The Royal Family owns so many properties that it can be hard to keep track of them all. From Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle, there have been plenty of spooky rumours about the old properties.

But this house is often kept secret from the public, despite lying within a very well known estate. York Cottage on King Charles’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk has been owned by the royals since 1862, and is said to have a resident ghost related to King Charles roaming the corridors.

York Cottage was originally known as the ‘Bachelor’s Cottage’ and was, for a time, the home of one of the most controversial royals in history. Prince Albert Victor was the grandson of Queen Victoria and, at the time of his birth, was second-in-line to the throne.

His parents went on to become King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1901 – decades after his tragic and untimely death. Born in 1864, Albert – known as Eddy to his family – only lived a few days past his 28th birthday, when he was struck down by influenza in the pandemic of 1889-92.

Even his death failed to stop the rumour mill, when it came to the colourful royal, as York Cottage – which was originally built as extra housing for those who didn’t fit inside Sandringham House itself – is rumoured to be haunted by the late Prince. At one time even suspected to be Jack the Ripper, while rumours that Prince Albert Victor was the serial killer of prostitutes in London has been roundly debunked – because documents from the time indicated he couldn’t have been in the capital at the time of some of the gruesome murders – the sense of scandal around the senior royal still persists.

Prince Albert Victor was also caught up in another major scandal, involving a male brothel in Cleveland Street, London, during a time when homosexuality was illegal and attracted strict punishment. One of Albert Victor’s equerries – Lord Somerset – was revealed by those who ran and worked at the brothel to have frequented the establishment.

The connection to Victoria’s grandson meant rumours quickly spread that Albert Victor had also visited the brothel. Despite the fact that there has never been any confirmed proof that Prince Albert Victor did visit the Cleveland Street house of ill repute, the controversial royal is still widely gossipped about in this context.

He was also rumoured to have at least two affairs with London stage girls, and at one point was accused of fathering the child of a married woman. After Prince Albert Victor’s death in 1892, his younger brother Prince George and his wife Mary lived in York Cottage for many years with their growing family.

And despite any spooky occurrences attributed to Albert’s ongoing ghostly presence in the property are said to have been very happy in the home. These days, York Cottage is used as an estate office, and sometimes members of staff are reported to use it as temporary accommodation.