Queen's cousin dies after 73 year asylum lock up

[Steve_uk]

A quick quiz: can you identify these two little girls? The first was born on April 21 1926 at 17 Bruton Street Piccadilly,London:http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/...38_308x427.jpg

..and the second was born in a nearby street St. George Hanover Square on 4 July the same year..http://25.media.tumblr.com/f896969e6...w9y0o1_400.jpg

The first is,of course,Her Majesty the Queen,Head of State in 16 countries and a multi-millionairess.The girl in the second picture was the Queen's cousin Katharine,placed in an asylum in 1941,declared dead in Burke's Peerage in 1961 but who died just a few days ago. She was never visited by any of the Royals,to whom Katharine's death must finally come as a huge relief.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a....veals-all.html

[tiredmike59]

That's a Hell of a long time to spend in an asylum, poor old gal.
Didn't the Kennedys do something like that with one of their offspring?

[Penny Lane]

Originally Posted by tiredmike59

That's a Hell of a long time to spend in an asylum, poor old gal.
Didn't the Kennedys do something like that with one of their offspring?

The Kennedy Daughter Rosemary was not locked up but after a botched lobotomy was sent to live in a home (owned by the Catholic church and run by nuns) in Wisconsin. She lived there until her death for 70 + years. I have read that it was a comfortable home and that she was reasonably happy there. The sad story is that as a child she was "slow" or mildly ********. She could not keep up with her siblings and was very frustrated. As she grew into her teens she was beginning to get violent and hard to manage. She was even presented at court and led a fairly normal life. When Rose (her mother) was out of the country Mr. Joe Kennedy,her dad who was always embarassed by her, took her in to have a lobotomy to calm her down. It was botched and Rosemary went from a beautiful young woman and ended up with the mind of a 5 year old. She lived into her eighties . Her mother was devastated by what Joe did behind her back. She and the Kennedy siblings did not neglect her but visited her often. In fact Eunice Kennedy Shriver started the Special Olympics because of Rosemary and dedicated her time and energy to that for years and years. It's a sad story .