John Windsor
1905 – 1919 · Generation XXXVI · House of Windsor
John (1905–1919). The youngest child of George V, kept from public life by epilepsy; died at thirteen. Born at York Cottage on the Sandringham estate and known as “Johnnie,” he was a friendly, outgoing boy — the only one of his children, George V told Theodore Roosevelt, who was not obedient. His first seizure came at four, along with signs of developmental disability, and he was kept away from his parents’ coronation in 1911. Contrary to later legend, he appeared often in public until after his eleventh birthday. From 1916, as the attacks grew worse, he lived at Wood Farm in the care of his nanny, Charlotte “Lala” Bill; Queen Mary broke with custom by bringing in local children as playmates, and Queen Alexandra kept a garden for him that became one of his great pleasures. He spent Christmas 1918 with the family and died in his sleep after a severe seizure the next month. The public learned of his epilepsy only after his death.
Place in the family
- John Windsor was an uncle of Queen Elizabeth II.
- John Windsor was the youngest of 6 children of King George V and Mary of Teck recorded in this archive.
One of 53 people of House of Windsor (from 1917) in this archive. The present house — it renamed itself Windsor in 1917, setting aside the German title Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Line of descent: Owen Tudor → Edmund Tudor → King Henry VII → Margaret Tudor → King James V of Scotland → Mary Queen of Scots → King James I → Elizabeth Stuart → Sophia of Hanover → King George I → King George II → Frederick Prince of Wales → King George III → Edward Duke of Kent → Queen Victoria → King Edward VII → King George V → John Windsor.
Parents
- King George V (1865 – 1936)
- Mary of Teck (1867 – 1953)
Siblings
- King Edward VIII (1894 – 1972)
- King George VI (1895 – 1952)
- Mary Princess Royal (1897 – 1965)
- Henry Duke of Gloucester (1900 – 1974)
- George Duke of Kent (1902 – 1942)