FBI Reveals Prince Philip Was Allegedly Involved in the Most Scandalous Profumo Affair

Over the years, the Biritish family has been involved in numerous scandals, but one of their best-kept secrets—the Profumo controversy from the 1960s, which even contributed to the overthrow of the government—has come to light. According to The Daily Mail, newly released top-secret FBI records pertaining to the Profumo affair have revealed that late Prince Philip maintained personal relationships with Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies, the two women who were at the core of the government-overturning sex scandal. Because Keeler was also having an affair with Russian military attaché Yevgeny Ivanov during the cold war period, the scandal had an impact on national security. A cable sent by J Edgar Hoover, then director of the FBI to the US embassy in London on June 20, 1963 asserted the Duke of Edinburgh's involvement: "Corbally also stated there was a rumour Prince Philip may have been involved with these two girls." 

As per The UK Mirror, Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, on whose name the scandal gained notoriety, shocked the British elite when he denied having a sexual affair in the House of Commons with Keeler, a teenage showgirl. After it was discovered that he had lied to the house and evidence of the affair surfaced, he was compelled to resign. Thomas Corbally, an industrial espionage-affiliated US businessman, provided the FBI with evidence against the Duke of Edinburgh in an interview.

Born in Middlesex, Keeler was only nineteen when she found herself in the eye of the storm. She had just relocated to London and began working at Murray's Cabaret Club in Soho when met Dr. Stephen Ward, a "fixer" who was well-known for obtaining attractive young women for members of the British elite. At a glamorous reception hosted by Lord Astor in 1961, Dr Ward introduced her to Tory minister Profumo. The then war minister denied having a romantic involvement with the young woman in front of the Commons. But soon after his lies were exposed by the media, he was compelled to step down in June 1963. Keeler sold her story to the News of the World for £23,000 as a result of the heightened press interest. 

The Daily Beast reported, that Miles Kington in a 1996 Independent piece stated that, Dr. Ward was also a member of the infamous Thursday Club, which Philip cofounded with Lieutenant Commander Michael Parker. Kingston called it “as the gang of cronies that the Duke of Edinburgh used to gather round him in the 1950s to have a bit of fun away from his serious life at Buckingham Palace.” Dr. Ward later committed suicide at the peak of the scandal, after her liaisons with a Russian spy and the then-War Minister came to light, Keeler was shunned by society. Later, in December 1963, after Profumo had resigned over the scandal, she was imprisoned for nine months over perjury, as per The Daily Mail. 

According to INews UK, following her release, Keeler married twice and had two children. She later lived alone and passed away in December 2017 at the age of 75. Keeler’s son Seymour Platt recently shed light on his mother's life while appearing on Good Morning Britain. “My mum was even naïve when I knew her. I was born 10 years after these events. But the woman I knew she was a devoted mum. She was quite a character, who was eccentric, funny and loved driving. We would laugh so much.”He added: “My mother was probably the most honest person I’ve ever met in my life. She would tell terrible secrets to anybody, particularly if they weren’t hers. I would like people to remember her more fondly. She was a woman of her time – it was a different time.”