Michael Temple Canfield
9.VIII.1926 - 20.XII.1969
The official story is that Michael Temple Canfield was the biological son of Augustus “Cass” Canfield and his first wife Katherine Temple Emmet. However, in a mid-century version of “who’s your daddy?” it was rumored that Michael was the product of a more exotic coupling, namely that of Prince George of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Duke of Kent and Alice “Kiki” Gwynne. Prince George, son of King George V of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor of India and his wife Princess Mary of Teck, is more easily recognizable. However, the alleged mother, Alice Gwynne, although of blue blooded stock herself and great niece of THE Mrs. Vanderbilt (Alice Claypoole Gywnne), was a bit of a dark horse. A member of the so-called “Happy Valley Set” in Kenya, she was a known drug addict with the moniker “the girl with the silver syringe" who ended her life by jumping out of a window at the Stanhope Hotel in New York City. During his lifetime the rumor was polite dinner table conversation. Apparently, even the Duke of Windsor himself believed Michael to be his nephew. A publishing house executive, Michael was the first husband of Lee Bouvier Radziwill. Now almost forty years after his death, the rumor still persists that he might have been a by blow from the House of Windsor. What do you think? You decide!
"Alleged Bio-Dad'
Prince George of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, Duke of Kent
1902-1942
Official Dad
Augustus Cass Canfield
1897-1986
Form: FS-192 - Report of the Death of An American Citizen
Michael Temple Canfield
born abt 1926, died 21 December 1969 in Canada
Name: Michael Temple Canfield
Occupation: Publishers Representative
Naturalized
Date of Death: Dec. 21, 1969
Age: 43 years, 4 mos, 11 days
Place of death: On board B.O.A.C. flight at Halifax International Airport while enroute to London, England.
Cause of Death: Coronary occlusion - arteriosclerosis
Doctor attending: Dr. A. E. Murray, Halifax, Canada
Disposition of Remains: Interred at Halifax, England
Disposition of Effect: In possession of executors, Bank of New York
Informed by Telegram: Mrs. Michael T. Canfield, 36 Hays Mews, London W.1, England - Widow - Dec. 21, 1969
Copy of this report sent to: Mrs. Michael T. Canfield, 36 Hays Mews, London W.!, England - Widow - April 10, 1970
Copy of this report sent to: Emmet, Marvin & Martin, Counsellors at Law, 48 Wall St., New York - April 10, 1970
Traveling or residing abroad with relatives or friends as follows: Enroute to London, England via B.O.A.C. Flight when death occurred at Halifax International Airport on board plane.
Other Known Relatives: Mr. Cass Canfield, Guard Hill Road, Bedford, NY - Father
Remarks: Death Certificate on file with office of Registrar-General of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Canada; copy FS-192 sent Am Embassy, London, England since decedent resided in that district. Passport Z763372 issued to Michael Temple Canfield on January 24, 1968 at London, cancelled and forwarded to executors.
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