Profumo scandal icon Christine Keeler denied posthumous Royal pardon
#christinekeeler — Public Fediverse posts
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Profumo scandal icon Christine Keeler denied posthumous Royal pardon
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Profumo scandal icon Christine Keeler's family pray for justice 60 years after conviction
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On this day in 1963, this iconic photograph of Christine Keeler first appeared, in the Sunday Mirror.
#SocialHistory #History #Photography #ChristineKeeler #1960s
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The Christine Keeler Story
71. Christine Keeler at the Old Bailey
With news of John Profumo’s resignation still making headlines, Christine Keeler appeared at the Old Bailey, giving evidence at the trial of Lucky Gordon. Dressed in a mauve two-piece, Christine arrived in a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce.
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The Christine Keeler Story
70. John Profumo’s Resignation
4 June 1963
Dear Prime Minister,
You will recollect that on March 22 following certain allegations made in Parliament, I made a personal statement…
In my statement, I said there had been no impropriety in this association (with Christine Keeler). To my very deep regret, I have to admit that this was not true, and that I misled you, my colleagues, and the House.
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The Christine Keeler Story
69. Venice
Lord Dilhorne, conducting an inquiry into the rumours surrounding John Profumo, told the MP that he wanted to see him on 6 June 1963. Profumo and his wife, actress Valerie Hobson, left for Venice with the intention to return on 5 June.
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The Christine Keeler Story
68. Timeline 1963
26 January: the police knew that Stephen Ward had asked Christine Keeler to obtain state secrets from John Profumo.
4 February: Harold Macmillan knew about the Christine Keeler-John Profumo rumours.
Same date: Macmillan knew that Christine Keeler and Russian spy Eugene Ivanov were lovers, and that the News of the World was withholding this story from publication. -
The Christine Keeler Story
66. The Strands of the Inquiry
At the beginning of April 1963, the Press had detailed, but unsubstantiated accounts from Christine Keeler, Mandy Rice-Davies and Stephen Ward. The Security Services knew about Eugene Ivanov, Stephen Ward and Christine Keeler, and John Profumo’s associations with them.
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The Christine Keeler Story
65. Christine Keeler Returns
On 28 March 1963, Christine Keeler returned to Britain, a celebrity. Journalists fought on the tarmac of Paris Airport to get near her. In London, she received a plain-clothes escort on a par with any visiting statesman.
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The Christine Keeler Story
64. Christine Keeler Found
After John Profumo had lied to the House of Commons, Stephen Ward went on television and said that the rumours about Profumo were “baseless and started by the Press”, thus adding a lie to Profumo’s lie.
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The Christine Keeler Story
63. John Profumo’s Statement
Members of the Labour Party raised questions about the rumours linking John Profumo to Christine Keeler and Eugene Ivanov, and the risk to national security. Reluctantly, Profumo addressed these rumours in the House of Commons at 11.08 am on 22 March 1963.
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The Christine Keeler Story
62. Mandy Rice-Davies
On 16 March 1963, a day after John Edgecombe had been sentenced to seven years in prison for firing gunshots at Christine Keeler, Mandy Rice-Davies told her story to the Daily Sketch.
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The Christine Keeler Story
61. Speculation
The John Edgecombe trial opened at the Old Bailey on 14 March 1963, with Christine Keeler scheduled to appear as the key witness. However, she disappeared.
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The Christine Keeler Story
60. Selling the Story
In February 1963 Christine Keeler sold her story to the Sunday Pictorial, which later became the Sunday Mirror. She received £250, plus an additional £50 while she was placed by the newspaper for her safety in a flat in Park West, Edgware Road. Along with Christine’s version of events, the Sunday Pictorial also received the first piece of hard evidence - the affectionate letter signed J
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@HannahHowe And you know about her son Seymour's attempt to get her perjury conviction overturned, posthumously?
https://christine-keeler.co.uk/ -
@HannahHowe I'm really enjoying your synopsis of Keeler's *Secrets and Lies*. 🙏🏼
By any chance have you seen Fionn Wilson's work on Keeler, Davies, and Ward?
https://fionn-wilson.co.uk/2022/12/01/christine-keeler-and-dmu-leicester-art-collection/ -
The Christine Keeler Story
59. The News of the World
News of the World reporter Peter Earle had been trailing Stephen Ward for ten years. Earle heard the rumours about John Profumo’s affair with Christine Keeler, checked his sources, and discovered that they were true.
