Prince John of the United Kingdom
(1905-1919)

Died aged 13

Prince John (John Charles Francis; 12 July 1905 – 18 January 1919) was the fifth son and youngest of the six children of King George V and Queen Mary. At the time of his birth, his father was heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, King Edward VII. In 1910, the Prince of Wales succeeded to the throne upon Edward VII's death and Prince John became fifth in the line of succession to the British throne. In 1909, John was discovered to have epilepsy. As his condition deteriorated, he was sent to live at Sandringham House in 1916 and was kept away from the public eye. There, he was cared for by his governess, "Lala" Bill, and befriended local children whom his mother had gathered to be his playmates. He died at Sandringham in 1919, following a severe seizure, and was buried at nearby St Mary Magdalene Church. His illness was disclosed to the wider public only after his death. John's seclusion has subsequently been brought forward as evidence of inhumanity by the royal family. Contrary to the belief that he was hidden from the public from an early age, however, John for most of his life had the role of a fully fledged member of the family, appearing frequently in public until after his eleventh birthday, when his condition became severe.

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