THE once powerful Kennedy family was the closest thing America ever had to having its own Royal Family.
However, it is a clan which was dogged by death long before JFK was infamously gunned down on the streets of Dallas.
And – following the "overdose death" of Saoirse Kennedy Hill – the so-called family curse appears to still be casting a very dark shadow.
Most people know about the shocking assassinations of President Kennedy and his brother Robert in the 1960s.
However, the scandal-hit Kennedys have suffered a string of personal tragedies which some believe is down to more than just bad luck.
Now 13 members of the family and their spouses have died before their time – others outside the family have perished along the way.
Intertwined with the shocking death toll, the family has been rocked by rape and murder scandals, claims of drugs abuse and high society marriage break-ups.
Cancer has also played a role in the Kennedy family tragedies and in 1973, Ted Kennedy's 12-year-old son Edward Jr. lost a leg to bone cancer.
He later told CNN in 2009 he rejected the idea of a family curse.
"The Kennedy family has had to endure these things in a very open way. But our family is just like … every other family in America in many ways," he said.
However, here are the key dates which some say add weight to the legend of the Kennedy Curse:
WAR HERO CRASH
Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr was killed in August 1944 during World War II – he was just 29 years old.
He was tragically died when his bomber aircraft exploded over Suffolk during the Second World War.
Kennedy had completed 25 combat missions and was eligible to return home but decided to fight on.
Joseph was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, Air Medal, and Purple Heart Medal for his heroics.
He was the eldest of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.
Source: Read Full Article