Prince John of the United Kingdom was the fifth son and the youngest child of King George V and Queen Mary. Born in 1905 when his parents were the Prince and Princess of Wales, he showed signs of mental retardation or autism by the time of his fourth birthday, and suffered an epileptic seizure that year. He was not attendant at the coronation of his father and mother in 1911, and was sent to live at Sandringham, the Royal family's private estate in Norfolk, where he was cared for by his nanny, Charlotte "Lala" Bill. Members of the family continued to spend time with John whenever possible, and the King and Queen were especially close to him.
However, as his condition deteriorated, it was decided to end his formal education, and he was slowly withdrawn from the public eye. With the outbreak of World War I, John saw less of his family since they were either at boarding school, in the military, or conducting other royal duties. In 1917, he was sent to live at Wood Farm, a cottage in a secluded corner of Sandringham, where he was under the sole care of Lala Bill, it was around this time that physicians warned the family that John might not survive to adulthood. Queen Mary brought in local schoolchildren to be playmates for John, and he developed a close companionship with Winifred Thomas, and girl from West Yorkshire who was sent to live with her aunt and uncle (who was in charge of the stables on the estate) in the hopes that the warmer climate would improve her asthma.
Nevertheless, John's seizures got worse, and though he was able to be with his family for Christmas in 1918, the epilepsy and possible autism were taking its toll, and he died in the following year. It was only then that news about his epilepsy was released to the public. He was buried at St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate.
To this day, John's treatment and seclusion has been held as an example of heartlessness on the part of Royal family, but the diary entries of Queen Mary and personal accounts from people around John and the family depict them has having concern for John. His seclusion from the public had more to do with his personal safety and to keep him from large public settings due to his condition. The British Epileptic Association has stated that John's treatment was not different from that of epileptics at the time, and that it would take a generation and further studies of epileptics to conclude that such people need not be secluded or locked away.
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