"The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. The Peerage, Pearls, and Polaroids, Oh My! As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. The Duchess, Margaret Campbell, was a British socialite known for her lavish lifestyle and a string of high-profile affairs. A POLAROID picture was one of the key pieces of evidence in the scandalous divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll. (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 . 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. Marrying Ian Campbell was like signing a deal with the Devil, and the Duke made sure Margaret knew it before the ink on their marriage contract was even dry. After discovering explicit Polaroid photos, the Duke used these as evidence in the court case, including one that showed the Duchess wearing nothing but a string of pearls, standing next to a naked man whose head had been cut out of the photo. The answer they narrowed it down to nearly broke the country. 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 . An inquiry has confirmed screen idol Douglas Fairbanks Jnr was the man seen with the duchess in an infamous series of four, sexually-explicit photos. This laser focus on how she looked and not how she acted got her into big trouble. Then, looking at the cushion, And its not that sort of cushion. The case soon became a tabloid sensation, with Margaret dubbed the 'dirty duchess' and the identity of the 'headless man' in the Polaroid pictures being widely speculated on (Sir Winston Churchill's son-in-law, Duncan Sandys, was one of them, as it was reported only the Minister of Defence had access to a Polaroid camera). It was a (failed) ploy to safeguard her own powerbut if you think that Margaret stopped there, youre extremely wrong. Fairbanks Jr and Margaret both denied he was the Headless Man, but he was identified through his handwriting. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. It wasnt meant to be; she had a stillborn little girl instead. 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 . Upon finding this evidence, the Duke of Argyll turned right around and started divorce proceedings against Margaret. Then, in 1943, everything changed once moreand not for the better. So when Wheatley eventually granted the divorce, he did it with biting cruelty, sneering that she was a completely promiscuous woman and wholly immoral in his final judgment. There is still much speculation about who exactly the headless man was, but some historians believe we can put the answer to bed. As she put it, All Charlie wanted in a wife was a pretty, brainless doll. Thats when she crossed a line she could never come back from. October 25, 2021. She was going to take the child in and somehow pass him off as her own, therefore making him the true legitimate heir of the duke. Margaret, the Duchess of Argyll on the June 1969 cover of Tatler. Margaret's rumoured affair with the ex-press officer at the Savoy was named as one of the key affairs in the divorce proceedings. When it comes to British scandals, theres no better place to start than the Dirty Duchess, Margaret Campbell. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. Margaret learned the hard way that money cant buy you happinessbut she sure did try. Photo Credit: . David Niven met Margaret while the two of them were on holiday on the Isle of Wight. The marriage did not last long before fractures began to form, and the duke, suspicious that his wife had been unfaithful, hired a locksmith to break into her private drawers while she was away in New York. In his court papers, Argyll accused Margaret of sleeping with no fewer than 88 men over the course of their marriage. Strapped for cash, she wrote a memoir, Forget Notbut people considered it embarrassing and too full of name-drops. In the photographs, the Duchess of Argyll was very much not alone. The headless man was notorious because he appeared in two Polaroid photographs that had featured as evidence in . But there were disturbing indications of what really happened. 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. However, both Douglas and Margaret denied that he was the headless man. The first episode of A Very British Scandal took viewers by surprise as they watched The Crown's Claire Foy enjoy three sex scenes in the first 30 minutes of the first episode - with two different . 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. . Shortly after her birth, the family moved to New York, where Margaret spent . The photo, in which the man was only captured from the neck down, became knows as the 'headless man' Polaroid. A FORMER Tory minister has been implicated in the Duchess of Argyll's "headless man" sex scandal of the 1960s. After all, some of the photographs depicted intensely intimate positions, with Margaret completely undressed. Her attitude to the sanctity of marriage was what moderns would call enlightened but which in plain language was wholly immoral.'. A POLAROID picture was one of the key pieces of evidence in the scandalous divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll. And there was one point in particular that nobody could get over. And then he got cold, cruel revenge. There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. Yet those were only his picturesque qualities. . Around this time, Margarets behavior behind the scenes sent tongues wagging. On the surface, it looked like she was on top of the world. As she once summed up, referencing both her love of animals and her signature pearls, Always a poodle, only a poodle! 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. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. On brand for a high-class woman, and Margaret even quipped she was there to, "put the point of view of the horse". . 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. The case soon became a tabloid sensation, with Margaret dubbed the dirty duchess and the identity of the headless man in the Polaroid pictures being widely speculated on (Sir Winston Churchill's son-in-law, Duncan Sandys, was one of them, as it was reported only the Minister of Defence had access to a Polaroid camera). Getty Images. 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. On December 21 1960, the New York Daily News informed readers the Duchess of Argyll would soon jet home to London. Soon after disentangling herself from these lovers, Margaret met the man who would ruin her life. The Duke and Duchess of Argyll at their wedding in 1951 Credit: Getty. Paul Bettany and Claire Foy as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, in the A Very British Scandal. Margaret had always had an innate sense of style, so when the public got wind of her upcoming wedding day, everyone was salivating to know what dress she would wear. