In late November 1871, at the height of the republican movement, the Prince of Wales contracted typhoid fever, the disease that was believed to have killed his father, and Victoria was fearful her son would die.
A finais de novembro de 1871, no punto máis alto do movemento republicano, o príncipe de Gales contraeu febre tifoide, a mesma enfermidade que matara ao seu pai, e Vitoria temeu pola morte do seu fillo.