The Scandal Story

In the Summer 1961, at a party held on the Cliveden estate of Lord Astor, Minister for War John Profumo met, and subsequently had a brief affair with, a 19-year-old call-girl by the name of Christine Keeler, who had also been seeing a Soviet diplomat. The rumours circulated throughout the following year in December 1962, but the Fourth Estate was less inclined in those days to disturb the privacy of those at the top of the tree. Eventually, the story made the papers in March 1963, and Profumo made a statement to the Commons, denying impropriety over his relationship with Keeler. Three months later he was back, confessing that he had misled the House, and he resigned as an MP. But that was only the start of it. The "Profumo Affair" revealed the often murky world of the well connected and powerful: seedy landlord Peter Rachman, osteopath Stephen Ward (who introduced Profumo to Keeler), and Keeler's friend Mandy Rice-Davies were players in the affair, as was Lord Astor. The Macmillan Government was rocked by the revelation - and many were dismayed at Profumo's lack of candour. It is widely believed that the affair cost the Tories the 1964 General Election.