Marguerite
Marie Alibert (9 December 1890 – 2 January 1971, also known as Maggie Meller,
Marguerite Laurent, and Princess Fahmy, was a French socialite. She started her
career as a prostitute and later courtesan in Paris, and from 1917 to 1918, she
had an affair with the prince of Wales (later Edward VIII). After her marriage
to Egyptian aristocrat Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey, she was frequently called princess
by the media of the time. In 1923, she killed her husband at the Savoy Hotel in
London. She was eventually acquitted of the murder charge after a trial at the
Old Bailey.
Life
Marguerite
Marie Alibert was born on 9 December 1890[1] in Paris to Firmin Alibert, a
coachman, and Marie Aurand, a housekeeper. At age 16, she gave birth to a
daughter, Raymonde. In the following eight to ten years, Alibert led a nomadic
life until she met Mme Denant, who ran a Maison de Rendezvous, a brothel
catering to a high society clientele. Under the tutelage of Denant, Alibert
became a high-class sex worker.[1][5] Subsequently, Alibert had a number of
notable clients, particularly Edward, Prince of Wales.
She and
Edward first met in April 1917 at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris. At the time,
he was in France as an officer of the Grenadier Guards in the Western Front
during World War I. Edward became infatuated with her, and during their
relationship, he wrote many candid letters to her. Although the affair was
intense while it lasted, by the end of the war, Edward had ended the
relationship.
Ali Fahmy
Bey
Ali Fahmy
Bey became infatuated with Alibert when he first encountered her in Egypt while
she was escorting a businessman. He saw her again several times in Paris, and
they were eventually formally introduced in July 1922. Following that meeting,
they embarked on a tour of gambling and entertainment establishments in
Deauville, Biarritz, and Paris. Fahmy returned to Egypt, but soon after, he
invited her to the country, feigning illness and telling her that he could not
live without her. They were married in December 1922 and had a formal Islamic
wedding in January 1923.
Killing
of Ali Fahmy
On 1 July
1923, the couple arrived in London for the holidays. They stayed at the Savoy
Hotel with their entourage consisting of a secretary, a valet, and a maid.On 9
July, the couple and the secretary went to see the operetta The Merry
Widow.[7][8] Upon returning to the hotel, they had a late supper where they
started one of their frequent arguments. At 2:30 a.m. on 10 July, Alibert shot
her husband repeatedly from behind, striking him in the neck, back, and
head.[3][1] She used a .32 calibre semi-automatic Browning pistol.The victim
was transported to Charing Cross Hospital but died of his wounds in about an
hour.
Trial
The trial
opened on Monday, 10 September 1923, with many people queuing to enter,
including some who had waited since before daybreak. The trial lasted until
Saturday, 15 September. During the trial, Alibert presented herself as the
victim of the "brutality and beastliness" of her "oriental
husband". Alibert was defended by Edward Marshall Hall, one of the more
famous British lawyers of that era.[3] The trial judge disallowed any mention
of Alibert's past as a courtesan, ensuring that the name of the Prince of Wales
never was mentioned as part of the evidence during the trial. At the same time,
Fahmy was described as "a monster of Eastern depravity and decadence,
whose sexual tastes were indicative of an amoral sadism towards his helpless
European wife". Alibert was acquitted of all charges.
Post-trial
After the
trial, Alibert sued her late husband's family aiming to lay claim to his
property. A court in Egypt rejected the verdict at the Old Bailey and dismissed
her claim. She lived in an apartment facing the Ritz in Paris until the end of
her life. After her death, the few remaining letters from Edward, which she had
kept as insurance, were found and destroyed by a friend.
In
culture
Books
The
killing of Alibert's husband was the focus of the 1991 book, Scandal at the
Savoy: The Infamous 1920s Murder Case by judge and historian Andrew Rose. In
the 2013 follow-on work, The Prince, the Princess and the Perfect Murder,
Andrew Rose revealed — with the help of Alibert's grandson — that the acquittal
of Alibert of the charges of murdering her husband was part of a deal for
returning the love letters of the Prince of Wales to him and a guarantee by
Alibert that Edward's name would not be mentioned in court. Rose stated:
"Really this was a show trial, the authorities wanted Marguerite to be
acquitted. A murder conviction would have been catastrophic for the
Crown."
The story
of Alibert is retold in the 2022 debut novel, The Keeper of Stories by Sally
Page, as told by the character Mrs. B., a former spy, to the keeper of stories,
her cleaner, Janice; Alibert is given the alias Becky. This is clarified in the
Author's Note found on page 375 of the paperback version.
Television
The trial
was dramatised as part of the Granada TV series Lady Killers, broadcast on 20th
July 1980, starring Robert Stephens and Barbara Kellerman.
In 2013,
the UK Channel 4 aired the documentary Edward VIII's Murderous Mistress: Was
there a cover-up of Edward VIII's fling with a murderess?
In
November 2024, Channel 4 broadcast A History of Royal Scandals series 2 episode
4 entitled Crime in which Suzannah Lipscomb discussed Alibert's relationship
with Edward, Prince of Wales, her trial for the shooting of husband Ali Fahmy,
and the influence of authorities to ensure Alibert's acquittal.
Radio
The trial
of Marguerite Alibert for the murder of Ali Fahmy Bey was presented in a 2023
episode of the BBC Radio 4 series Lucy Worsley's Lady Killers.
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