Conspiracy Theories: A Right Royal Cover-up?

In 1888, Britain and the civilised world were shocked by a series of brutal murders in London’s Whitechapel area. Five prostitutes were killed by a figure dubbed ‘Jack the Ripper’ by the popular press. He was never caught and the case remains unsolved.

What the Theorists say:

Numerous authors have supplied alternative hypotheses. The most incredible theory is that detailed by Stephen Knight in his book Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution. The victimes were all prostitutes blackmailing Prince Albert Victor about his secret marriage to a Catholic prostitute named Anni Crook, whom he had gotten pregnant and from whom he had contracted syphilis. To make sure this was kept quiet, Queen Victoria asked the Royal Surgeon, Sir William Gull, to lobotomize Annie and kill the blackmailers. The brutality of the murderers was intended as some sort of Masonic warning to an occult group. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Charles Warren, also a Mason, helped cover up Gull’s involvement in the crimes and ordered the easure of a Masonic message about ‘Juwes’ (a reference to mythical Masonic figures) from the wall at one of the murder scenes.

Knight’s theory is based on a few key facts. The speed and skill displayed in the butcherings shows that the Ripper must have had some knowledge of anatomy and experience with a surgical knife. Most victims were prostitutes who lived within one city block of each other. The incompetence of the police investigation and the failure to catch who was responsible suggest a cover-up. Gull was identified as the murderer by psychic Robert James Lees who later questioned Gull’s wife. She confirmed her husband had returned home with blood-stained clothes one night.

The Official Story?

Much of Knight’s story is pure fabrication. Prince Albert Victor is now thought to have been homosexual, and died of influenza. Annie Crook did exist but there is no evidence she was lobotomized. The victims did live close to one another, but then so did lots of people in overcrowded London slums. The police investigation was unsuccessful because of the limitations of Victorian forensic science. Warren ordered the graffiti to be removed to avoid sparking an anti-Semitic riot, but we have no evidence that it was even written by the murderer. There are no masonic rituals which resemble the murders and although Lees existed he never questioned Gull’s wife.

Should you be paranoid?

The British Royal family have a long history of involvement in conspiracies, but Knight’s tale is pure fiction. The murders were the work of a deviant, not the product of a planned conspiracy. Even today, serial killers are the hardest killers to catch. Before modern foresnice sciences, it would have been impossible to track down such a figure in the anonymous slums of Victorian London. So, no, don’t be paranoid.