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Mum in hysterics over Hermes driver's proof of delivery photo & EVERY parent can relate, Im trolled by older women after having a surprise baby at 15 - but I got As at my GCSEs weeks later, Ive no regrets, I told my dad I was moving out so he converted the garage into a stylish mini apartment for me so I wouldnt leave, Youve been cleaning your contact lenses all wrong - the quick trick that will get your lenses clean in seconds. In the 1930s, the Duchess was one of the most photographed women in the world and a style icon for millions; by the 1960s she had gained notoriety and the moniker "the Dirty Duchess" through a series of high-profile marriages, divorces, infidelities, sexual escapades, and extravagant living habits. 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 began appearing on television programs, making a cameo appearance on the talk show After Dark to discuss the Grand National horse race. Despite the tragedy, Margaret tried againeventually having two more children with Sweeny by 1940but her difficulties left lasting psychological scars. While Margaret may have been less than a perfect wife, she later blamed the split on Sweenys controlling nature. "When I contacted the son of Joe Thomas, the New York stockbroker she fell in love with after her marriage to Charles Sweeney broke down, he told me about the Polaroids he had found in his dads trunk. At the end of her rope, she came up with a diabolical plan. She looks like a family woman, sitting alongside her husband, the Duke of Argyll and children, but thats only one picture. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from Life to Compact Cars and Trucks to A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius. Well get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics youre interested in. Although Catherine's successor Queen Anne Boleyn suffered an infamously dark fate, Aragon's own life was somehow even more tragic. The photograph had been revealed by her then-husband, the 11th Duke of Argyll, as evidence of her adultery and sexual nature, reports The Telegraph. He was a notorious drinker and gambler, and was hooked on prescription medications to boot. And when she did finally become pregnant for more than a handful of months, it somehow got worse. 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. Her last shred of dignity went soon after. 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The Duchess of Argyll's story may have happened in 1963, but is more relevant than ever. 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. Campbell's ex-husband, the 11th Duke of Argyll, played in the film by Paul Bettany, asserted in their very public 1960's divorce proceedings that she had slept with 80 men during their . "She. In fact, in the summer of 1928, Margaret caught the eye of an older boy: The 18-year-old David Niven, who later became a Hollywood actor. But dont take this to mean Margaret was settling down. The photos were part of a lawsuit filed by the Duke against the duchess as part of a divorce proceedings, and a list of 88 men accused of having sex with her in the backyard. The centre of the country's first major slut-shaming case, socialite Margaret, Duchess of Argyll . That May, she got word that her lover Glen Kidston had perished in a horrific plane crash. Her plan? There was also a polaroid of a man pleasuring himself, again headless. Until, that is, it blew up in her face. She got supremely unlucky and, months later, discovered her pregnancy. With this, the flood gates openedbut Margaret had her own stunning revelation waiting in the wings. Namely, although she was ostensibly looking for marriage and stability, she sure wasnt acting like it. Destiny Rogers 21 December 2021. One can only assume that the Dirty Duchess would be loving the Hollywood treatment. Sadly, thats not what happened, and Margaret may have been her own worst enemy. Oh, Peggy. She passed on July 25, 1993. Im a cleaning whizz - three common products you need to ditch to save cash Margarets presence in the photos shocked the dukebut more was on the way. After all, the flyboy was already married and had a young toddler at home. 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. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. 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. because the Ministry of Defence had the only Polaroid camera in Britain at the time. In 2000, a Channel 4 documentary sought to discover who the man really was, with two names in particular raised as possible candidates. "You get to see behind it and ask the questions such as what may actually had gone on at the time and how it affected the individuals.". According to them, the man is almost certainly Hollywood actor Douglas Fairbanks Jra married man, at the time. 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. But there was more hope to lose. Both of them, though, show her wearing her iconic three-string pearls, jewellery that she had inherited from her grandmother. 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'. The winners of this [imagesource: Meta] Im a baby naming pro and these are the top so far for this year - would you add them to your list? 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. Well, guess what? 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. The Duchess refused to reveal who the man is, leaving the press to speculate about his identity. Margaret married Ian Campbell in March of 1951 and became the Duchess of Argyll in the process. More than that, all of his wives claimed he had mistreated them during their marriage. It was more than enough for the Duke of Argyll to file . The couple married in 1951, but their marriage soon turned sour after the Duke accused Margaret of being unfaithful. After all, the Duchess had one enormous skeleton in her closet. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. Instead, she ran right towards him and her doom. Another, more salacious Polaroid released in 1963 proves quite the contrary. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Her father, in particular, was beside himself with rage. Unfortunately for the Duchess of Argyll, Britain at the time was nowhere near progressive, and shed landed a particularly conservative judge in Lord Wheatley, who presided over the case. The reasons behind it were eye-opening. Margaret had only grown more beautiful as the years passed, and when she made her debut she was almost too gorgeous to look at. 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. In short, Margaret should have run away. "Thats interesting in itself as these things that seem so serious at the time, on the front of the newspapers, and no one really remembers it at all," said Claire. Subs offer. To say everyone is no exaggeration, either. Incredibly, his identity was still a mystery after all this time, and journalists tried to guess who he might be. But, no. Margaret Campbell Duchess of Argyll. These matched the ones Ian Campbell held up in court. 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 . Although the higher-ups managed to keep his identity hush-hush, Fairbanks handwriting reportedly matches the writing found on the photograph. 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. 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