Profumo had a five-month affair with Christine Keeler, a sex worker and sometimes model, in 1961. But it wasnt Buckingham Palace which was culpable here, it was the intelligence services because they failed to detect Blunt.. His escape from punishment was later rescinded, however, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher exposed his role as a Communist spy in the House of Commons in 1979, which ultimately saw the Queen strip Blunt of his knighthood. It also suggests that Blunt blackmailed Prince Philip with a portrait of him done by osteopath . Sir Anthony Blunt was one of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring that operated from the early '30s throughout WWII, up until at least the mid-'50s. The opening episode of the third season of Netflix royal drama The Crown sees The Queen faced with rumours of a KGB spy in the upper circles of British establishment, and even causing her to suspect new socialist Prime Minister Harold Wilson (Jason Watkins). Did Prince Philip cheat on Queen Elizabeth II? Queen Elizabeth II attends a performance at RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), to celebrate the drama schools Diamond Jubilee (60th anniversary), London, UK, November 1964. Robert explains: They would have said: Were traitors to our class but not ashamed because weretribunes of the people and doing this for the good of societyand a more equal, socialistic society. He endeared himself to the royal family, and would eventually be given a knighthood. .css-1fgik18{color:#323232;display:block;font-family:NewParis,NewParis-fallback,Georgia,Times,serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0.3125rem;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;-webkit-font-smoothing:auto;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-1fgik18:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1fgik18{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1fgik18{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1fgik18{font-size:1.3125rem;line-height:1.2;}}Mood in the UK Ahead of Coronation, All the Tiaras at Queen Elizabeth's Coronation, 17 Documentaries to Watch About the Royal Family, The Most Memorable Royal Photos of 2023 (So Far). The Crown season 3 is out now on Netflix. Blunt claimed he had sketches of the duke made by Stephen Ward, the osteopath the royal had visited for a neck problem. Blunt was stripped of his knighthood and became a social pariah, breaking down in tears in a TV confession at the age of 72. Blunt went to top public school Marlborough College, Wilts, where the Duchess of Cambridge would later become a pupil, before going to Cambridge University, where he met the left-wing academics who would convert him to their cause. Its the 1960s now, and Communist paranoia was at its height. Youll recall that the palace worked tirelessly to bury those. The older man recruited the students to the Soviet cause before the Second World War - and they remained devoted to the USSR even after the start of the Cold War. Was Prime Minister Anthony Eden addicted to drugs? HE was art curator to the Queen and her dad before her but one of Britains most prolific spies, leaking some 2,000 secrets to Soviet intelligence at the height of the Cold War. Let us know in the comments below. His real passion, however, lay with the Courtauld Institute, a center for art historical studies. Blunt served in the British Army in WWII, often passing British intelligence on the Germans off to the Soviet Union. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Philip's involvement last season was made up. (In addition to being a friend of Ward's, Ivanov was also romantically involved with Keeler at the time.). Did Prince Charles fight in the Falkland Islands War? Is Jahangir and Prince Salim the same person? Is Prince Harry related to King Henry VIII? Chloe is a News Writer for Townandcountrymag.com, where she covers royal news, from the latest additions to Meghan Markles staff to Queen Elizabeths monochrome fashions; she also writes about culture, often dissecting TV shows like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Killing Eve. In addition to the "deciphered diplomatic telegrams, the diplomatic telephone conversations, and the product of various agents in the embassies" that he got in "the ordinary course" of his job, Blunt managed to put himself in a position to do "a good deal of liaison with other departments," Blunt wrote, per Carter. How Prince Philip Was Connected to the Profumo Affairand How Anthony Blunt May Have Covered For Him, How The Stars of 'The Crown' Compare to Real Life, Everything We Know About 'The Crown' Season 3, Profumo had a five-month affair with Christine Keeler, latest additions to Meghan Markles staff, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. That doesn't mean this is all made up, a la Downton Abbey. The Queen stripped Anthony Blunt of his knighthood immediately after the news broke, and though he remained in London, Blunt lived as a recluse until he died of a heart attack in 1983 at age 75. A perfect way to show how dysfunctional the family is, and set up Charles' heartbreak arc for the back half of the season. By the end of the episode, MI5s director douses the Queens suspicions about Wilson, saying that, although there were clearly attempts by the KGB to recruit Wilson while he was on trade missions to that country, the evidence was weak that they succeeded. The Crown's story is rooted in fact, but takes plenty of liberties. Blunt, who had been suspected and previously interrogated more than eleven times without breaking, confessed this time in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Any