British royal sees Flying Dutchman ghost ship

1881 Sixteen-year-old Prince George (1865 - 1936), the future King George V of the United Kingdom, as a young midshipman on HMS Bacchante, wrote in his journal that he had seen that day (4:00 am) the phantom ship, the Flying Dutchman, off the port bow.

Sailing with George was the heir to the throne, his elder brother, the mentally deficient Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward (Eddie) who later mysteriously died before becoming king, much to the relief of the British Royal Family.

Eddie, who was later a modern and unlikely suspect in the Jack the Ripper case, also recorded in his journal the sighting of the Dutchman which was seen by thirteen witnesses including the lookout on the Bacchante's forecastle (who fell and died within seven hours – 10:45 am), and the officer of the watch ...

George wrote in his journal: "At 4am the 'Flying Dutchman' crossed our bows. A strange red light as a of a phantom ship aglow ... Thirteen persons altogether saw her, but whether it was Van Deimen [sic] of the 'Flying Dutchman' or what else must remain unknown. The Tourmaline and Cleopatra ... flashed to ask whether we had seen the strange red light."

Categories: nautical, mystery, paranormal, monarchy, uk