Albert Victor, prince of England

Full name Albert Victor Christian Edward Wettin. Also known by the title of Duke of Clarence and Avondale. Eldest son of the Prince and Princess of Wales (Alexandra, princess of England [q.v.] and the future King Edward VII). Born in Frogmore House, Windsor; was hard of hearing from otosclerosis inherited from his mother; he might have become very deaf later in life, like his mother, if he had lived longer. Was second in line to the British throne after his father, the closest Britain has ever come to having a deaf monarch. Died at Sandringham House, Norfolk, at age 28 from pneumonia and possibly also influenza (some sources say from typhoid fever) even before his father could succeed Queen Victoria to the throne. Albert Victor's younger brother eventually succeeded to the throne instead, becoming King George V. Beginning in the 1960s, theories arose that Albert Victor was the notorious "Jack the Ripper" that terrorized London in 1888 with the murder of 5 prostitutes, but there is more evidence against this than for it.