Margarets reply was cutting. 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. 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. In several photos, Margaret was wearing only a string of her trademark pearls. Best known for the explicit Polaroid . She actually used her upcoming nuptials to cause even more drama. The Duchess and a very dirty divorce: The scandalous life of the Duchess of Argyle GRANTING the Duke of Argyll a divorce from his wife Margaret, the judge in the 1963 hearing painted a damning . Dancy Mason is the Editor-in-Chief at Factinate. But there were disturbing indications of what really happened. 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He also produced 13 Polaroid pictures he had found which showed the duchess and two naked men in her bathroom. On brand for a high-class woman, and Margaret even quipped she was there to, put the point of view of the horse. The Polaroid Affair. 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 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. Despite the tragedy, Margaret tried againeventually having two more children with Sweeny by 1940but her difficulties left lasting psychological scars. The Duchess of Argyll's story may have happened in 1963, but is more relevant than ever. An Exclusive First Look at Claire Foy in A Very British Scandal. 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. Published: December 26, 2021 at 8:05 am. She was known as the Dirty Duchess after her split from the 11th Duke of Argyll led to a bitter and scandalous divorce. Indeed, she was usually performing acts on men who were not the Duke of Argyll. It only spiraled from there. In fact, during this time she desperately tried to get people to sell her an entire baby boy. The duchess, he declared, was "a highly sexed woman who ha. With this, the flood gates openedbut Margaret had her own stunning revelation waiting in the wings. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. In their efforts to guess at the man, they dug up even more dirt on the duchess. By the time Margaret was 15 years old, she was an undeniable stunner. The Duke and Duchess of Argyll's divorce case was highly publicised, Margaret Campbell, The Duchess of Argyll, was accused of having over 80 lovers, The identity of the 'headless man' in the photo with Margaret Campbell has been speculated over the years, Claire Foy stars as Margaret Campbell in a Very British Scandal, Paul Bettany stars as Ian Campbell in A Very British Scandal. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. In 1930, her parents presented her at court as a debutante, which was basically their way of saying she was ready to mingle with men and get married. The Duchess Of Argyll's Life Changed Massively Post-Divorce. . Thereafter, the Duke, who allegedly referred to her as S for Satan, looked for proof of her adultery and proceeded to divorce her, leaving her to fend for herself. But according to Sweeny, the woman who returned was not the wife he had known before. 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. Subs offer. In 1947, just a bare four years after her traumatic accident, Sweeny and Margaret filed for divorce. with the Duchess portrayed by Clare Foy. . The Crown star will take on Margaret Campbell, the duchess, opposite Paul Bettany's Ian Campbell, Duke of Argyll . With this disappointment in her wake, Margaret turned to a desperate ploy. The future Duchess of Argyll was born Ethel Margaret Whigham on December 1, 1912, in Scotland to a millionaire father. 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. The Duke and Duchess of Argyll at their wedding in 1951 Credit: Getty. 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. Credit Solution Experts Incorporated offers quality business credit building services, which includes an easy step-by-step system designed for helping clients build their business credit effortlessly. The legacy of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll is tainted by scandal. Margaret Campbell, the famously beautiful Duchess of Argyll, had been a celebrity - and a source of scandal - from even before her debutante days. Famed for her charisma, beauty and style, the Duchess began spending time in London and New York without her husband and entertaining men including comedian Bob Hope and French singer Maurice Chevalier. Within just a few months of marrying the Duke of Argyll, Margaret had already realized shed made a mistake. She was widely regarded as one of the most beautiful young women in the UK at the time, and her sexual adventures became the stuff of great gossip. 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. Until, that is, it blew up in her face. The case soon became very popular, with Margaret calling the 'dirty duchess' and the 'headless man' in the widely thought Polaroid images (Sir Winston Churchill . 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. Still, Margaret dove in headfirst anyway, solidifying her reputation as something of a Helen of Troy. 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. 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. 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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 divorce case gripped the nation and became major tabloid fodder, especially as the private photographs became admissible as court reporting. . It was a public egg on her face and did nothing to bolster her reliabilitynot to mention she had to pay her stepmother huge damages. Margaret's rumoured affair with the ex-press officer at the Savoy was named as one of the key affairs in the divorce proceedings. The Golden Globe-winning actress plays Margaret Campbell, the Duchess of Argyll, who went through a high-profile, damaging and distressing public divorce. 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. Margaret was utterly devastatedbut she didnt deal with her grief in the best of ways. Her attitude to the sanctity of marriage was what moderns would call enlightened but which in plain language was wholly immoral.'. The pictures were part of a legal case the duke drew up against the duchess as part of divorce proceedings, alongside a list of 88 men he accused her of having sex with behind his back. Were always looking for your input! 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. Thanks for your time! Strapped for cash, she wrote a memoir, Forget Notbut people considered it embarrassing and too full of name-drops. Obviously, Margaret had to choose just one manbut she threw a cruel curveball at her lovers. Anyway, she certainly has main character energy, and the BBC drama series is sure to be fascinating. American businessman John Cohane was names as another one of Margaret's lovers. The movie star was named as Margarets lover, one of the 88 men on the list that the Duke produced in court. Comply with the table below to know Chuadanga to Khulna train ticket price for all classes. Rescuers located Margaret, and, miraculously, she was still alive. 