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It is known
that Ward, who was a gifted artist, painted a picture of the Prince. Pictured:
The drawing
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The Crown links Prince Philip to the Profumo Affair: Uproar as new series implicates Duke of Edinburgh in one of Britain's most damaging sex scandals
The new series of The Crown links the royal to
the Profumo Affair in the early 60s
In one scene, the Queen confronts him about his
relationship with Stephen Ward – the fixer who ‘procured women’ for leading
members of the Establishment
Elizabeth is also shown conspiring to keep the
details out of the public domain
By CHRIS
HASTINGS FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
PUBLISHED:
22:00 GMT, 25 November 2017 | UPDATED: 07:32 GMT, 26 November 2017
The new
series of The Crown has provoked uproar by implicating Prince Philip in the
Profumo Affair which scandalised Britain in the early 1960s.
In one
fictitious scene, the Queen confronts her husband about the nature of his
relationship with Stephen Ward – the high-society osteopath and fixer who
‘procured women’ for leading members of the Establishment.
Elizabeth –
played by Claire Foy – is also shown conspiring to keep details of Philip’s
involvement out of the public domain.
The new
series of The Crown has provoked uproar by implicating Prince Philip in the
Profumo Affair which scandalised Britain in the early 1960s. Pictured: Claire
Foy as The Queen +6
The drama’s
decision to implicate Prince Philip in one of Britain’s most damaging sex
scandals comes just days after the couple celebrated their 70th wedding
anniversary.
Historians
last night accused the programme – made by American entertainment giant Netflix
– of ‘crossing a line’.
The Profumo
scandal of 1963 was sparked by the revelation that John Profumo, the then
Minister of War, had had an affair with nightclub hostess Christine Keeler
while she was also dating the Russian military attache, Yevgeny Ivanov.
Profumo
resigned in disgrace and Ward, who had befriended Profumo, Keeler and her
friend Mandy Rice-Davies, killed himself before he was sentenced for living off
immoral earnings.
It is known
that Ward, who was a gifted artist, painted a picture of the Prince. But the
new series of The Crown, written by Peter Morgan, goes beyond historic fact in
a scene where Philip reacts favourably to Ward’s offer of a weekend away with
guests including Keeler and Rice-Davies.
The two men
meet in April 1962 when the Prince seeks Ward’s help for neck pain. The pair
quickly hit it off when they discover they have a mutual friend in Mike Parker,
the Prince’s former Private Secretary who – according to The Crown – led the
Prince astray on nights out and Royal visits.
Ward
suggests the Prince joins them for a weekend party. Philip is drawn towards a
portrait on a mantelpiece. When he asks whose portrait it is, Ward replies: ‘Oh
Christine. She’ll be there and Mandy will be there too.’
Philip then
replies: ‘Do you know my neck’s feeling better already.’
The episode
then leaps forward to 1963 and the breaking scandal in the news. Rumours begin
to grow that a ‘mystery man’ photographed with his back to the camera at one of
Ward’s parties is Philip. The Queen’s worst fears are compounded when she
learns that detectives found a portrait of Philip in Ward’s flat. When the
Queen confronts Philip, he insists he never attended any of the parties.
Royal
historian Christopher Wilson said the producers of the show were becoming
‘increasingly elastic’ with the truth. He added: ‘I think the show has crossed
a line and stepped out of reality into fiction.’
Biographer
Margaret Holder said rumours about Philip’s involvement in the scandal
persisted to this day. But she said the episode had clearly gone beyond what
was a matter of public record.
Christine
Keeler was unavailable for comment. But a friend of Keeler said he was unaware
that she had ever met Prince Philip.
A spokesman
for Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Duke of
Edinburgh features in Profumo affair show
Prince
Philip's connections to Stephen Ward, who killed himself over the Profumo
affair, are to feature in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical.
Duke of
Edinburgh features in Profumo affair show
The Duke of
Edinburgh may find it hard to ignore the forthcoming show by Andrew Lloyd
Webber about the Profumo aAffair
Tim Walker.
Edited by Richard Eden7:30AM GMT 02 Feb 2013
The Duke of
Edinburgh will, no doubt, overlook a one-woman musical opening on Saturday
night, Pat Kirkwood is Angry, which quotes from private letters that he wrote
to the late actress.
He will,
however, find it harder to ignore the forthcoming West End show by Andrew Lloyd
Webber about the Profumo affair.
Mandrake
hears that the musical will feature claims about Prince Philip’s connections to
Dr Stephen Ward, the society osteopath, who was accused of being a pimp. He
killed himself on the last day of his trial on charges of living off the
profits of prostitution.
Don Black,
the Oscar-winning lyricist, who has written the musical with Lord Lloyd-Webber,
claims of Ward’s prosecution: “It was all a put-up job by the Establishment to
find a scapegoat and shut him up.
"He
had a list of [osteopathy] clients that was like a Who’s Who of fashionable
London – everyone from Prince Philip to top showbusiness stars. It was
embarrassing for many at the top – he had to be shut up.”
Dr Ward
boasted of a 15-year friendship with the Duke, whom he painted at Buckingham
Palace in 1961.
The
musical, which is due to be read for the first time this month to a select
audience of West End figures, will tell the story of the 1963 downfall of John
Profumo, who was the secretary of state for war in Harold Macmillan’s
Conservative government.
Profumo
resigned after admitting that he had lied to Parliament about his role in the
scandal, which contributed to the Tories’ election defeat the following year.
Profumo was
involved in a sexual relationship with Christine Keeler, a showgirl, who was
also sleeping with Yevgeni Ivanov, the senior naval attaché at the Soviet
Embassy. They were introduced by Ward.
1 comment:
And, sadly, Christine Keeler has passed away aged 75 about a week after this first article was published. I remember at the time that there were rumours about Prince Philip but they were dismissed as being too preposterous to be true!
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