Lesson 4: An In Depth Look at the Royal Conspiracy Theory
The Royal Conspiracy Theory is the most popular Ripper theory of all and also the most controversial. Was Jack the Ripper created by the government as a subterfuge to silence Mary Kelly and to cover up a royal scandal?
The Royal Conspiracy Theory
In this lesson, a close look will be taken at the Royal Conspiracy Theory. It would be helpful to be familiar with the Royal Conspiracy Theory either by having read or read about Stephen Knight's book The Final Solution, or by having read the graphic novel of the same name or by watching the movie From Hell. However, the facts will also be presented here in a thorough manner.
The Royal Conspiracy Theory
In a nutshell, rumors abounded that Prince Eddie (Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, Queen Victoria's grandson), had secretly married a commoner, Annie Crook, who became pregnant with his child. To make matters worse, Annie was Catholic.
Word of the marriage could not be allowed to spread. Religious tensions were high, and there were even fears that news of a Catholic heir to the throne might cause a revolution.
The Queen turned the matter over to her prime minister, Lord Salisbury. Eddie and Annie were living in ignorant bliss with their child on Cleveland Street. In a raid, Eddie and Annie were taken away in separate carriages. Annie was supposedly locked away in a lunatic asylum. The child, Alice, escaped the raid with her nursemaid, Mary Kelly, who left her in a convent.
Mary Kelly fled back to Whitechapel where she embarked upon a life of drink and prostitution. When she told the incredible story to her friends, she was encouraged to blackmail the Royal Family.
Jack the Ripper was supposedly created by the Queen's Royal Physician, William Gull, with a little help from the Freemasons, to silence Mary and the three women she had told the story to, Mary Nichols, Elizabeth Stride, and Annie Chapman. But is there any evidence to back up this theory? We will discuss the theory's origin and an attempt will be made to sort fact from fiction.
The Origin of the Royal Conspiracy Theory
The Royal Conspiracy Theory came into being when, in 1973, the BBC decided to make a television program with modern detectives working to solve the Ripper case using actual Scotland Yard documents.
The story was a blend of truth and fiction. During the course of researching the Ripper case, a man named Joseph Sickert told the story of his father, famous painter Walter Sickert (the same Walter Sickert in Pat Cornwell's book). Though Cornwell claimed Sickert had no children, it is believed that Joseph Sickert was an illegitimate son who took on the Sickert name.
According to Joseph, his father had told him that Jack the Ripper was created to avoid a royal scandal. Three men were involved in the killings--Dr. Gull, Inspector Anderson, and John Netley. The women were made unconscious by grapes injected with poison and the mutilations performed in the carriage. Gull did the killing, then the women were dumped into the street.
One of the murders, that of Catherine Eddowes, was a mistake, a case of mistaken identity. She often went by the name of Mary Kelly, the same name as the intended victim. Montage Druitt was chosen as a scapegoat for the crimes.
In a strange twist of fate, the daughter Alice became Sickert's ward. Later on they married (or in some versions simply had an affair) and Alice gave birth to their son Joseph. Dr. Gull later died in a lunatic asylum and Annie died insane in a workhouse.
Joseph stated that his father suffered great guilt over his involvement as an accomplice in the Ripper crimes and because he was unable to speak freely about them, incorporated several clues into his paintings. The BBC version, confusing as it was, aired and Joseph Sickert appeared on the last episode and verified all that had been said.
Sources: Casebook: Jack the Ripper
