Empress Friedrich has cancer

August 4, 1900

The death of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha "has caused much solemn talk at Court, about the maladies of other members of the royal house," according to the New York Times. Despite denials from Berlin, it is "quite certain" that Empress Friedrich, Queen Victoria's "eldest and most beloved daughter," has cancer. Doctors believe that she has only a few months left to live.
The Empress is too ill to leave her castle, Schloss Friedrichshof, for her annual summer visit to England. Although Queen Victoria gave her White Lodge at Richmond last year to use as an English residence, it is unlikely that the Empress will "probably never be able to occupy it."