:05 am. He was named *John* despite that name's unlucky associations for the royal family, but was informally known as "Johnnie". At the time of his birth, he was sixth in the line of succession to the throne, behind his father and four older brothers. As a grandchild of the reigning British monarch in the male line, and a son of the Prince of Wales, he was formally styled *His Royal Highness Prince John of Wales* from birth.

John was christened on 3 August 1905 in the parish church of St Mary Magdalene at Sandringham, the Reverend Canon John Neale Dalton officiating. His godparents were King Carlos I of Portugal (for whom Prince John's father stood proxy); the Duke of Sparta (his first cousin once removed); Prince Carl of Denmark (his uncle, for whom Prince John's father also stood proxy); Prince Johann of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (his great-granduncle, for whom Prince John's father also stood proxy); Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife (his uncle, for whom Prince John's father also stood proxy); the Duchess of Sparta (his first cousin once removed, for whom Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom stood proxy); and Princess Alexander of Teck (his first cousin once removed, for whom Princess Victoria also stood proxy).

## Childhood and Illness

Much of John's early life was spent at Sandringham with his siblings—​Prince Edward (known as David to the royal family), Prince Albert, Princess Mary, Prince Henry and Prince George—​under the care of their nanny Charlotte "Lala" Bill. Though a strict disciplinarian, the Prince of Wales was nonetheless affectionate toward his children; the Princess of Wales was close to her children and encouraged them to confide in her. In 1909, Prince John's grandaunt, the Dowager Empress of Russia wrote to her son, Emperor Nicholas II, that "George's children are very nice ... The little ones, George and Johnny are both charming and very amusing ..." Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, described Prince John as "very quaint and one evening when Uncle George returned from stalking he bent over Aunt May and kissed her, and they heard Johnny soliloquize, 'She kissed Papa, ugly old man!'" George V once said to U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt that "all [his] children [were] obedient, except John"—​apparently because Prince John alone, among the King's children, escaped punishment from their father.

Though a "large and handsome" baby, by his fourth birthday John had become "winsome" and "painfully slow". That same year he had his first epileptic seizure and showed signs of a disability, probably autism or learning disabilities. When his father became king, he did not attend his parents' coronation on 22 June 1911, as this was considered too risky for his health; nonetheless, cynics said that the family feared their reputation would be damaged by any incident involving him. Although Prince John was deemed not "presentable to the outside world," George nonetheless showed an interest in him, offering him "kindness and affection".

During his time at Sandringham, John exhibited some repetitive behaviours as well as regular misbehaviours and insubordination: "he simply didn't understand he needed to [behave]." Nonetheless, there was hope his seizures might lessen with time. Contrary to the belief that he was hidden from the public from an early age, Prince John for most of his life was a "fully-fledged member of the family", appearing frequently in public until after his eleventh birthday.

In 1912 Prince George, who was John's closest sibling, began St Peter's Court Preparatory School at Broadstairs. The following summer, *The Times* reported that he would not attend Broadstairs the following term, and that his parents had not decided whether to send him to school at all. After the outbreak of World War I, he rarely saw his parents, who were often away on official duties, and his siblings, who were either at boarding school or in the military. Prince John slowly disappeared from the public eye and no official portraits of him were commissioned after 1913. In spite of his physical and mental decline, he was not removed from the line of succession.

## Death

John's seizures intensified, and Bill later wrote "we dared not let him be with his brothers and sister, because it upsets them so much, with the attacks getting so bad and coming so often." Biographer Denis Judd believes that Prince "[John]'s seclusion and 'abnormality' must have been disturbing to his brothers and sister", as he had been "a friendly, outgoing little boy, much loved by his brothers and sister, a sort of mascot for the family". He spent Christmas Day 1918 with his family at Sandringham House but was driven back to Wood Farm at night.

On 18 January 1919, after a severe seizure, John died in his sleep at Wood Farm at 5:30 pm

## Titles and Succession

* July 12, 1905 - May 6, 1910: *His Royal Highness Prince John of Wales*
* May 6, 1910 - January 18, 1919: *His Royal Highness Prince John*