The verdict on last time a Prince was in witness box: disastrous!

The Prince of Wales ended up in court in 1890 in what became known as the royal baccarat scandal - it did not go well, writes Tara Cobham

The future King Edward VII (left) was staying at Tranby Croft for the Doncaster races along with friends including Lieutenant Colonel Sir William Gordon-Cumming, 4th Baronet, of the Scots Guards (Getty)

A royal scandal in the Victorian era involving gambling, an illegal card game, and accusations of cheating set the scene for the last time a prince stepped into the witness box in a British court.

Royal fans have to look back 130 years to find accounts of an “extremely nervous” and pale-faced future King Edward VII giving evidence in a slander case after a spectacular falling out with his best friend in 1890.

Centred on the illicit card game of baccarat, the furore – dubbed “the royal baccarat scandal” or “the Tranby Croft affair” – proved an unedifying moment for all involved, and distinctly damaging for the crown.