J. Edgar Hoover had compelling intelligence that Prince Philip was “involved” in the Profumo affair.
While Crownran for six seasons, hit show about Queen Elizabeth II and her family never hesitated to take on the more controversial—and perhaps embellished—scenes of her life. But few portraits give the creator Peter Morgan in for more criticism as he looks into Prince Philip’s social life outside of his wife. In seasons two and three, the show deals with his alleged involvement in the scandal surrounding John Profumo, the UK’s secretary of state for war, whose political career ended in 1963 after his relationship with 19-year-old model Christine Keeler became public. According to a diplomatic cable that Sunday Mail, There is some historical evidence for a connection between Philip and the incident known as the Profumo affair.
IN Crownseason two episode “Mystery Man” Carpenter‘Philip is shown visiting an osteopath called Stephen Ward, who treats him for a neck injury, before Ward finds himself at the centre of the scandal. The Queen, then Claire Foy, suspected that her husband may have partied with him. This portrayal was based on Ward’s public role in the scandal. He introduced Keeler to Profumo, and to Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet naval attaché, and the doctor was later tried on prostitution charges before committing suicide. According to Ward biographer, Anthony Summer, Ward met Phillip in the 1940s, and the prince’s good friend and cousin David, Marquess of Milford Haven, was particularly close to Ward.
Weekend, Letters The June 1963 cable reported that longtime FBI director J. Edgar Hoover sent a memo to the US embassy in London about complaints made to the FBI by Thomas Corbally, an American businessman and celebrity who also worked as a private investigator. Corbally claimed that “there are rumors that Prince Philip may have had an affair with these two girls,” the June 1963 cable read. The “two girls” in question were likely Keeler and her friend Mandy Rice-Davies, another model who was an associate of Ward’s.
For decades, the palace denied Prince Philip had any connection with Ward’s activities, and the scandal ended Profumo’s career. It is worth noting that Hoover, no stranger to wild accusations And intrusion monitoringThe telegram was vague, calling the idea that Philip was involved a “rumour”. But it is a reminder of how much we still don’t know about the private lives of the late monarch and her husband, so many years after their deaths.