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. 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 Dirty Duchess of Argyll was ahead of her time. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. 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. Well, karma comes for us all, and it was coming for Margaret. . Something went wrong, please try again later. 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. Margaret Campbells young life more than set her up for her raucous adulthood. The most extensive damage, however, was somewhere no one could yet see. There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. By the early 1990s, Margaret was no longer able to take care of herself, and her children placed her in a nursing home. He was a notorious drinker and gambler, and was hooked on prescription medications to boot. And once she was finally free, Margaret let loose. On our left in the image atop, is the Duchess of Argyll, Margaret Campbell. While Margaret had been married once before when she met the Duke, Campbell had already gone through two wivesand his track record was far from reassuring. The photo, in which the man was only captured from the neck down, became knows as the 'headless man' Polaroid. One Polaroid image, in particular, taken in 1957, cast Margaret as an infamous trollop in the pages of the tabloids. Margaret had only grown more beautiful as the years passed, and when she made her debut she was almost too gorgeous to look at. Margaret seemed poised to take the duke down with her, but on the very day of her hearing about his infidelity, she couldnt find a witness and had to drop her case. That, and three strands of pearls! 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 mystery man in the explicit photo became known as the 'headless man&# The mystery man in the explicit photo became known as the 'headless man' and his identity has been largely speculated. 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 . Socialite Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, was the talk of Britain in 1963. . Image: Amazon Prime Video. Before joining the team, she worked as a course lecturer while completing her Ph.D. in English Literature. . After 33 stitches to her head and days spent recovering, doctors allowed Margaret to go home to her husband Charles Sweeny and their young family. Traumatic elevator accident or not, Margarets personality had always beenodd. October 25, 2021. For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here. Joe Thomas was a New York stockbroker who Margaret was reported to have fallen in love with after the breakdown of her first marriage to Charles Sweeney, and it is claimed that he might be the man in the famous Polaroid photo. [1] With their parents and chaperones otherwise occupied with their own vacation, the teenagers managed to find ample time to, er, explore their personal landscapes. Oh, Peggy. Another, more salacious Polaroid released in 1963 proves quite the contrary. You know that trains in Bangladesh have different high-quality seats. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. This laser focus on how she looked and not how she acted got her into big trouble. She had only one option. 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. 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. 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. She suffered neglect from her mother, as well as a teen pregnancy that could have ruined her long before she became an eligible debutante. Not that men didnt try: By the end of the season, the court named her their debutante of the year and Margaret had her pick of suitors, any of whom would eat out of the palm of her hand if shed asked. He has been granted day-release. A FORMER Tory minister has been implicated in the Duchess of Argyll's "headless man" sex scandal of the 1960s. Among her conquests was a broken engagement with the Texan banker Joseph Thomas as well as a dalliance with the curator for the Met, Theodore Rousseau. View our online Press Pack. because the Ministry of Defence had the only Polaroid camera in Britain at the time. Which, sure, is certainly understandable. According to Lord Wheatley, the judge on the case, he had the morals of a tomcat. She was 35. Actually, thats putting it kindly. When the Duke realized what he was looking at, nothing was the same ever again. Thanks for your help! For other inquiries, Contact Us. In the late 80s, the Dirty Duchess found a new way to make some quick cash. Another, racier Polaroid, showing the Duchess pleasuring a man, was also produced. In the spring of 1931, Margarets carefree life came to an abrupt halt. Naomi Gordon. In it, among other things, was a set of extremely damning and risqu polaroid photographs. She kept mum on identifying any of the men she was in the photographs withthough there might have been a scandalous reason for this. The photo, in which the man was only captured from the neck down, became knows as the 'headless man' Polaroid. Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. The winners of this [imagesource: Meta] 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. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? In light of her husbands allegations and jaw-dropping evidence, Margaret couldnt just sit back and take it. 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'. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. After all, the Duchess had one enormous skeleton in her closet. As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. Chuadanga had a literacy rate of 45.91% for the population 7 years and above: 46.88% for males and 44.93% for females. But in the months that followed, he truly exacted his pound of flesh. Reportedly, the duchess began taking aim at the dukes sons from his previous marriage, even going so far as to forge letters that claimed the boys were illegitimate. For Margarets secrets, it was the apocalypse. Rural population was 822858 (72.88%) and urban population was 306157 (27.12%). I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. Im a cleaning whizz - three common products you need to ditch to save cash 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 . Being sexy is no longer about natural looks - glamour girls & TV stars look like filters, its scary, says Sam Fox, Prince Andrew 'refusing to leave' Royal Lodge mansion for Frogmore - and is 'pleading with King Charles for a top role', Treat Mum to something special this Mother's Day gift ideas from 23. ", 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, The Duke and Duchess of Argyll at their wedding in 1951. 