Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Covadonga to be buried in Miami

September 5, 1938

It is the wish of King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia that their son, the Count of Covadonga, once the heir to the Spanish throne, will be buried in Miami, with the rites of the Catholic church.
The Associated Press quotes the Count's secretary, Jack Fleming, who said tonight that the burial may take place to tomorrow in the mausoleum at Graceland Memorial Park Cemetery. The secretary also said that he had received a cable from Alfonso, "concurring with the wish" of Queen Victoria Eugenia, regarding the desire for a Roman Catholic funeral.
The services, according to Mr. Fleming, "would be private" with only the late Count's friends in attendance.
Meanwhile, Miss Mildred Gaydon, the 25-year-old night club cigarette girl, who was in the car with the Count of Covadonga, when it crashed, is preparing a "legal defense for a manslaughter charge" in the operation of the automobile.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was reported in the newspaper Bradford County Telegraph 16 September 1938 that a coroner's jury absolved Mildred Gaydon of any blame in connection with the accident. After hearing testimony from the police and physicians the jury held the crash into a telegraph pole to be an unavoidable accident after which the authorities said they would drop the charge of manslaughter against her. Similar reports were given in other newspapers.

Beth Preddy said...

Mildred Gaydon was my great aunt. This story was scandalous in my family and rarely mentioned until I dug it up!