Overview
Charles Albert Stopford III (born May 1962) is an American imposter who posed as the Earl of Buckingham and lived under the assumed name of Christopher Buckingham for over twenty years. The press dubbed him ‘the real Jackal’ due to his use of a method described in the novel The Day of the Jackal to assume the identity of a deceased infant.
Early life
Charles Stopford, the eldest of nine children, was born in Orlando, Florida, to Charles and Barbara Stopford. He is of English ancestry. Family members described him as being fascinated with British culture and adept at mimicking an English accent.
After graduating high school in 1980, Stopford enlisted in the US Navy. Upon being discharged, he found employment at Walt Disney World in the United Kingdom Pavilion at Epcot, where he would speak with an English accent while entertaining visitors.
Stopford left the United States following a conviction for possessing explosives. He was initially sentenced to probation but was jailed for 60 days for a probation violation. He fled the country in 1983 after being released from jail.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
