Family Lore

  Growing up, every once in a while I would hear mentioned that we had blue blood and then there would be some laughter. One day I asked my mother what the blue blood story was all about.

She explained that my great aunt, Millicent Milroy, had claimed to have met and married Edward the VIII while teaching in Alberta.  Further to that she claimed that she had two children with the prince.  She even went as far as having a headstone created stating that she was the wife of Edward VIII Duke of Windsor.  Millicent always stated that the truth would be known after her death.

The story caught the interest of many local and international newspapers, and has in turn created many followers.  A book and a play has been written with the play touring across Canada.  An actor dressed as Millicent will even give you a tour of the village of Rockwood, Ontario.  I was also contacted by a producer at the BBC asking if I had any information to share on Millicent.

So although she may have met the prince at one time when he visited Galt, Ontario in the early 1900's there is no evidence that there's any truth to her story.  Her home was broken into and many possessions were stolen which apparently removed all evidence of the relationship.

The story is that the Field family is related to a music publisher in New York who had a daughter that was a movie star.  This story turned out to be true, sort of.  H. W. Gray was a music publisher and a cousin he married Harriet Field my great aunt.  H. W. Gray and Harriet divorced and H.W. remarried to a widow, Gertrude Miles Binney.  Gertrude had two daughters from her first husband, Frederica and Constance Binney.  Both Faire and Constance made many appearances on stage and in silent films.  Constance was also married to Leonard Cheshire the famous WWII pilot.

I have managed to locate the Gray family in New York and we keep in touch once in a while.

One note here, interestingly enough I was asked by the Gray family if I had heard the story about a relative that was a railroad tycoon in Buenos Aries.  Yes I had.

The Field family apparently had a relative an Uncle Billy in Buenos Aries that was a railroad tycoon.  This story also turned out to be true.  William Field worked for the British Railroad in Buenos Aries as a financial director.  He was also involved in building the main railroad station in Buenos Aries which has a plaque with his name on it.  I've been told that Uncle Billy came up to Canada for his brother Philip Field's wedding and gave a mink coat as a gift.

I have not been able to prove or disprove this story although it appears as though separate branches of the family have heard the same story.

May be true.

This was true.

This was true.