The royal family sure tries to present itself as a group of perfect people.
It shouldn’t be too surprising, though.
Understandably, most families would want to keep certain issues to themselves.
In the early 1900s, people with disabilities and those related to people with disabilities were looked down upon.
King George V, Queen Elizabeth II’s grandfather, had six children.
Prince John suffered from epilepsy, and some believe he may have had autism, as well.
When John was 13, he died from a seizure.
[She] broke the news to George and [they] motored down to Wood Farm.
Found poor Lala very resigned but heartbroken.
Little Johnnie looked very peaceful lying there" (viaExpress).
“I think he’s been scapegoated for too long.
[Not to] exonerate King George, not at all.
He had a role he could have played more effectively … Not all of them have savory pasts, such as Prince Philip’s sisters.
Prince Philip entered the royal family when he married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947.
He came from a family of Greek aristocrats, and his sisters went on to lead very interesting lives.
Gottfried died in 1960 and Margarita lived until 1981.
Christoph died just before the end of the war and Sophie lived until 2001.
Edward VIII was close to Adolf Hitler
The royal family has weathered unbelievable storms throughout history.
The friendship with Hitler continued to be beneficial for Edward and Simpson.
It’s close to treachery actually,” Professor Richard J. Aldrich toldExpresson the matter.
The ordered intelligence on Edward and Simpson followed them to the United States.
While in Miami in 1941, Roosevelt had the FBI watch the couple.
Elizabeth became smitten with Philip, keeping correspondence with him for years afterward.
“The thought that he might become a son-in-law was most unwelcome.
Why wasn’t she marrying some respectable English duke?
Yes, he was a Prince of Greece and Denmark.
But very suspect, Greece they get rid of their royal families regularly.
And he had no money,” Lady Pamela Hicks toldVanity Fairof the situation.
Indeed,Prince Philip did not have much to offer Elizabeth.
Queen Elizabeth’s cousins with disabilities were hidden from the public
Some royal family secrets are scandalous.
Some are too shocking for words.
Others are just plain dark.
Queen Elizabeth II’s mother had two nieces with severe disabilities, Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon.
Their exact disabilities are not known, but those who knew the sisters said they were non-verbal.
“It was so sad.
Just think of the life they might have had.
“Today they’d probably be given speech therapy and they’d communicate much better.
They understood more than you’d think.”
While Nerissa died in 1986, Katherine lived until 2014.
Both, however, had been reported as dead by Burke’s Peerage in 1963.
Their father, John Herbert Bowes-Lyon, died in 1930, reportedly heartbroken over Nerissa and Katherine’s disabilities.
For decades, Anthony Blunt was employed by the royal family as an art curator.
Blunt was English by birth and had a personal relationship with Queen Mary.
He had progressive views on social issues and was staunchly opposed to Adolf Hitler’s beliefs.
But he had one flaw that most would’ve thought fatal: he was a Soviet spy.
Everyone at Buckingham Palace knew, even Queen Elizabeth knew, that Blunt was a KGB agent.
So why did the royal family keep Blunt employed despite knowing he was a potential threat?
Beyond that, the family was happy with his on-the-books work.
Blunt wasn’t able to keep things up forever, though.
Eventually, M15, Britain’s military intelligence, siphoned Soviet information from him in exchange for immunity.
Then, in 1979, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher shared with the public that Blunt was a Soviet spy.
About four years later, Blunt died.
It’s so pervasive that even mermaids have experienced this plight.
Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II’s sister, fell in love with Peter Townsend, a divorce.
Margaret and Townsend’s love was too great to hide, though.
Their relationship continued for a few years after, even resulting in an engagement.
However, it ultimately ended, with Margaret issuing a statement to the public.
Princess Anne and her husband were both unfaithful
Royal relationships have always been interesting.
In 1973,Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s daughter, married Captain Mark Phillips.
The royal couple had two children together, Peter and Zara, but they ended up separating in 1989.
The truth is that both Anne and Phillips had been unfaithful to one another.
Phillips' infidelity, however, resulted in a more permanent consequence.
Mark Phillips was adept at keeping the information secret.
After a paternity test proved what Tonkin already knew, Phillips paid her 350,000 for his daughter’s welfare.
Phillips went on to wed again, but that marriage failed after he had another affair.