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. 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. There was also a polaroid of a man pleasuring himself, again headless. a self-confessed wolf. As the lyrics go: Youre Mussolini / Youre Mrs Sweeny. . 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 . Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. Margarets dignity took a hit in her later years, but her personality seemed to curdle as well. Even so, it paid off in a big way. & the free hacks that clean just as good, Mystic Meg zodiac signs latest: Riches in store for Capricorn & major changes await Gemini; plus weekly horoscopes, Im a psychologist - what your slippers really say about you and how I can tell if your personality type in seconds, Mrs Hinch cleaning fan reveals the 10p hack to banish stubborn limescale with NO scrubbing involved, I got dress-coded at work for not wearing a bra I confronted my boss and was left stunned by the response, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). David Niven met Margaret while the two of them were on holiday on the Isle of Wight. secret recording, bribery and an explicit Polaroid . Instead, she ran right towards him and her doom. She died aged 80 in 1993. For the beautiful daughter of a millionaire, it spelled instant infamy and would likely damage her reputation forever if it got out to her peers. "She was incredibly famous," Claire tells . Heated debate breaks out after woman claims wiping just with loo roll alone ISNT enough - so which side do you fall on? The 2000 documentary by Channel 4 named Secret History: The Duchess and the Headless Man, pointed to two men (one in the 'headless' polaroid and another in a similar snap where a sex act was . . Jane Beadon (stepmother) Ethel Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll ( ne Whigham, formerly Sweeny; 1 December 1912 - 25 July 1993) was a Scottish heiress, socialite, and aristocrat who was most famous for her 1951 marriage and much-publicised 1963 divorce from her second husband, Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll. The dirty tricks begin to rain down: Margaret tries to prove that Ian's two sons, born from a first marriage, are illegitimate. In one infamous exchange, a partygoer of Margarets once picked up a cushion and said gleefully, What a fun party, Margaret, lets swap gossip. Thing is, that wasnt even the most scandalous part. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. The Duke and Duchess of Argyll were so high-society that any split between them was going to be a matter of public interest. There was the duchess, wearing only a string of pearls, pleasuring a standing man while on her knees. Margaret Campbell often visited New York during separations from her husband. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Although Margarets experiences with Niven were her first time with a man, one time in her case was very much enough. On the surface, it looked like she was on top of the world. It is rumoured that she bedded some of the most powerful men in Britain, including the married Duke of Kent and the film star Cary Grant: During this time, Campbell was courted by American investment bankers and art dealers and memorably wrote that she learnt that it was key to go to bed early and often in a relationship. "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. With 88 possible lovers to choose from, the press had a field day hunting down who the man could be. She looks like a family woman, sitting alongside her husband, the Duke of Argyll and children, but thats only one picture. 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. 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. 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. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Naked polaroid photos of her performing oral sex on a "Headless Man" (ie a man . This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. found Polaroid photos of the duchess performing sex acts on a man whose face wasn't in the frame. According to them, the man is almost certainly Hollywood actor Douglas Fairbanks Jra married man, at the time. 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 . 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. He had been flying through a dust storm when his entire plane broke apart beneath him, sending him to his end. . Thats when she crossed a line she could never come back from. . The mystery man in the explicit photo became known as the 'headless man' and his identity has been largely speculated. Duchess of Argyll divorce: What was the headless man Polaroid picture? The star of The Crown plays one of Britain's most scandalous aristocrats - Margaret Campbell, the so-called "Dirty Duchess". 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. Destiny Rogers 21 December 2021. Following the scandal, he offered to resign from the cabinet but his resignation was declined. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? So when the press got wind of the truly sordid details of the case, all bets were off. She was the belle of yet another society wedding, she had a title and a powerful husband, and people still considered her one of the best-dressed women in the world. Still, that wasnt quite enough for him. Even her friends thought she completely lacked a sense of humor, and she called herself a bird brain. The Duchess, Margaret Campbell, was a British socialite known for her lavish lifestyle and a string of high-profile affairs. Accordingly, they packed her up and sent her to a London nursing home, where attendants performed a very hush-hush operation to terminate. Seems pretty conclusive. But there will be no press release or big [imagesource: Bleecker Street] Paul Bettany and Claire Foy as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, in the A Very British Scandal. Who was the Duchess of Argyll? Getty Images. At the end of her rope, she came up with a diabolical plan. 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. 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. Still, compared to the next part of Margarets life, these youthful indiscretions look like absolute childs play. His next idea would be the couples downfall. Her second husband - and the subject of the BBC's A Very British Scandal - was Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll. . The movie star was named as Margarets lover, one of the 88 men on the list that the Duke produced in court. 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.