Prince Harry’s expected testimony on Tuesday In a phone hack that will be the first time in more than 130 years, a prominent member of the British royal family will be questioned in court.
The last time it happened was in 1891, and it didn’t go well for the royal family.
Prince Albert Edward – Queen Victoria’s eldest son who became King Edward VII in 1901 – testified as a witness in a slander case centered on a glitched baccarat game Prince was present.
One of the players, Sir William Gordon-Cumming, has been accused of cheating. The prince sided with the accusers, and Mr. Gordon-Cumming lost the case.
A local report from that time, like quote in The Guardian, said that Edward’s testimony lasted about 20 minutes and that it “made him extremely tired and extremely worried.” The report also said that he was unable to sit still. Then, it was unusual for such a prominent member of the royal family – the future king, nothing more – to appear in court.
“When a more pressing question, more serious than usual, was posed to him, the prince’s face flushed dramatically, then turned pale again,” the report read.
Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator, said: “Reading this you can see why it was later decided that this was not what the royal family wanted. It shows that you cannot completely shield even the queen’s son from cross-examination.”
A book published in 1899 reveal a letter from Edward in which he denounced the scandal and expressed the “deep pain and discomfort” he experienced because of it.
Edward wrote: “A recent trial, which no one regrets more than I and I have been powerless to prevent, has afforded the press the opportunity to mount the most bitter and unjust attacks on me. , knowing that I am defenseless.
He continued, “The whole matter is now over, and therefore I think it would be inappropriate for me in any way to allude again to the painful subject that brought me a such series of abuses.”
Edward’s testimony in 1891 was not the first time the future king appeared in court. Two decades earlier, he had testified in the divorce of Harriet Mordaunt, the wife of a British Member of Parliament, who had named Edward as one of her lovers. (Edward denied that in court.) During that trial, Edward appeared to be in the witnessing area only for a few minutes, Mr. Fitzwilliams said, and that appearance appeared to have had little effect on his reputation. than.
Edward – known to his close friends as “Bertie” – had a reputation as a flirt with a love for playing cards.
There are key differences between Harry’s planned trial on Tuesday and Edward’s trial. Edward was called as a witness in both court appearances, while Harry was one of the plaintiffs, meaning he probably knew cross-examination would happen in his future.
Furthermore, while Harry is a senior member of the royal family, he is no longer a working royal. And he was never the first to inherit the throne, unlike Edward, who was once crown prince. However, if the questions confused Harry, it could confuse Harry, experts said.
Mr Fitzwilliams, the royal commentator, said: “There won’t be the safety net he’s had with so many different interviews.
Not all the press was unfriendly to Edward in 1891. In an article about last day Regarding his testimony in the baccarat slander, The New York Times wrote that he was “kinder than ever” and “dressed up”.
Edward was king for only nine years. In 1910, he died of pneumoniaceded the throne to his son, George V.
