After completing her education in New York, she moved back to the UK, where her beauty and status as an heiress made her much in-demand on the social scene. Years ago, if youll remember, Margarets first husband Charles Sweeny claimed that her fall down an elevator shaft had fundamentally changed her personality and turned her into a nymphomaniac. The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. Subs offer. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Margaret, Duchess of Argyll. They also claimed that Duncan Sandys agreed to resign following the scandal, but that his resignation was refused. He has been granted day-release. . But as soon as they were over their shock, Margarets parents knew exactly what they had to do. In short, Margaret should have run away. . Yet far from empathy, this led her to acts of cruelty; a maid of hers once said she treated her dogs better than she did her staff. In a countersuit, she claimed that the duke had been unfaithful too, but not with just anyone. She began appearing on television programs, making a cameo appearance on the talk show After Dark to discuss the Grand National horse race. . In one infamous exchange, a partygoer of Margarets once picked up a cushion and said gleefully, What a fun party, Margaret, lets swap gossip. Instead, Margaret had become erratic and impulsive with, most alarmingly, nymphomaniac tendencies. The photo, in which the man was only captured from the neck down, became knows as the 'headless man' Polaroid. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, The Duke and Duchess of Argyll at their wedding in 1951. One man who kept popping up in Margarets history was the Minister of Defense for Britain, Duncan Sandys, who would also go on to become Winston Churchills son-in-law. The situation scandalised conservative British society, and the so-called Dirty Duchess never fully restored her reputation after being branded a nymphomaniac by the Duke. BBC One's follow up to the 2018 A Very English Scandal . But scorching scandal hit her incredibly young. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Margaret Campbell, born in 1912 to a Scottish millionaire, was a British socialite who frequented the 'best dressed' pages of many a magazine and was known . It was a (failed) ploy to safeguard her own powerbut if you think that Margaret stopped there, youre extremely wrong. One of the men accused of being one of Margaret's lovers, and named on a list that the Duke of Argyll produced in court, was the Hollywood actor Douglas Fairbank Jr. Unlike like her shocking accident in the elevator, this time Margaret was far too frail to survive. a self-confessed wolf. A POLAROID picture was one of the key pieces of evidence in the scandalous divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll. Photo Credit: . Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. And there was one point in particular that nobody could get over. The photographs were taken on her newly-bought Polaroid camera, then commercially available in America in 1948, and the headless man (not so headless in additional snaps) had his own stash of . A series of Polaroid photographs were used as evidence in the bitter and acrimonious divorce case between the Duke and Duchess . . Duchess of Argyll divorce: What was the headless man Polaroid picture? Even so, it paid off in a big way. Both of them, though, show her wearing her iconic three-string pearls, jewellery that she had inherited from her grandmother. During the divorce proceedings, he listed 88 men who he believed his wife had an affair with, including Hollywood actors, two government ministers and three British royals. The headless man was notorious because he appeared in two Polaroid photographs that had featured as evidence in . Margaret married Ian Campbell in March of 1951 and became the Duchess of Argyll in the process. So when the press got wind of the truly sordid details of the case, all bets were off. So when Margaret started staying out extra late and getting more distant, the Duke committed a creepy breach of trust. In 1947, just a bare four years after her traumatic accident, Sweeny and Margaret filed for divorce. The mystery man in the explicit photo became known as the 'headless man' and his identity has been largely speculated. According to Lord Wheatley, the judge on the case, he had the morals of a tomcat. Because Margarets private stash of photos was now public evidence, newspapers of the day got a full view of the single most infamous snap in Margarets collection: One where she was kneeling down in front of a headless man. The pearls provided a dead giveaway that it was indeed the Duchess who was giving oral sex to a faceless man in the controversial Polaroid. Getty Images. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Instead, she accused him of a heinous act. Who was the Duchess of Argyll? Lady Colin claims to have chosen to reveal the identity of the headless man to restore some measure of justice to . Opposition parties tore into the ruling ANC's 'energy plans' [imagesource: Staffan Widstrand / World Nature Photography Awards] Not so in 1963: Margaret was dubbed the "Dirty Duchess" by the tabloids and received a scathing rebuke from the judge, who said "her attitude to the sanctity of marriage was what moderns would . Some peoples lives get strictly divided into before and afterbut nothing can hold a candle to what Margaret was about to experience. Her second husband - and the subject of the BBC's A Very British Scandal - was Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll. Wedding to American golfer Charles Sweeny in 1933, Being Presented at the third court of the season in 1934, Recuperating in Hove following a fall down a lift shaft in 1934, Marrying the Duke of Argyll at Caxton Hall in 1951, With Frances at a Lancaster House Party in 1955, With Frances at Queen Charlotte's Ball at The Grosvenor House in 1955, With the Duke of Argyll leaving the pier at Tobermory in 1956, With Frances at Beirut's St George's Hotel in 1958, Outside the law courts in the Strand before being sued for slander and libel by her former social secretary Yvonne MacPherson in 1960, With the Duke of Argyll at the family seat, Inveraray Castle, in 1960, At the premiere of Kings Of Kings in 1961, At Zia Foxwell and David Kruger's wedding in 1969, With her poodle Louis at her Mayfair apartment in 1985, At the opening night of Chess The Musical in 1986, At the Hairdresser of the Year party in 1986, At her Grosvenor House apartment with Louis in 1989, The society beauty found herself at the centre of a toxic divorce case in 1963, after it emerged that both she and her husband had conducted multiple extra-marital affairs. Margarets presence in the photos shocked the dukebut more was on the way. Is it any wonder she got herself into a royal mess? "She was incredibly famous," Claire tells . She said: "There have been rumours over the years about who he was. October 25, 2021. During the divorce proceedings, the Duke produced various incriminating letters and photographs, which he took from the Duchess's Mayfair home. With this, the flood gates openedbut Margaret had her own stunning revelation waiting in the wings. Inside, he discovered a cache of evidence of her infidelities, including Polaroid pictures of her with another man. Central to the evidence that damned Margaret was the Polaroid photos, obviously taken with her consent, with an unnamed lover who became known in the press as 'the headless man'. While we may never know who the 'headless' man was, A Very British Scandal aims to look at the story behind one of the biggest court cases in history, and the lives of the people involved. However, both Douglas and Margaret denied that he was the headless man. By the early 1990s, Margaret was no longer able to take care of herself, and her children placed her in a nursing home. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to New York, where Margaret spent . Married in 1951, Margaret was at the height of her fame as a glamorous and stylish socialite, and had even been name-dropped in Cole Porter's song, You're the Top. A FORMER Tory minister has been implicated in the Duchess of Argyll's "headless man" sex scandal of the 1960s. Speaking to the Daily Record, author Lyndsy Spence said that she had conducted extensive research into Margaret Campbell's life for her book The Grit in the Pearl: The Scandalous Life of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, which included speaking to a relative of the businessman Joe Thomas. The Crown star will take on Margaret Campbell, the duchess, opposite Paul Bettany's Ian Campbell, Duke of Argyll . Still, it took a dark turn. For further updates, please refresh the page, Britain's most expensive house goes up for sale at jaw-dropping price, The gorgeous Georgian mansion - named The Holme - boasts 40-bedrooms, a tennis court, a library and a sauna. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Now, the story - which involved illicit Polaroid pictures and a maelstrom of headlines - is the inspiration behind the BBC's latest drama series, Joy for Pippa and James Matthews as their seven-month-old daughter is christened at village church, Earl Spencer shares touching childhood photo of his late mother from his personal archives, Prince and Princess of Wales host Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway at Windsor Castle. But its what David and Margaret were about to get up to that was worthy of a dramatic screenplay. Her father, in particular, was beside himself with rage. Only, before she could do irreparable damage to the Kidston union, disaster came knocking. The Dirty Duchess of Argyll was ahead of her time. