FURY AS CROWN LINKS PRINCE TO PROFUMO
THE new series of The Crown has provoked uproar by implicating Prince Philip in the Profumo Affair that scandalised Britain in the early 1960s.
In one fictitious scene, the queen confronts her husband about the nature of his relationship with osteopath Stephen Ward, who ‘procured women’ for members of the British Establishment. Elizabeth (Claire Foy) is also shown conspiring to hide details of Philip’s involvement.
Historians last night accused the programme – made by Netflix – of ‘crossing a line’.
The Profumo scandal of 1963 was sparked by the revelation that John Profumo, the then British Minister of War, had had an affair with nightclub hostess Christine Keeler while she was dating the Russian military attache Yevgeny Ivanov. Profumo resigned in disgrace and Ward, who had befriended Profumo and Keeler, killed himself before he was sentenced for living off immoral earnings.
It is known that Ward, a gifted artist, painted a picture of the prince.
But the new series of The Crown goes beyond historic fact in a scene where Philip reacts favourably to Ward’s offer of a weekend away with guests including Keeler.