One of the explicit photographs presented in court was a Polaroid of the Duchess, wearing nothing but her signature triple-string of pearls, standing next to an unidentified man. Born on 1 December 1912, Margaret Whigham was the only daughter of a Scottish businessman and millionaire, George Hay Whigham and his wife, Helen Mann Hannay. ', Another, @tguest said: 'I forgot how awkward it was watching sex scenes with a parent till A Very British Scandal tonight. George Hay Whigham was a self-made millionaire: although his family was well-connected, they were not wealthy. Everyone's got old and fat." Her attitude to the sanctity of marriage was what moderns would call enlightened but which in plain language was wholly immoral.'. [2], In fact, Margaret was not mentioned in Porter's original version of "You're the Top". The judge did not release compromising images of her but did describe them in clear detail. With a rigid poise that mixes froideur with fear, Foy makes Margaret both defiant and pitiful. Perhaps it is not surprising that, as an adult, the only way she knew how to express affection was through sex. Dubbed the divorce of the century, the subsequent swirl of rumours, gossip, scandal and sex captivated the nation. As part of proceedings, Lord Denning, who had compiled a government report on one of the decades other scandals, the Profumo Affair, was tasked with investigating Margarets sexual partners in more depth: primarily this was because ministers were concerned Margaret might be a security risk if shehadbeen involved with senior government figures. 'How many women do you have?,' Foy replies. Read More: Is A Very British Scandal Based on a True Story? How did it come to this? Her husband accused her of having dozens of lovers: He estimated the total at 88. The top was what I was supposed to be. History Hit brings you the stories that shaped the world through our award winning podcast network and an online history channel. Meanwhile nothing was said about his own affairs or his subsequent remarriage to Mathilda Mortimer, a rich American, just six weeks later. But why was this divorce case particularly scandalous? For four decades, the money cascaded into the Whigham account year after year. Upon seeing the presented evidence in court, the judge, Lord Wheatley, said: There is enough in her own admissions and proven facts to establish that by 1960 she was a completely promiscuous woman whose sexual appetite could only be satisfied with a number of men. But by the early 1960s, Margarets fortunes had reversed on an epic scale. I was as good of a witness as I could be. Historical Trips - Book your next historical adventure, 6 Secret Historic Gardens in the United Kingdom, Join Dan Snow for the Anniversary of the D-Day Landings, War of The Worlds: The Most Infamous Radio Broadcast in History, The King Revealed: 10 Fascinating Facts About Elvis Presley, 10 Facts About American Poet Robert Frost. Margaret had eight miscarriages and a stillborn child before managing to produce two children: one became the Duchess of Rutland and mother to the current duke, the other a sensible businessman. Ian Campbell, as he then was, needed cash. The number allegedly included cabinet members, Hollywood actors, and members of the royal family. The duke began proceedings on grounds of infidelity. By the time her fall happens, there were plenty of people who were happy to facilitate that fall and make that fall a hell of a lot worse, says Phelps. [4], On 21 February 1933, following her conversion to Roman Catholicism,[2] Margaret married Sweeny at the Brompton Oratory, London. [25], Margaret had asked Charles Castle in 1974 to write her biography, but reneged. 25 Feb/23. What do you make of your life? an interviewer asked her in 1990. Later, the Duke of Argyll claimed that the blow to Margarets head had made her become a nymphomaniac. No doubt the television series can tell you the terrible consequences of that marriage. He had made a fortune successfully marketing a new type of artificial silk called Celanese. The third comes very shortly after, at 29 minutes, just before Margaret takes Ian to meet her father for his approval of their marriage. Foy has said how uncomfortable they made her feel: Its grim, the grimmest thing you can do. A selection of short interviews with Margaret Whigham, Duchess of Argyll. She was briefly engaged to the Earl of Warwick, before marrying Charles Sweeny, a fellow wealthy American. Ian filed for divorce, citing both the photos and a list of 88 men noted in her diary, men Ian suspected Margaret had slept with during their marriage. "For 50 years it has been safely, maybe too safely, kept . [14] In 2013, the daughter-in-law of the 11th Duke, Lady Colin Campbell, stated that the "headless man" was an American executive named Bill Lyons. On 22 March 1951, Margaret, 38 at the time, married Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll. I feel a bit ashamed because until I started looking into her life I had written off Margaret, Duchess of Argyll as no more than a joke figure. When the former husband and wife square off in a Virginia courtroom this week, it will mark the culmination of a divorce that has been without comparison in the annals of modern American celebrity. Hed been delighted to find Polaroids of naked men, with only the torsos visible, being loomed over by a woman, her face hidden from view. 12 years later, the duke sued for divorce, accusing Margaret of infidelity and producing evidence, in the form of Polaroid photographs of Margaret engaged in sexual acts, to prove it. Margaret Campbell, the Duchess of Argyll is a fascinating and infuriating subject, for history has not been kind to her. The ensuing divorce case was splashed across newspaper front pages. If Margaret, Duchess of Argyll gets away with this, what will all women do?, I thought he was such a bastard, Margaret told George Hume in a 1990 interview. [11], Within a few years, the marriage was falling apart. She struck an archaic figure at these 1980s social events, being perfectly groomed and coiffed, bejewelled and couture-clad, with ramrod deportment, but in an era when informal post-hippie was the fashionable vibe. Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, and Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll, after their 1951 wedding at Caxton Hall in London. Dozens of cuttings in the Daily Mail archives describe her appearance at every ball her dresses, her jewellery, the young men jostling around her. The type, to be harsh, is familiar today. And then I heard that a television biopic, A Very British Scandal, was being made about her by the team behind A Very English Scandal, the series about Jeremy Thorpe. In 1990, three years before her death, Margaret reflected on the absurdly high highs and low lows of her life, in an interview quoted by The Telegraph. From her greed is good heyday to her post-divorce denouement cavorting with a series of freaky Italian lovers, it was Ivana, all along, who gilded the Trump name. Tatler is mischievous, glamorous, intelligent and fun, providing an insider's view of what is really happening in British society with a compelling mix of fashion, the arts, politics, people, parties and glamour.Tatler UKTatler contributorsThe BYSTANDER Everything about everybody everywhereDI. [1] Before these pregnancies, she suffered eight miscarriages. On 22 March 1951, Margaret became the third wife of Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll. The comments below have not been moderated, By Its a pity the drama does not have time to explain the years of fame that came before her disgrace, and which shaped her. The suspects included Hollywood actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr and German diplomat Sigismund von Braun, but chief among them was Duncan Sandys, the Minister of Defence and Winston Churchills son-in-law. Meeting by chance on a train, Argyll told Margaret of some of his experiences as a prisoner of war during World War Two, omitting the fact that the trauma had left him reliant on alcohol and prescription drugs. Argyll accused his wife of infidelity with 88 men, compiling a detailed list which included government ministers and members of the royal family. It will be plain to most viewers, when the raffish war hero Captain Ian Campbell (Paul Bettany) approaches her on a train, that he is dangerous. As indisputable proof of the duchesss misadventure, however, the Polaroids were the clincher. Thanks @PhelpsieSarah! She was ordered to pay most of the 50,000 legal bill. The duke divorced Margaret in 1963 and she died in 1993 30 years of infamy that starkly contrasted with the splendour of her youth. But she would be remembered for just one thing: the so-called 'divorce of the century', which ended her marriage to the Duke of Argyll in 1963. The Duchess, Margaret Campbell, was a British socialite known for her lavish lifestyle and a string of high-profile affairs. Ian owed a lot of money due to his own gambling addiction and he calculated that Margarets father might help him out financially. It comes just days after Foy spoke out about how she hates doing sex scenes, saying they make her feel 'exploited' and that they are the 'grimmest thing you can do'. Famed for her beauty, Margaret moved through the. I do not forget. Fashion designers and socialites clamoured around the duchess. "All hell broke loose," remembered her family cook, Elizabeth Duckworth. [15] She dropped her case the day of the hearing due to lack of a witness, and later had to pay a judgment of 25,000 to her stepmother, who sued her for libel, slander, and conspiracy to suborn perjury. The duchess and her daughter, Frances Sweeny, 1955. And Margaret was so beautiful and so rich. In 1963 the resignation of John Profumo rocked the government as his affair with Christine Keeler was exposed to the world. Margarets privacy had been violated and sexual desires condemned because she was a woman. Many of the 88 men listed were in fact homosexual, but given that homosexuality was illegal in Britain at the time, Margaret stayed quiet in order not to betray them on a public stage. a self-confessed wolf. Her first marriage to Sweeny ended after the war as first he and later she started various affairs. But when her racy private photographs were stolen, scandal turned the public against her, In Queen Margrethe II of Denmarks last interview before her extensive surgery, she spoke of the royal title drama and Crown Prince Frederiks future on the throne, Crown Princess Mary carries out solo engagement on visit to India with Crown Prince Frederik, Dove / Daily Express / Getty Images / Hulton Archive, Bert Hardy / Picture Post / Hulton Archive / Getty Images. A friend of mine, born in 1932, explained to me: You have no idea how drab things were in the days before 15 minutes of fame for everyone. She was among the VIP guests at his London memorial service. In those days, society men did not take personalities into consideration when choosing a wife. Claire Foy is shockingly good for this role, the heiress without purpose, because we are so used to seeing her as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown. And, as Phelps describes, it wasnt just legal support that Margaret lacked. Getty Images. The mystery man in the explicit photo became known as the 'headless man&# In 1951, she married the 11th Duke of Argyll, who was popular, charming and handsome, but also malicious, addicted to alcohol and gambling, and a shameless sponger. A Very British Scandal continues tonight at 9pm on BBC1. In several photos, Margaret was wearing only a string of her trademark pearls. Who was Margaret the Duchess of Argyll? After his death, George Whighams assets were less than had been assumed and the 18,000 a year income from the trust fund barely covered Margarets living expenses. She was not born into the aristocracy, but she was the only child of one of the richest men of his day, George Whigham. They did not. For the Duchess of Argyll, the sex was not fake and neither was the humiliation. Id had no idea of the magnificence of the early life of this only child