#23. The Subtleties of Baccarat - Flashman and the Tiger
Flashman aged: 68 - 69
Years: 1890 - 1891
*Notes
At nearly 70 (an older slightly greying) Flashman, has been dragged along to Tranby Croft a country house near Hull by his wife Elspeth. For once Flashman doesn’t get into too much trouble but does happen to be an observer in a scandal around a games of baccarat that would cause problems for the future King of England, H.R.H Prince Albert Edward. Knowing how the Prince has an eye for the ladies and how his own wife is probably as much a deviant as himself, Flashy keeps a close eye on Bertie.
The scandal started during a house party in September 1890 that the Prince attended, when Sir William Gordon-Cumming, a decorated lieutenant colonel in the Scots Guards, was accused of cheating. Confronted Gordon-Cumming was pressured into signing a document that declared he would never play cards again, in exchange for the silence of the guests. However the secret was not kept for long, and when the case eventually came to court the Prince was called as a witness, the first time the heir to the throne had been compelled to appear in court since 1411. While Gordon-Cumming lost the case public opinion was on his side, and the prince was at his most unpopular for several years afterwards.
#23. The Subtleties of Baccarat - Flashman and the Tiger
Flashman aged: 68 - 69
Years: 1890 - 1891
*Notes
At nearly 70 (an older slightly greying) Flashman, has been dragged along to Tranby Croft a country house near Hull by his wife Elspeth. For once Flashman doesn’t get into too much trouble but does happen to be an observer in a scandal around a games of baccarat that would cause problems for the future King of England, H.R.H Prince Albert Edward. Knowing how the Prince has an eye for the ladies and how his own wife is probably as much a deviant as himself, Flashy keeps a close eye on Bertie.
The scandal started during a house party in September 1890 that the Prince attended, when Sir William Gordon-Cumming, a decorated lieutenant colonel in the Scots Guards, was accused of cheating. Confronted Gordon-Cumming was pressured into signing a document that declared he would never play cards again, in exchange for the silence of the guests. However the secret was not kept for long, and when the case eventually came to court the Prince was called as a witness, the first time the heir to the throne had been compelled to appear in court since 1411. While Gordon-Cumming lost the case public opinion was on his side, and the prince was at his most unpopular for several years afterwards.