Tragedies That Shook Royal Families Around The World

Princess Louise’s Secret Child

Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images

Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria, was notorious for her good looks and rebellious personality. While it’s never been strictly proven, it’s widely believed that a love affair with one of her servants, Walter Stirling, resulted in an illegitimate pregnancy in her late teens.

Stirling was the tutor of her younger brother and was mysteriously dismissed after just four months working for the royals. Curiously, although he no longer worked for them, he still received an allowance from them. The baby, supposedly a boy called Henry, was born in 1866, given no birth certificate and adopted by royal staff member Sir Frederick Locock, one of Queen Victoria’s doctors. Locock’s dependents have repeatedly requested DNA tests since 2004, but have had no success.