of a self-made millionaire of Scottish origins. With her fortune diminished, she opened her London house at 48 Upper Grosvenor Street, which had been decorated for her parents in 1935 by Syrie Maugham,[19] for paid tours. In 1930, as 17-year-old debutante Margaret Whigham entering London society, she was regarded as the most beautiful woman in England. John Dukas, "Dukas' Diary: Advice from the Duchess", Max Aitken, later the second Lord Beaverbrook, Charles Guy Fulke Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll, Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, "The scarlet Duchess of Argyll: Much more than just a Highland fling", "The Dirty Duchess of Argyll was ahead of her time", "Madame Yevonde's Goddesses - in pictures", "The real scandal of the Duchess of Argyll is that she was a victim of celebrity hacking", "Mayfair, the Duchess of Argyll and the Headless Man polaroids Another Nickel in the Machine", "London Journal; A Sex Scandal of the 60's, Doubly Scandalous Now", "Another very English scandal: the wild life of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll", "The Argyll divorce: the society scandal that rocked 1960s Britain", "A who's who of the most scandalous, daring and dangerous duchesses in history", "Identity of the notorious Headless Man remains a mystery Argyll divorce secret dieswithstepmother", "Sex, lies and Polaroid film: Mary Killen on the Duchess of Argyll", "Upper Grosvenor Street: South Side Pages 231238 Survey of London: Volume 40, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings). He also produced 13 Polaroid pictures he had found which showed the duchess and two naked men in her bathroom. There promises to be more raciness in the second episode, which airs tonight, with Claire Foy recreating the Duchess of Argyll's infamous naked Polaroid, in which she was pictured pleasuring a naked man, whose head was cropped out of the frame. You do feel exploited when you are a woman and you are having to perform fake sex on screen. Claire Foy stars as Margaret Campbell, whose bitter 1963 divorce from second husband Ian Campbell, the Duke of Argyll (Paul Bettany), caused a scandal thanks to some very salacious Polaroids. Fighting in the Fog: Who Won the Battle of Barnet? Who took her seriously at the time? When the CEO of Scholastic died suddenly last year, he left control of the family empire to a former colleaguehis ex-girlfriend. The couple married in 1951, but their marriage soon turned sour. Margaret, meanwhile, allegedly attempted to forge letters claiming that Ians sons were illegitimate to discredit their rights of succession and likely so shed be entitled to Inveraray. But the story is too good for me to tell it all to you you must watch the biopic. User @strutcakes said: 'Watching A Very British Scandal in front of my parents was not the best idea. Margaret Whigham was a sensation to British society when she arrived from America as a teenager in the 1920s. Margaret would realize her new husband, who was said to be a gambling and alcohol addict, was broke. Business, Economics, and Finance. [28], The Duchess once told The New York Times: "I don't think anybody has real style or class any more. Admirers lined the route from Hyde Park Corner to their wedding at Brompton Oratory in 1933 and traffic in Knightsbridge came to a halt for three hours; 2,000 invited guests were joined by 2,000 gatecrashers. Well, some ghastly mistakes, she laughed. Foy told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour:'It's a really hard line because basically you do feel exploited when you are a woman and you are having to perform fake sex on screen. Her story will be the subject of Season 2 of "A Very English Scandal," which. The Duchess, Margaret Campbell, was a British socialite known for her lavish lifestyle and a string of high-profile affairs. The duke then signed a Deed of Gift offering various items as security for the money, and vowed to marry her when his own divorce had come through. By Ian Tyas/Keystone Features/Getty Images. The target of an impoverished duke, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll loved the company of men. But shes iconic, says Phelps, who is thrilled that U.S. viewers will learn of this unconventional woman when A Very British Scandal premieres. Lord Denning, who was called upon by the government to track down the "headless man", compared the handwriting of the five leading "suspects", (Duncan Sandys; Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.; John Cohane, an American businessman; Peter Combe, a former press officer at the Savoy Hotel; and Sigismund von Braun, brother of the German scientist Wernher von Braun) with the captions written on the photographs. That attack wounds her, because it exposes Margarets deepest fears about herself. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) It was like Princess Diana, Kim Kardashianthis globally famous beauty.. As a divorce, she threw lavish parties whose success she attributed to the fact that she only invited beautiful women because she thought it restful for men to rest their gaze on them. During the divorce proceedings, the Duke produced various incriminating letters and photographs, which he took from the Duchess's Mayfair home. How King Charles and Prince William Plan to Protect the Monarchy Against an Uncertain Future, The daughter of Maurizio Gucci and Patrizia Reggiani was overwhelmed as a child by a wave of tragedy and looked for a gasp of air to breathe, even as sharks circled all around. Now, she tells, Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 2. 12 years later, the duke sued for divorce, accusing Margaret of infidelity and producing evidence, in the form of Polaroid photographs of Margaret engaged in sexual acts, to prove it. But the duke soon showed his true colours, with rumours of gambling and drug and alcohol addiction, as well as a vile temper. Privacy had been violated and sexual desires condemned because she was among the VIP guests at his London service. 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