Tragedy in the Kennedy Family
Once again, the Kennedy family is faced with heartbreak. This week, Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy, shared the distressing news that she is fighting a rare and aggressive type of leukemia.
Her terminal diagnosis adds to a long history of sorrow and loss that has fueled discussions of the so-called “Kennedy Curse.” This narrative, which looms over one of America’s most renowned political families, is steeped in incidents ranging from fatal accidents to tragic illnesses and untimely deaths.
Tatiana Schlossberg, at 35 and the daughter of Caroline Kennedy, made this announcement on November 22, a date that is particularly significant as it marks the anniversary of JFK’s assassination.
Notable Tragedies in Recent History
In 2020, Robert F. Kennedy’s granddaughter, Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, tragically drowned alongside her 8-year-old son, Gideon, during a canoeing accident in Chesapeake Bay. This incident prompted a significant search effort involving multiple agencies.
Just a year earlier, in 2019, another of RFK’s granddaughters, Saoirse Kennedy Hill, passed away at the young age of 22 from an accidental overdose on the Kennedy family property in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Toxicology reports confirmed the nature of her death as accidental.
In 2012, Mary Richardson Kennedy, the wife of RFK Jr., died by suicide at age 52 during a challenging divorce, marking yet another painful chapter in the family’s history.
A year before that, in 2011, Ted Kennedy’s eldest daughter, Kara, collapsed from a heart attack while training at a gym in Washington, D.C. She had previously undergone treatment for lung cancer.
Turning back the clock, in 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Caroline Bessette, and his sister Lauren tragically lost their lives when the plane he was piloting went down in the Atlantic Ocean off Martha’s Vineyard.
The 1990s also saw the loss of RFK’s son Michael, who died in a skiing accident at the age of 39 in Aspen, Colorado, and his brother David, who was found dead from a drug overdose in 1984 at a hotel in Palm Beach.
The family’s woes continue with incidents from the later decades. In 1969, Sen. Ted Kennedy was involved in a car accident on Chappaquiddick Island, leading to the death of his aide Mary Jo Kopechne. And in 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated shortly after winning the California primary.
Sadly, the heartache stretches back even further. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while in a motorcade in Dallas. The same year saw the passing of JFK and Jacqueline’s premature son, Patrick, shortly after birth.
The family’s story began with tragedy as Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. died during World War II, when a Navy bomber he was piloting exploded mid-air in 1944. The narrative is heavy with sorrow, leading many to wonder just how deeply the “Kennedy Curse” runs.