link to Stephen would have been disastrous for Philip. Were nice like that. I have a pretty good feeling Philip would have wanted to take him outside and its not conjecture about him buying up some of the portraits done by Stephen Ward during the Profumo scandal. Then he confessed in exchange for immunity from prosecution, and remained in the palace for eight more years. Did Blunt blackmail the royal family for the KGB? Powered by. Blunt remains one of Britain's most notorious double agents. Queen Elizabeth And The Spy In The Palace airs on Channel 4 at 9pm on Sunday. The 'Cambridge Five' spying scandal rocked the Establishment by revealing Soviet double agents at the heart of many of Britain's most important institutions. Sir Anthony Blunt in The Crown: Whats the Real Story? Did Henry VIII marry Catherine of Aragon? Queen Elizabeth was informed at the timeand this big reveal is what's depicted on The Crown. It also suggests that Blunt blackmailed Prince Philip with a portrait of him done by osteopath Stephen Ward, referencing the scandal that rocked the royal marriage in season two. Learn about the British royal family tree and how the monarch is selected. Employed as Surveyor of the King's Pictures, it was revealed in 1979 that Anthony Blunt was a secret agent who had been providing the KGB with damning information about the monarchy. The collapse plowed into the school just as classes began, killing over a hundred children. His escape from punishment was later rescinded, however, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher exposed his role as a Communist spy in the House of Commons in 1979, which ultimately saw the Queen strip Blunt of his knighthood. "I think they were clearly snapped up, but I don't think it was Blunt," Andrew Lownie, the author of Stalin's Englishmen, told Town & Country. . Moreover, the Queen not showing up until after the mass funeral is also correct, though whether she stayed away out of a failure to empathize or because she believed showing up would make the situation worse is arguable. At the end of The Crown's first episode of season three, Prince Philip tries to castigate Anthony Blunt for betraying his country. Was he really a Soviet spy, and was he real? 'What's amazing about this to me is that Anthony Blunt knew exactly where to go. Later, Ivanov would claim that he managed to photograph some of Profumo's secret documents, among other acts of espionage. It is likely that the Kremlin still holds copies of the letters today. It is probable that Blunt was uncovered several years before the of. Blunt attended Trinity College at Cambridge, and stayed on to continue his studies after graduation. Except it has the benefit of being real. What the King and Churchill could not have known was that, by then, Blunt was already a double agent for the Soviets. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. A $450m Da Vinci is supposedly aboard Saudi Crown Prince MBSs yacht, What we know from the new teaser of Netflixs The Crown: Season 3, Netflixs The Crown season 3 with Olivia Colman is coming this week, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. After World War II, he wrote that his beliefs changed. But Blunt effectively blackmails Prince Philip using the Profumo scandal, and the drama seems to imply this might have contributed to Blunt keeping his liberty and his job. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Sir Anthony Blunt and Queen Elizabeth II. He worked his way up at the Institute, eventually guiding it as its director from 1947 to 1974. (Also, many of the horrors about the U.S.S.R. had yet to come to light.). (He most likely didn't blackmail Philip into silence over the Promo Affair though, as Philip's involvement last season was made up.). What did Anthony Blunt blackmail Philip with? Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. A helicopter and police officers with torches were seen scouring the area after four other youths were helped by emergency services. Despite the scene showing Anthony Blunt suggesting he would out Philip's links to the Profumo Affair scandal that were previously dramatised in The Crown, there is no evidence that the Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures delivered such a threat to the Duke of Edinburgh in real life. They also feared the humiliation of admitting they had let a spy operate from inside the walls of Buckingham Palace. Anthony Blunt (left), photographed in 1929 with his friends from Cambridge. The Crown's claim: Sir Anthony Blunt blackmailed Prince Philip to keep quiet about his spy past after the royal grew frustrated by the truth being covered up ADVERTISEMENT Despite the. Answer and Explanation: Yes, Anthony Blunt blackmailed Prince Philip. Blunt remained in his prestigious palace role until 1972. In exchange for his full cooperation when his part of the spy ring known as The Cambridge Five was exposed, Blunt was granted full anonymity and immunity from prosecution in 1964. He threatened the Prince Philip for accusing him of betraying his nation. ), The Guardian discusses a book about Blunt by Miranda Carter. Was Wallis Simpson at Edward VIII's abdication speech? It wasn't until 1979, when he was outed by Thatcher, that he lost both job and knighthood. The Crown introduces a curious new figure in season three: a buttoned-up curator, well-practiced in the art of espionage.The Crown Got It Right: Anthony BluntAnthony BluntAnthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 - 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian who in 1964, after . 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