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, remains fascinating among a certain set. Allegedly, she once invited a 17-year-old boy into Inveraray Castle for a bath and a drink, and then took off her clothes and climbed in with him. Friends claimed that, of all the people in her life except family, Margaret only trusted her pets. The couple married in 1951, but their marriage soon turned sour after the Duke accused Margaret of being unfaithful. Her Norman Hartnell wedding dress cemented her status as one of the most glamorous socialites of the era, with crowds reportedly gathering to catch a glimpse of it. The legacy of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll is tainted by scandal. Instead, she ran right towards him and her doom. It was the perfect recipe for disaster. Around this time, Margarets behavior behind the scenes sent tongues wagging. Margaret Campbell (ne Whigham) was born to a Scottish millionaire George Hay Whigham on 1 December 1912 and was enjoyed a privileged upbringing, spending much of . Although the identity of the 'headless man' may never be confirmed, a 2000 Channel 4 documentary revealed that two men are the most likely candidates. Instead of going for either Greville or Aiken, she dumped them both and went with another man entirely: The businessman and avid golfer Charles Sweeny. The Polaroid has since become known as 'the photo of the headless man', and the man's identity has long been the subject of speculation, with many books and programmes debating who he could have been. "The Dirty Duchess of Argyll Was ahead of Her Time." Ben Macintyre, The Times, February 2, 2019. Written by Sarah Phelps (The Pale Horse; Dublin Murders), A Very British Scandal focuses on the divorce of the Duke (Paul Bettany) and Duchess of Argyll (Claire Foy), one of the most notorious . Im a baby naming pro and these are the top so far for this year - would you add them to your list? Even so, the court didnt thank Margaret for her classy silence. Except the way she did it was cringeworthy: Soon, Margaret was giving paid tours of her home at 48 Upper Grosvenor Street, AKA the home where her ex-husband had first found those infamous photographs. To say everyone is no exaggeration, either. Even at this tender age, men went absolutely gaga about her, and Margaret soon learned just how good it felt to soak up their attention. She was known as the Dirty Duchess after her split from the 11th Duke of Argyll led to a bitter and scandalous divorce. A POLAROID picture was one of the key pieces of evidence in the scandalous divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll. The Polaroid Affair. A wealthy heiress and one of the most colourful figures of the swinging sixties, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, married the Duke of Argyll, her second husband, in 1951. She never did shake off the "Dirty Duchess'" nickname, though. . . That May, she got word that her lover Glen Kidston had perished in a horrific plane crash. Naked polaroid photos of her performing oral sex on a "Headless Man" (ie a man . New BBC mini series A Very British Scandal stars The Crown's Claire Foy and Marvel actor Paul Bettany as Margaret and Ian Campbell, the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, Sign up for the Daily Star TV newsletter for the biggest TV news. Clearly, her second marriage was in deep troublebut no one had any idea what was really around the corner. After tying the knot at Caxton Hall register office, the Duke took her north to his ancestral seat, where they settled in the historic Inveraray . To him, she was just a bank account. The story of the Dirty Duchess' pearl necklace in Claire Foy's new divorce drama. Who was the Duchess of Argyll, Margaret Campbell? The first photos of the scandalous new BBC drama A Very British Scandal starring Claire Foy have been released and there is all ready a lot of glamour to ogle over. Destiny Rogers 21 December 2021. You'll be able to select any high-quality seats under your price range and selection, whereas buying tickets. At the age of 15, she became pregnant with the actor David Niven's child while on a holiday on the Isle of Wight, but the pregnancy was terminated. . Image: Amazon Prime Video. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. As a testament to just how popular Margaret was during her day, one version of the Cole Porter song Youre the Top mentions her by nameat least by the name she had in her first marriage. Chuadanga had a literacy rate of 45.91% for the population 7 years and above: 46.88% for males and 44.93% for females. Rescuers located Margaret, and, miraculously, she was still alive. You know, this despite the fact that Margaret had certainly been out among men for quite some time. His next idea would be the couples downfall. All Rights Reserved. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. The winners of this [imagesource: Meta] Well, karma comes for us all, and it was coming for Margaret. Still, compared to the next part of Margarets life, these youthful indiscretions look like absolute childs play. After all, the Duchess had one enormous skeleton in her closet. Thing is, that wasnt even the most scandalous part. Margarets family was eminently respectable, and they couldnt have a single whiff of their daughters so-called disgrace getting out. Margaret Campbell might have been thrust into the spotlight, but she wasnt about to drag anyone else there with her. The German diplomat and brother of the Nazi scientist Werner von Braun, who invented the Nazis V-2 rocket, was another possible candidate for the 'headless man' in photo. She was presented as a debutante in 1930, and after early romances with Prince Aly Khan, aviator Glen Kidston, Baron