Queen Alexandra's Knee

In 1867, Alexandra, the 22-year-old Princess of Wales, late in her third pregnancy, had sudden onset of a febrile illness. There was a brief period of migratory arthritis, followed by persistent, severe inflammation in 1 knee. A diagnosis of rheumatic fever was made by her physicians, but the course of her illness differed greatly from the expected one. In this report reviewing her disorder, the suggestion is made that she more likely had gonococcal arthritis and that the infection was transmitted to her by her husband, the future King Edward VII, then known as "The Playboy Prince."