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The Christine Keeler Story
58. Who Knew
January 1963 was a tumultuous time. Britain was in the grip of the Big Freeze, General de Gaulle had rejected Britain’s bid to join the Common Market, and two journalists had been jailed over the Vassall Affair - the Government thus alienating the Press. Furthermore, the Edgecombe trial had started with Christine Keeler a key witness.
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The Christine Keeler Story
57. The Story Spreads
The night of the Edgecombe shooting, Christine Keeler phoned a friend, Micheal Eddowes, an author, restauranteur and former solicitor. Seeking his advice, she told him *everything*.
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The Christine Keeler Story
56. Into the Limelight
Christine Keeler entered the limelight when seven shots were fired from a pistol. At one o’clock on 14 December 1962 John Edgecombe leapt out of a minicab outside 17 Wimpole Mews, Marylebone in a highly agitated state. Edgecombe fired five shots at the locks on the front door and two shots into the building. Then he ran away.
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The Christine Keeler Story
55. Stephen Ward the Spy
In the early 1960s Stephen Ward presented himself as a spy. According to Christine Keeler, in her autobiography Secrets and Lies, members of the intelligence services, and people later unmasked as spies, were in and out of his flat all the time. Christine made cups of tea for them, and delivered messages.
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The Christine Keeler Story
54. The End of the Affair - Version #2
Regarding the end of their thirty-two day affair, Christine Keeler’s version differed to John Profumo’s. According to Christine’s memoirs published in the News of the World, the affair ended when John Profumo demanded that she should stop living with Stephen Ward, and she refused.
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The Christine Keeler Story
53. The End of the Affair - Version #1
It’s possible that a warning from civil servant Sir Norman Brook prompted John Profumo to end his thirty-two-day affair with Christine Keeler.
In August 1961 Profumo wrote the following to Christine, words that later gained great notoriety.
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The Christine Keeler Story
52. The Affair - The Cliveden Party
Christine Keeler was not especially impressed with John Profumo when she met him at Lord Astor’s party. She was more interested in the Russian spy Eugene Ivanov.
When Christine left the party, Profumo asked her for her telephone number. She told him to talk with Stephen Ward. Meanwhile, MI5 were showing an interest in Ward’s friendship with Ivanov, and Profumo.
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What a lovely reading and catching story of #ChristineKeeler which I vaguely knew as non-English. Go for it! https://toot.wales/@HannahHowe/113993116433271610
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The Christine Keeler Story
51. The Affair - The Beginning
The second week of July 1961 saw a heatwave in London. On Saturday 8 July the temperature rose to 70 degrees. The atmosphere was close. Lord Astor decided to host one of his famous parties. John Profumo and his wife, actress Valerie Hobson, attended. Stephen Ward, who rented a cottage in Lord Astor’s grounds, also decided to host a party. Christine Keeler joined the fun.
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The Christine Keeler Story
50. The Press
The Press were aware of a developing scandal, one that could derail the government. However, the award of £100,000 damages for libel against the Daily Telegraph and £117,000 against the Daily Mail to John Lewis and his company Rubber Improvement Ltd made them cautious.
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The Christine Keeler Story
49. Rumours
In 1961, rumours started to circulate about Stephen Ward, rumours that reached Members of Parliament. Two years later, The Daily Sketch summed up the high society party scene with the following, “It was food from Fortnum and Mason, drink from Justerini and Brooks, and girls from Stephen Ward.”
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The Christine Keeler Story
48. Stephen Ward and Lord Astor
With his osteopathic practice established and attracting “top” people, Stephen Ward was invited to fashionable parties, including those hosted by Lord Astor. Lord Astor’s parties were “exotic” in the extreme - their theme song could have been ‘Anything Goes’.
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The Christine Keeler Story
47. More on Stephen Ward
In 1949, aged 36, Stephen Ward married Patricia Baines, a 21-year-old actress. It was an unhappy relationship, which lasted six weeks. They divorced three years later.
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The Christine Keeler Story
46. Stephen Ward
Stephen Ward was born on 19 October 1912, in Lemsford, Hertfordshire, where his father was the local vicar, before moving on to become canon of Rochester Cathedral.