Edward Downes Edward Downes Sir Edward Thomas ("Ted") Downes, CBE (17 June 1924 – 10 July 2009) was an English conductor, specialising in opera. He was associated with the Royal Opera House from 1952, and with Opera Australia from 1970. He was also well known for his long working relationship with the BBC Philharmonic and for working with the Netherlands Radio Orchestra. Within the field of opera, he was particularly known as a conductor of Verdi. He and his wife, Lady (Joan) Downes, committed assisted suicide at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland on 10 July 2009, an event that received significant media
Joan Vaux (lady-in-waiting) In a lengthy, tactfully-written letter, Cardinal Wolsey asked King Louis to recall Joan to Mary's service saying "I have no doubt, Sire, that when you know her [Joan] well, you will find her a wise, honourable, and discreet lady". Chapman, p. 173 Queen Mary's protests and Cardinal Wolsey's letter were to no avail, as King Louis had taken an especial dislike to Joan, due to the fact that she had taken it upon herself to rule Mary, and had curtailed Louis's intimacy with his wife, refusing to leave the couple alone with the result that his efforts to establish a