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Article: ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS; A DUKE'S DOUBLE LIFE?
- Article from:
- Daily Mail (London)
- Article date:
- September 2, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Solo Syndication Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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QUESTION Has the vault in Highgate cemetery ever been opened to see if the coffin contained the remains of Charles Druce? Or was it filled with lead?
IN THE latter part of the 19th century, the 'Druce Affair' provided British society with enough gossip for a decade.
A widow, Anna Maria Druce, of Baker Street, London, claimed the late 5th Duke of Portland, William John Cavendish Bentinck Scott, was none other than her husband Thomas Charles Druce, owner of a shop called Baker Street Bazaar.
The 5th Duke of Portland was an odd character who built a vast complex of subterranean rooms under his estate at Wellbeck Abbey.
There were 15 miles ...