. 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. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? (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 . She got supremely unlucky and, months later, discovered her pregnancy. Fairbanks Jr and Margaret both denied he was the Headless Man, but he was identified through his handwriting. Destiny Rogers 21 December 2021. For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here. Margaret, Duchess of Argyll. 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 . 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. According to them, the man is almost certainly Hollywood actor Douglas Fairbanks Jra married man, at the time. . Rescuers located Margaret, and, miraculously, she was still alive. One rumour suggests it was the former Minister of Defence, Duncan Sandys (who later became the son-in-law of Winston Churchill). Again, fair enough. Orca Spotted Caring For Baby Pilot Whale. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. She looks like a family woman, sitting alongside her husband, the Duke of Argyll and children, but thats only one picture. Margaret, the Duchess of Argyll on the June 1969 cover of Tatler. 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. 'The Dirty Duchess'. 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. If Margaret, Duchess of Argyll gets away with this, what will all women do?" Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, at an event with her friend, Lady Edith Foxwell, in 1959. 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. Instead, she accused him of a heinous act. Clearly, her second marriage was in deep troublebut no one had any idea what was really around the corner. . 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. "In 2013, Margarets stepdaughter-in-law Lady Colin Campbell claimed the duchess had told her it was American airline executive Bill Lyons but I think I have stumbled upon the most likely truth. 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. Lets just, Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress, Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs First Wife, Scorned Facts About Farida, Egypts Rejected Queen, Infamous Facts About Edwina Mountbatten, The High-Society Rebel, No-Nonsense Facts About Sophia of Nassau, The Woman Behind The King. "She was incredibly famous," Claire tells . In it, among other things, was a set of extremely damning and risqu polaroid photographs. "She. This was his third marriage - after wedding Janet Gladys Aitken and Louise Hollingsworth Morris Vanneck. A POLAROID picture was one of the key pieces of evidence in the scandalous divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll. Which is exactly how Margaret ended up jumping into bed with Davidand suffering horrible consequences. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. 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'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. Is it any wonder she got herself into a royal mess? In the late 80s, the Dirty Duchess found a new way to make some quick cash. While Margaret may have been less than a perfect wife, she later blamed the split on Sweenys controlling nature. The duchess, he declared, was "a highly sexed woman who ha. 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. Rural population was 822858 (72.88%) and urban population was 306157 (27.12%). Margarets presence in the photos shocked the dukebut more was on the way. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. The star of The Crown plays one of Britain's most scandalous aristocrats - Margaret Campbell, the so-called "Dirty Duchess". secret recording, bribery and an explicit Polaroid . because the Ministry of Defence had the only Polaroid camera in Britain at the time. 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. 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. a self-confessed wolf. American businessman John Cohane was names as another one of Margaret's lovers. 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. Claire Foy is resplendent in pearl necklaces, pillbox hats, fur shawls and satin evening gloves as she reenters the unforgiving world of aristocracy to play the Duchess of Argyll for BBC One's A Very British Scandal. In late 1933, Margaret was eight months pregnant and readying herself to give birth to a healthy child at last. 1. But according to Sweeny, the woman who returned was not the wife he had known before. The Duchess, born Margaret Whigham, married Ian Campbell, Duke of Argyll in 1951, and it was the couple's divorce trial that has gone down in history. And although her face was usually obscured, the duke could recognize her by one tell-tale sign: Her favorite necklace made up of three strings of pearls. But the writer also believes that crucial facts about the duchess's adventurous sex life are still judged too sensitive to reveal. . [1] Well, guess what? 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. She passed on July 25, 1993. 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 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 . It was the perfect recipe for disaster. 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. Her father, in particular, was beside himself with rage. On brand for a high-class woman, and Margaret even quipped she was there to, put the point of view of the horse. ; nyexaminerad lnespecialist ln; kallades en flygare webbkryss; lud zbunjen normalan 9; bands with moon in the name Another, racier Polaroid, showing the Duchess pleasuring a man, was also produced. She actually used her upcoming nuptials to cause even more drama. By the time Margaret was 15 years old, she was an undeniable stunner. In a countersuit, she claimed that the duke had been unfaithful too, but not with just anyone. Traumatic elevator accident or not, Margarets personality had always beenodd. 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 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 Dirty Duchess of Argyll Was ahead of Her Time." Ben Macintyre, The Times, February 2, 2019. For Margarets secrets, it was the apocalypse. 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. For what its worth, yes, Margaret was very aware of the homage to her and mentioned it in her memoirs. As Margaret later related, I apparently fell on to my knees and cracked the back of my head against the wall. Both of them, though, show her wearing her iconic three-string pearls, jewellery that she had inherited from her grandmother. The mystery man in the explicit photo became known as the 'headless man' and his identity has been largely speculated. Lyons was a "scion of a wealthy family" and was the duchess's lover for six years. Her last shred of dignity went soon after. She looked the woman up and down then drawled, Its not that sort of party. Published: December 26, 2021 at 8:05 am. A series of Polaroid photographs were used as evidence in the bitter and acrimonious divorce case between the Duke and Duchess . Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Ticket Price (15% VAT) One Polaroid image, in particular, taken in 1957, cast Margaret as an infamous trollop in the pages of the tabloids. Mid-way through the After Dark broadcast, Margaret had to bail out of her commitment and walk off stage because, as she claimed, she was so very sleepy. The Dirty Duchess of Argyll was ahead of her time. Her lovers reportedly included comedy giant Bob Hope, French . 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. The movie star was named as Margarets lover, one of the 88 men on the list that the Duke produced in court. A FORMER Tory minister has been implicated in the Duchess of Argyll's "headless man" sex scandal of the 1960s. The Duchess of Argyll at her Grosvenor House apartment, 1989 Credit: Shutterstock. 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. Somehow, Margaret simply couldnt make her bank account match her extravagant tastes, and she eventually had to move out of her notorious home, swapping it first for the Grosvenor House Hotel and then, at the urging of her children and her first husband Charles Sweeny, a meager apartment building. had ceased to be satisfied with normal relations and had started to indulge in disgusting sexual activities. Yet those were only his picturesque qualities. 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. Margaret may have been one of the most beautiful women of her generation, but to the Duke, she was just another wife he could intimidate, push around, and demean. ", 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.