Sexuality

The Cleveland Street scandal of 1889 began when a ‘homosexual’ male brothel in Fitzrovia, London, was discovered by the police. Prince Albert Victor, eldest son of the Prince of Wales and second-in-line to the British throne, was rumoured to be one of the brothel’s clients. Officials were involved in a cover-up to keep aristocratic names out of the scandal. The episode helped to popularise the attitude that male homosexuality was a fundamentally aristocratic vice that corrupted lower-class youths.

Back to Sexuality Documents | page 1 | page2 | page 3