Edward Thomas Charlotte Jones Popular Books

Edward Thomas Charlotte Jones Biography & Facts

Edward Jones (7 April 1824 – c. 1893 or 1896), also known as "the boy Jones", was an English stalker who became notorious for breaking into Buckingham Palace several times between 1838 and 1841. Jones was fourteen years old when he first broke into the palace in December 1838. He was found in possession of some items he had stolen, but was acquitted at his trial. He broke in again in 1840, ten days after Queen Victoria had given birth to Princess Victoria. Staff found him hiding under a sofa and he was arrested and subsequently questioned by the Privy Council—the monarch's formal body of advisers. He was sentenced to three months' hard labour at Tothill Fields Bridewell prison. He was released in March 1841 and broke back into the palace two weeks later, where he was caught stealing food from the larders. He was again arrested and sentenced to three months' hard labour at Tothill Fields. To remove Jones from Britain, the Thames Police tried to surreptitiously coerce him into employment as a sailor. After a voyage on a merchant ship to Brazil, Jones returned to London, where he worked for a month before disappearing and signing up to the Royal Navy—again at the instigation of the Thames Police. He was a ship's boy on HMS Warspite and had further duty on Inconstant and Harlequin. He deserted twice before being allowed to leave the service in 1847. After his return to Britain, Jones was arrested in 1849 for burgling houses in Lewisham, Kent (now South London), and sentenced to transportation to Australia for ten years. He returned to Britain in late 1855 or early 1856 and was again arrested for burglary, before he returned—of his own accord—to Australia. The details of his death are not known, although it was possibly in Bairnsdale in the east of Australia on Boxing Day 1893 or in Perth, in the west of Australia in 1896. Jones's exploits were extensively covered in the press, and several songs, ballads, poems and cartoons were created. He has been used as the basis for fictional characters and, because of the connection to Queen Victoria, is mentioned in several history books. Biography Early life, 1824–1838 Edward Jones was born on 7 April 1824 in Charlotte Street, Westminster, London, the eldest of seven children of Henry Jones, an impecunious tailor, and Mary (née Shores). Mary was a 16-year-old seamstress in Henry's employ when the couple married in 1822. Edward had some basic education: he was literate and excelled at arithmetic, but left school before he was twelve. He professed an interest in becoming an architect. The Weekly Chronicle reported that as a child, Jones "manifested a very restless spirit, ... always inquisitive, active and thirsting for information". According to his father, however, Jones was lazy, pessimistic, melancholic and reserved; Henry also said his son did not mix with his siblings and treated them with open contempt. Jones was apprenticed to two pharmacists between 1836 and 1838. He was dismissed from one of the positions for demonstrating a "mischievous and restless disposition". He was also apprenticed to a Thomas Griffiths, a builder with premises on Coventry Street, where he lasted for a year before being dismissed. In August 1838 he became an apprentice to a carver and gilder, but left on 11 December. Break-ins, 1838–1841 December 1838 At 5:00 am on 14 December 1838 Jones was found in Buckingham Palace—the main residence of the monarch—by William Cox, one of the night porters. Among the items in Jones's possession were a regimental sword, some underwear, three pairs of trousers, some foreign coins and a likeness of Queen Victoria. She was not in residence at the time, but was staying at her country palace, Windsor Castle. He was covered in bear's grease and soot, which led palace staff to think he had climbed down the chimney and tried to make his way out the same way. When he was taken to the police station, he claimed his name was Edward Cotton, the son of a tradesman. When asked where he came from, he said "I came from Hertfordshire twelve months ago, and I met a man ... who asked me to go with him to Buckingham-house. I went, and have been there ever since." Jones appeared in front of the magistrates at the police station in Queen Street on 19 December. News of a boy living secretly in Buckingham Palace had become known among the public, and the court was full of viewers and journalists. His real name and background were told to the court, and he admitted that he had lied about having lived in the house for the previous year, and had only spent "a day or two" in the palace. He was asked about the various items he had on him and said he found them on the lawn; the magistrate disbelieved his story and sent him for trial. On 28 December 1838 Jones appeared for trial at the Westminster court of sessions. William Prendergast, Jones's solicitor, described how his client had a "warmth of spirit which ... had manifested itself in an inordinate curiosity to obtain a view of Buckingham Palace; and a very natural inclination it was". Griffiths gave a character reference for Jones and said that he would have him back as an apprentice; after Prendergast told the court that Jones had promised he would not break into the palace again, he was acquitted. Jones was re-apprenticed to Griffiths after the trial. Several members of the public travelled to meet Jones, paying his father for the experience. The American novelist James Fenimore Cooper was one who visited, but found Jones to be a "dull, undersized runt, remarkable only for his taciturnity and obstinacy". An offer to take the boy to the US was turned down by Jones's father. Another offer Jones received was from a theatre manager, who was planning to stage Intrusion; or a Guest Uninvited, a comedy based on Jones's exploits. Jones was to receive a salary of £4 a week for coming on stage at the end of the night to take a bow. Jones's father, concerned his son would be a laughing stock, declined the offer. Jones was sacked for a second time by Griffiths and, in 1840, began working for another chemist, but his unpunctuality led to his again losing his position. November and December 1840 On 30 November 1840 Jones scaled a wall on Constitution Hill to access the grounds of Buckingham Palace. He entered the building through a window, but there were too many people moving around and he left the way he had come. He entered again on the following night. Victoria was in residence with her daughter, Princess Victoria, who had been born ten days previously. Just after midnight the domestic staff at the palace found Jones hiding under a sofa in an anteroom near the Queen's bedroom. Neither the Queen nor her baby was woken by the event. In her diary the following morning, Victoria recorded the following: Albert told me ... that a man had been found, under the sofa in my sitting room. ... The audience room, and [Baroness Louise] Lehzen's were searched first and then mine, Kinnaird, looking under.... Discover the Edward Thomas Charlotte Jones popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Edward Thomas Charlotte Jones books.