Martin Stillman von Brabus and publishing heir Max Aitken (later the second Lord Beaverbrook) and Prince George, Duke of Kent, she became engaged to Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. With this disappointment in her wake, Margaret turned to a desperate ploy. Thats when she crossed a line she could never come back from. While the documentary suggested that both Duncan Sandys and Douglas Fairbank Jr could both possibly be the 'headless man', other sources have also speculated over the man's identity. In the spring of 1931, Margarets carefree life came to an abrupt halt. Her lovers reportedly included comedy giant Bob Hope, French . Rebounding from a breakup is always risky, and Margaret was rebounding from a full-blown tragedy. During the divorce process, the Duke produced a Polaroid photograph of the Duchess performing a sexual act on another unidentified man - nicknamed "the headless man" - that he had found . The deb of the season became "the dirty Duchess." This spectacular (and spectacularly sexist) fall from grace is the subject of A Very British Scandal, the upcoming BBC drama starring Claire . Incredibly, his identity was still a mystery after all this time, and journalists tried to guess who he might be. In 2000, a Channel 4 documentary sought to discover who the man really was, with two names in particular raised as possible candidates. The Duke of Argyll had always been suspicious that his wife had a roaming eyespoiler: he wasnt wrongbut hed never quite been able to prove it. For other inquiries, Contact Us. She got supremely unlucky and, months later, discovered her pregnancy. Fuji Instax is a separate, but also . miniseries . Yet those were only his picturesque qualities. The Duke and Duchess of Argyll's infamous 1963 divorce captured the public's attention with its twists and scandalous revelations. According to them, the man is almost certainly Hollywood actor Douglas Fairbanks Jra married man, at the time. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. At the end of her rope, she came up with a diabolical plan. Sony Pictures Entertainment. In light of her husbands allegations and jaw-dropping evidence, Margaret couldnt just sit back and take it. The answer they narrowed it down to nearly broke the country. ", News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. The case left Margaret vilified by the press in a pre-sexual revolution Britain and branded the "Dirty Duchess," while her former husband, who was also accused of adultery, escaped similar . Following the scandal, he offered to resign from the cabinet but his resignation was declined. For Margarets secrets, it was the apocalypse. Well, guess what? . (Image credit: BBC) In 1963 the Duke initiated divorce proceedings after discovering a selection of nude polaroid pictures of his wife upon breaking into a locked cupboard whilst she was away . Seat Classes. . As the lyrics go: Youre Mussolini / Youre Mrs Sweeny. He had claimed then that shed had 88 lovers over the course of their marriage, with a judge in the divorce proceedings adding that the Duchess had a sex perversion. The Duchess refused to reveal who the man is, leaving the press to speculate about his identity. secret recording, bribery and an explicit Polaroid . To describe this series of Polaroids in any way decent enough to publish is a Herculean effort. She was infamous among the high-society set before she even married the Duke of Argyllbut after their incredibly messy divorce, she became one of the most notorious women in England. Although the couple's personal relationship had ended long before the divorce, The Duke of Argyll was furious at the numerous affairs Margaret had during their marriage. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. The judge also called her a completely promiscuous woman whose sexual appetite could only be satisfied with a number of men. Together they are absolutely the essential things in life. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. 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. In the late 80s, the Dirty Duchess found a new way to make some quick cash. There was also a polaroid of a man pleasuring himself, again headless. Just two years after this episode, Margaret pulled a fast one on society. During her marriage to Sweeney, she had three children, one who was a stillborn girl, as well as a son Brian and a daughter Frances (who went on to marry the Duke of Rutland), and she also suffered eight miscarriages. It was so secret that Margaret completely omitted this episode from her memoirs. In the photographs, the Duchess of Argyll was very much not alone. When the beautiful textile heiress Margaret . Oh, and it was in Downton Abbey, too. Phelps hopes her new screen version of the court battle between the 11th Duke of Argyll and his supposedly unstable, "Dirty Duchess" will do something to restore the reputation of his wife, played by Foy. Following Kidstons passing, she got hastily engaged to Charles Greville, the uber-wealthy Earl of Warwickand accepted the proposal of another man, the publishing scion Max Aiken, near-simultaneously. Although Catherine's successor Queen Anne Boleyn suffered an infamously dark fate, Aragon's own life was somehow even more tragic. That, and three strands of pearls! Margaret's rumoured affair with the ex-press officer at the Savoy was named as one of the key affairs in the divorce proceedings. Thanks for your help! Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, died aged 80 in a nursing home in Pimlico, London, just a few days before the Major government decided to keep all the testimonies given to Lord Denning under wraps . First, you need to get your hands on a camera. Namely, although she was ostensibly looking for marriage and stability, she sure wasnt acting like it. . As Margaret recalled, doctors thought she must have grabbed onto the elevator cablethis is what likely saved her lifebecause her fingernails were torn and bloody. I have a lot of guides you can check out if you really want to get into the weeds, but here's a quick run-down on what's out there: Polaroid has started making cameras and film once more, and some of the new film is compatible with vintage Polaroid cameras. 'The Dirty Duchess'. Were always looking for your input! Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? Claire Foy is transforming into a forgotten British icon in new BBC drama, A Very British Scandal. The Channel 4 documentary "proved" that Sandys is the 'headless man', based on a claim from Margaret that the only Polaroid camera in the country at the time had been lent to the Ministry of Defence. And once she was finally free, Margaret let loose. Traumatic elevator accident or not, Margarets personality had always beenodd. With their parents and chaperones otherwise occupied with their own vacation, the teenagers managed to find ample time to, er, explore their personal landscapes. Channel 4 thinks this was actually someone else - Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Margaret's rumoured affair with the ex-press officer at the Savoy was named as one of the key affairs in the divorce proceedings. Catherine of Aragon was King Henry VIIIs first wife and longest-lasting Queen of England. She died aged 80 in 1993. The one surprising thing you're doing wrong when brushing your hair - and it's all about the time you comb it, A very surprising baby name has risen hugely in popularity - and we bet your nan has a friend called this. As she walked back down the aisle with her new husband, it may have seemed that Margaret was off toward happily ever after. 1. Following the scandal, he offered to resign from the cabinet but his resignation was declined. Dirty Duchess Who was Margaret Campbell, the Duchess of Argyll, and when is A Very British Scandal on TV? Sure, Margaret never divulged the names of the headless man or her other lovers, but she sure did try to cash in on her own scandal. 48 Upper Grosvenor Street was once dubbed by John Paul Getty as "Number One, London" and it was the Mayfair house where one of the most celebrated sex scandals of the Sixties took place. After the historic case she never remarried, and lost much of her fortune in later life. The beautiful girl entertained flirtationsand morefrom high-powered men like Prince Aly Khan and daring aviator Glen Kidston. While granting the divorce, the judge said of Margaret that she 'was a completely promiscuous woman whose sexual appetite could only be satisfied with a number of men. By the time Margaret was 15 years old, she was an undeniable stunner. had ceased to be satisfied with normal relations and had started to indulge in disgusting sexual activities. Later, when they met again, Ian had inherited the dukedom, but the eccentric 10th Duke, his late relation, had let things fall to wrack and ruin. Naomi Gordon. The most extensive damage, however, was somewhere no one could yet see. On the surface, it looked like she was on top of the world. [1] Then, in 1943, everything changed once moreand not for the better. It has been put on the market by its current Saudi Arabian owners, Teacher sacked for her raunchy online snaps launches own escort and dating service, EXCLUSIVE: Sarah Juree was fired from teaching after her adult content was exposed but now pursues OnlyFans full-time. A POLAROID picture was one of the key pieces of evidence in the scandalous divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll. But another Polaroid picture showed the duchess performing a similar sex act on a . It was something much worse. Some of the people she was accused of sleeping with were actually closeted gay men, yet if Margaret denied any of them as her lovers on those grounds, their (at the time criminal) secret would get out. For all that her name is synonymous with scandal, Margaret Campbell obsessed over class and often held court about the proper way to display yourself to the world. When the dust cleared, luck prevailed. My mom never told me how her best friend died. Still, Margaret dove in headfirst anyway, solidifying her reputation as something of a Helen of Troy. . As someone who self-identified as always vain, Margaret always cared much more about her beauty than anything else. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible.