The Birth of Young Ned
‘The Birth of Young Ned’ is a song ostensibly celebrating the birth of Queen Victoria’s first son, the future King Edward VII (1841-1910). In the final three verses, however, the words become critical of the public cost of the new prince’s upkeep. The song’s concerns about the morality of tax-payers financing the prince’s lifestyle were quite prophetic: denied any public role by his mother, the adult Prince Edward became notorious for an extravagant lifestyle of gambling, drinking, fine eating and womanising. for more click here
