In an unusual incident, a man named Thomas Smith from Limerick traveled to Windsor Castle with a rather bold claim; he declared that he was the son of the Prince of Wales and wished to see Queen Victoria herself regarding a legacy of £50 that had been left to him. Thomas Smith was persistent in his quest, stating that he had written to Lord Salisbury about the matter but had received no response. Consequently, he believed that the Queen might be able to intervene on his behalf and resolve the issue.
While stories of people making extraordinary claims to royal lineage are not unheard of, Thomas Smith’s determination to go directly to Windsor Castle to seek an audience with the Queen was quite remarkable. He appeared to have genuine faith in the prospect of discussing his alleged legacy with the monarch, and sincerely hoped her intervention would help him secure the £50 bequest he claimed was rightfully his.
However, the turn of events did not favor Thomas Smith. Rather than gaining an audience with the Queen, his case was dismissed by the Windsor guardians as one of lunacy. This dismissal was perhaps not too surprising, given the audacious nature of his claim, but it certainly provided an intriguing anecdote about the lengths people would go to assert their supposed connections to royalty.
Shields Daily Gazette – Thursday 28 June 1900
