Edward Downes "serious health problems" suffered by the couple. A statement issued by the couple's children said that while Downes could have gone on living with his deafness and blindness, he did not want to do so after his wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In March 2010, Keir Starmer (director of public prosecutions) stated that Caractacus Downes would not be prosecuted for his involvement with his parents' assisted suicide because it was not in the public interest. Edward Downes Sir Edward Thomas ("Ted") Downes, CBE (17 June 1924 – 10 July 2009) was an English conductor, specialising in opera. He was
Joan Holland of Kent was her second eldest brother Edmund Holland. Lady Joan married Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, son of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, ca. 4 November 1393. As a result of this marriage, she was styled Duchess of York. They had no children. In 1399, Joan and her sister Margaret were invested as "Lady Companions of the Garter." They were granddaughters of Joan, the "Fair Maid of Kent" who inspired Edward III's founding of the Order of the Garter, according to popular legend. After Langley's death in 1402, Joan married (before 9 August 1404)