Prince John of the United Kingdom

Prince John
Photograph by Ernest Brooks, 1913
Born	(1905-07-12)12 July 1905 York Cottage, Sandringham
Died	18 January 1919(1919-01-18) (aged 13) Wood Farm, Sandringham
Burial	21 January 1919 St. Mary Magdalene Church
Full name John Charles Francis
House	Windsor (from 17 July 1917) Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (until 17 July 1917)
Father	George V
Mother	Mary of Teck

Prince John of the United Kingdom (John Charles Francis; 12 July 1905 – 18 January 1919) was the fifth son and youngest of the six children born to King George V and his wife, Queen Mary. At the time of John's birth, his father was the Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, Edward VII. In 1910, George succeeded to the throne upon Edward's death and John became the fifth in line of succession.

In 1909, John was discovered to have epilepsy. As his condition deteriorated, he was sent to live at Sandringham House and was kept away from the public eye. There, he was cared for by his governess, "Lala" Bill, and befriended local children whom his mother had gathered to be his playmates. Prince John died at Sandringham in 1919, following a severe seizure, and was buried at nearby St Mary Magdalene Church. His illness was disclosed to the wider public only after his death.

Prince John's alleged seclusion has subsequently been brought forward as evidence for the inhumanity of the royal family. However, records show that the Prince was in some ways given favourable treatment by his parents, in comparison to his siblings, and contrary to the belief that he was hidden from the public from an early age, John for most of his life was a "fully-fledged member of the family", appearing frequently in public until after his eleventh birthday.

His long acknowledged learning disability and a possible intellectual disability have both been linked to his severe epilepsy; recent speculation finds some behaviors consistent with autism.

Prince John was born at York Cottage on the Sandringham Estate on 12 July 1905, at 3:05 a.m. He was the youngest child and fifth son of George Frederick, Prince of Wales and Mary, Princess of Wales (née Mary of Teck). He was named John despite that name's unlucky associations for the royal family, but was informally known as "Johnny". At the time of his birth, he was sixth in the line of succession to the throne, behind his father and four older brothers. As a grandchild of the reigning British monarch in the male line, and a son of the Prince of Wales, he was formally styled His Royal Highness Prince John of Wales from birth.