Tutankhamun Centenary 2022

Sloppy Historical  Record Of  Lord George Carnarvon’s Death in  Egypt in 1923

A Death Scene As Well Known As the Crucifixion of Christ

But the Earl’s Death Certificate Has Many Shocking Errors of Fact!!

What was Lord Carnarvon’s Hidden Illness? 

 How Lord Carnarvon actually died in that hotel room in Cairo in 1923 ?

Lord George Carnarvon, 5th Earl of Carnarvon of Tutankhamun fame died in a dingy tourist hotel in Cairo in 1923. The  event  has gained iconic status:  it is a death scene  as well known by the layman and the schoolboy as the crucifixion of Christ.   For almost one hundred years the story of a bite by a mosquito has been  wrongly given and accepted as the cause of the Earl's death and the history of the co-discoverer of the Tomb of the boy King Tutankhamun grossly misrepresented. This misrepresentation began with the Earl's death certificate that was rushed out without proper care or attention.

The death certificate of George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5^th Earl of Carnarvon, certified on    5 April 1923 by “Fletcher Barrett,  MB BS (London)”, a Cairo physician,  contains numerous sloppy, shocking, errors including blunders over the 5th Earl’s name, date of birth and the duration of his last illness.  In the flurry to pull down the curtain upon the chequered life of the Earl, administrative incompetence  reigned.  It was a poor show since Fletcher Barrett  had supervised Carnarvon’s illness from at least 18 March, 1923  onwards.[i]

On the death certificate Lord Carnarvon’s  name is given as Henry George Stanhope  instead of George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert. Lord Carnarvon’s date of birth is given as 22 June 1865 instead of 26 June 1866. The duration of his final illness is given as 8 days instead of  the 19 days  he lingered  at death’s door in Cairo  i.e. between 18 March and 5 April 1923.   Indeed  this period of 19 days grossly understated  the actual  length of Carnarvon’s  final  hidden illness  of  throat cancer  that    ( according to his widow, Almina, Countess of Carnarvon ) was the ultimate cause of  death.[ii]  



TO BE CONTINUED............

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[i] Lady Evelyn Herbert’s letter to Howard Carter of 18 March says “ I have got Fletcher Barrett looking after him [ Lord C] ”.

[ii] See Cross, William. Lordy! Tutankhamun’s Patron As A Young Man. Book Midden Publishing            .  ( 2012).

Tutankhamun Centenary 2022: Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter: The Truths Are Told by Author William Cross

The Tutankhamun Centenary 2022

Correcting the blemished record on Lord George Carnarvon

The Myth of "Wonderful Things"

From William Cross, FSA Scot

Cross is the author of six books on the Carnarvons of Highclere Castle with lurid tales of the 4th, 5th and 6th Countesses of Carnarvon

WHAT WAS ACTUALLY  SAID  IN 1922 WHEN  HOWARD CARTER AND LORD GEORGE CARNARVON LOOKED INSIDE THE TOMB OF TUTANKHAMUN FOR THE FIRST TIME?

It seems  ‘Wonderful things’  was never uttered!

In an effort to ensure accuracy in the Carnarvon- Carter- Tutankhamun  Timetable  as the 2022 centenary approaches the question above merits a revisit as the historical record  is  presently flawed.

This is a note in a series on the Internet  by William Cross, biographer of Almina, 5^th Countess of Carnarvon and author of the books  “  The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon” and  “ Lordy! Tutankhamun’s Patron As A Young Man.”

This is how Lord Carnarvon described the scene at the Tomb in  an article for ‘The Times’  newspaper of London  :

“ …..it was a very exciting moment. I said to Mr.Carter, "We must have a look in."    With great precautions we took out a bit of the seal.

I fully expected to find another staircase or passage blocked up with stone. Mr Carter holding a candle before him put his head in."He did not say anything for two or three minutes, but kept me in rather painful suspense.

I thought I had been disappointed again, and I said, "Can you see anything?" "Yes, yes," he replied, "it’s wonderful."That was very cheering, but I never really guessed what was inside, I put my head in, and with the aid of a candle , saw a most extraordinary sight. I said, "How very extraordinary! What on earth is that Mr Carter said, "Oh, those are beds……” 

We started to work, and eventually we went in, and I must say the sight that met us was beyond anything I had ever conceived possible……”

This is how Howard Carter described the same scene in his diaries :

We started Lord Carnarvon said to me “ Can you see anything?”

I replied to him “ Yes, it is wonderful.”

[ Cited by  H V Whinstone in  ‘Howard Carter and the discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun.’ ]

The two accounts  from Lord Carnarvon and his side kick Howard Carter are identical!

The Myths of “ Wonderful Things” and “ Wonders”

The usual,  much repeated answer  given to Carnarvon’s question to Carter of   “ Can you see anything?” is  of  Carter  saying “ Yes, wonderful things!”  - yet this is not borne out by the recollections of either Lord Carnarvon or Howard Carter.

Almina always told her godson that when Lady Evelyn Herbert ( later Beauchamp )  was recalling the exchange, [ she was present at the Tomb ]  she reported that Carter’s answer to Lord Carnarvon was  “ Yes, wonders!”

FURTHER INFORMATION

Please contact the author William Cross by e-mail.

williecross@virginmedia.com

William Cross, FSA Scot  is the author of  six books on the Carnarvons of Highclere Castle

The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon: A Candid Biography of Almina, 5^th Countess of Tutankhamun Fame

Lady Carnarvon’s Nursing Homes : Nursing the Privileged in Wartime and Peace

Dennistoun v Dennistoun : The Dustbin Case

Lordy! Tutankhamun’s Patron As A Young Man

Catherine and Tilly: Porchey Carnarvon’s Two Duped Wives

Tilly Losch : ‘Schlagobers’ Sweet fragments From Her Life

Lord Carnarvon of Tutankhamun Fame : Correcting the Blemished Record

Lord  George Carnarvon  of Tutankhamun Fame

There are myths and legends and lies  ( including damned lies ) surrounding the life and times and death  of  George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert,  the 5^th Earl of Carnarvon ( formerly Lord Porchester )  of Highclere Castle, famed as the co-discoverer with  his devoted  lover Howard Carter of the Tomb of the boy King Tutankhamun in Egypt in 1922

Before the centenary let us hope the historical record is corrected and the truths told...

1866	26 June, 1866 George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert was born to an aristocratic family at the family seat of Highclere Castle, Hampshire, England.

Lie!  George was born   at 66, Grosvenor Street,  London  on 26 June, 1866   He was  however baptized at  Highclere on 5 August 1866           [ Sources;: The Times;  British Newspaper Archives, General Register Office and Find My Past website.]

1895	June 26, 1895 Lord Carnarvon married Almina Victoria Maria Alexandra Wombwell. They subsequently had a son called Henry George Alfred Marius Victor Francis Herbert and a daughter called Lady Evelyn Herbert

Lie ! Almina’s son Henry George Alfred Marius Victor Francis Herbert was fathered by Prince Victor Duleep Singh, the eldest son of Maharaja Duleep Singh of Lahore and a heritage figure among British Sikhs as Britain’s first ever  Sikh settler. [ Sources : Highclere Castle -headed notepaper and letter written by DS a guide at Highclere and commissioned by the 7^th Earl of Carnarvon as  the first biographer of Almina, Countess of Carnarvon- the original letter is held by  TL the godson of Almina, Countess of Carnarvon.  See also the books  “The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon” and “ Lordy! Tutankhamun’s Patron As A Young Man”  by William Cross.]

1901	Lord Carnarvon suffered a very serious motoring accident in Germany which left him significantly disabled and in poor health

Damned Lie! Especially when this accident is cited as the reason that Carnarvon first visited Egypt, from 1901.   Lord Carnarvon was involved in  a very serious motoring accident in Germany, but this was  not until 1909, by which time he had teamed up with Howard Carter. Carnarvon ( as Lord Porchester ) first  visited Egypt from 1889 ( thereafter often with Prince Victor Duleep Singh – where Victor’s mother’s family lived). The trips by Carnarvon to Egypt   included several  visits with Almina - for his health- well before 1901. Lord Carnarvon and Almina joined Prince Victor Duleep Singh and his wife Lady Anne Coventry  for the Prince’s honeymoon to  Egypt  in 1898. 

[ Sources : British Newspaper Archives; UKpressonline and The Times.  See also books on the Carnarvons by William Cross]

907	Lord Carnarvon had become a keen amateur archaeologist and in this year was introduced to Howard Carter by Gaston Maspero, the Director-General of the Department of Antiquities at Egypt's Antiquities Service. This meeting started their successful partnership excavating at Thebes in Egypt

Lie!  Carter worked  for Lord Carnarvon from 1907. The two men met in 1905-6. Carter was a middle man and dealer of various antiquities on and off the international black market.

[ Source: Research by William Cross, FSA Scot – biographer of Almina, Countess of Carnarvon ]

1914	Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon receive a licence to dig in the Valley of the Kings from the Egyptian Antiquities Service. Carnarvon acts as the financier.

Lie!  Authorisation for Lord Carnarvon to dig in the Valley of the Kings was only granted by the  Egyptian King in 1915   (  through offices of   Daressy, Acting Director General of the Antiquities Service. )  The digging - which was interrupted  by the Great War  was financed by Almina though her benefactor Baron Alfred de Rothschild. Lord Carnarvon only used some of the financial legacy from Alfred ( after 1918) to restore digging operations from 1919 onwards. [ Source: Research by William Cross, FSA Scot – biographer of Almina, Countess of Carnarvon.]

1922	Howard Carter visits Highclere Castle and Lord Carnarvon gives him just one more season of funding to find the tomb

Lie!  At the time of Carnarvon’s meeting with Carter over  future season’s Carnarvon  was already  dying. He knew that the following year would be his last on earth and almost certainly told Carter of  being in extremis.

[  Sources : Almina Carnarvon ‘s godson.  Research by William Cross, FSA Scot – biographer of Almina, Countess of Carnarvon.]

  

1922	26 November 1922: Carter makes the famous "tiny breach in the top left hand corner" of the tomb doorway accompanied by Lord Carnarvon and his daughter Lady Evelyn Herbert. Carnarvon asks him if he can see anything, Carter replies: "Yes, wonderful things"

Lie!  Carter replied to Carnarvon’s question with  " Yes, Yes, it is wonderful" [ Sources :  Howard Carter's diaries and Almina’s  Carnarvon’s  account – from her husband and daughter, Lady Evelyn.]

1923	5 April 1923: Lord Carnarvon dies in Cairo of pneumonia and septicaemia after nicking a mosquito bite with his cut-throat razor. This sparks speculation by the press about the Curse of the Pharaohs.

Damned Lie!  Lord Carnarvon died from a terminal illness ( throat cancer). Besides this fact ( from evidence given to a friend by Almina, Countess of Carnarvon, the octogenarian in question survives ) there are numerous other errors on Lord Carnarvon’s  death certificate.  Almina’s  heroic attendance from England to be at Carnarvon’s bedside – as a nurse  trained in the use of morphine as a war time nurse in military hospitals ( and  able to access  such drugs thorough her network of  many medical friends ) begs the question of whether Almina  ensured  that Carvarvon slipped away painlessly  with the administration of morphine.  How could she have done this with others watching over the dying Carnarvon?   Commenting on this Almina’s godson said  “ Almina considered herself superior to everyone. She would have simply ordered everybody  ( including her family members )  out of the room where Lord Carnarvon lay ill.  She was his wife  she was entitled to ask – even demand - to be left to tend her husband last hours.”

[ Sources : Research by William Cross, FSA Scot and interviews with TL the godson of Almina, Countess of Carnarvon.]

ALL THESE POINTS ARE DISCUSSED IN THE LIFE AND SECRETS OF ALMINA CARNARVON : A CANDID BIOGRAPHY OF  THE 5^TH COUNTESS OF CARNARVON OF TUTANKHAMUN FAME ”  BOOK MIDDEN PUBLISHING ( 2011)  AND   “ LORDY! TUTANKHAMUN’S PATRON  AS A YOUNG MAN” BY WILLIAM CROSS BOOK MIDDEN PUBLISHING ( 2012).

williecross@virginmedia.com