One Polaroid image, in particular, taken in 1957, cast Margaret as an infamous trollop in the pages of the tabloids. 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. The contents of her locked cupboard revealed the whole, sordid truth. Margarets reply was cutting. A photo of a 'headless' man was one of the key pieces of evidence used in the divorce case of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, which is due to be dramatised in the new BBC mini series A Very British Scandal. An Exclusive First Look at Claire Foy in A Very British Scandal. Actually, thats putting it kindly. In the documentary, the makers stated that Margaret said at the time that the only Polaroid camera in the country at the time had been lent to the Ministry of Defence - although the claims have never been confirmed. Margarets dignity took a hit in her later years, but her personality seemed to curdle as well. After all, the Duchess had one enormous skeleton in her closet. When the dust cleared, luck prevailed. . There is still much speculation about who exactly the headless man was, but some historians believe we can put the answer to bed. Claire Foy is taking on the role of Margaret Campbell, and Paul Bettany is playing her vengeful husband in a show that will air on the BBC early next year. Dancy Mason is the Editor-in-Chief at Factinate. As she walked back down the aisle with her new husband, it may have seemed that Margaret was off toward happily ever after. On brand for a high-class woman, and Margaret even quipped she was there to, "put the point of view of the horse". 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. Is it any wonder she got herself into a royal mess? She also almost died during a horrific accident while visiting her chiropodist, in which she fell down a lift shaft. The most ruinous aspect of these photos wasnt Margarets undressed state. However, both Douglas and Margaret denied that he was the headless man. You know that trains in Bangladesh have different high-quality seats. After all, some of the photographs depicted intensely intimate positions, with Margaret completely undressed. 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 . During the divorce proceedings, the Duke produced various incriminating letters and photographs, which he took from the Duchess's Mayfair home. The Duchess of Argyll's story may have happened in 1963, but is more relevant than ever. So one day while she was away in New York and he had ample time to sit and get more paranoid, he called up a locksmith and asked him to break into it. Despite the tragedy, Margaret tried againeventually having two more children with Sweeny by 1940but her difficulties left lasting psychological scars. 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. ", 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. Who was the Duchess of Argyll? 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. She looked the woman up and down then drawled, Its not that sort of party. The Duchess refused to reveal who the man is, leaving the press to speculate about his identity. 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 . Margaret Campbells young life more than set her up for her raucous adulthood. Margaret's rumoured affair with the ex-press officer at the Savoy was named as one of the key affairs in the divorce proceedings. 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. Naked polaroid photos of her performing oral sex on a "Headless Man" (ie a man . Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. Margaret Campbell, the famously beautiful Duchess of Argyll, had been a celebrity - and a source of scandal - from even before her debutante days. 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. She died aged 80 in 1993. Margaret agreed to marry him. Destiny Rogers 21 December 2021. Her lovers reportedly included comedy giant Bob Hope, French . Campbell even had a crumbling abode, Inveraray Castle, to match his moodiness. At the end of her rope, she came up with a diabolical plan. To say this was opening a Pandoras box would be an understatement. 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 day, Margaret must have been feeling particularly insecure about her fertility issues. Indeed, she was usually performing acts on men who were not the Duke of Argyll. The Polaroid Affair. In short, Margaret should have run away. As a teenager, Margaret had gotten pregnant all too easily, but when she tried to have children with Sweeny it resulted in a heartbreaking eight miscarriages. Margaret Campbell might have been thrust into the spotlight, but she wasnt about to drag anyone else there with her. During one of her absences, the Duke broke into a locked cupboard and found her collection of pornographic photographs. 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'. 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. 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. Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, remains fascinating among a certain set. 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. He has been granted day-release. 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 . 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). Ticket Price (15% VAT) Born on 1 December 1912, Margaret Whigham was the only daughter of a Scottish businessman and millionaire, George Hay Whigham and his wife, Helen Mann Hannay. 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 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. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. That May, she got word that her lover Glen Kidston had perished in a horrific plane crash. Channel 4 thinks this was actually someone else - Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. In the late 80s, the Dirty Duchess found a new way to make some quick cash. 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. She passed on July 25, 1993. American businessman John Cohane was names as another one of Margaret's lovers. 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. But there was more hope to lose. Orca Spotted Caring For Baby Pilot Whale. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Fuji Instax is a separate, but also . After all, the flyboy was already married and had a young toddler at home. The mystery man in the explicit photo became known as the 'headless man&# I have a lot of guides you can check out if you really want to get into the weeds, but here's a quick run-down on what's out there: Polaroid has started making cameras and film once more, and some of the new film is compatible with vintage Polaroid cameras. While in the nursing home bathroom one day, Margaret had a severe fall that broke her neck. 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 . . 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. Thing is, that wasnt even the most scandalous part. 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. 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. 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. secret recording, bribery and an explicit Polaroid . 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 the 2011 Bangladesh census, Chuadanga District had a population of 1,129,015, of which 564,819 were males and 564,196 females. According to Lord Wheatley, the judge on the case, he had the morals of a tomcat. And then he got cold, cruel revenge. She dated around whenever and wherever she couldand with a face like Margarets, she certainly wasnt spending her time with normies. Plus, there was another disconcerting sign: Margaret had a locked drawer in their home, and his dark fantasies about its contents drove him mad. 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. Margaret Campbell Duchess of Argyll. His next idea would be the couples downfall. 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. The answer they narrowed it down to nearly broke the country. Fairbanks Jr and Margaret both denied he was the Headless Man, but he was identified through his handwriting. "The Dirty Duchess of Argyll Was ahead of Her Time." Ben Macintyre, The Times, February 2, 2019. . The photographs were taken on her newly-bought Polaroid camera, then commercially available in America in 1948, and the headless man (not so headless in additional snaps) had his own stash of . 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 . As someone who self-identified as always vain, Margaret always cared much more about her beauty than anything else. He had been flying through a dust storm when his entire plane broke apart beneath him, sending him to his end. The polaroids in particular captured the press' imagination, though the identity of the 'headless man' was never revealed. 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 . During the divorce proceedings, the Duke produced various incriminating letters and photographs, which he took from the Duchess's Mayfair home. The headless man was notorious because he appeared in two Polaroid photographs that had featured as evidence in . "She was incredibly famous," Claire tells . In another revelation, the Channel 4 documentary looked at the rumour that the man was former Minister of Defence Duncan Sandys, who would later go on to be Winston Churchill's Son in Law. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. "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. With their parents and chaperones otherwise occupied with their own vacation, the teenagers managed to find ample time to, er, explore their personal landscapes. 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. Yet there was a far more likely culprit. The Duchess refused to reveal who the man is, leaving the press to speculate about his identity. He had much darker ones, too. She said: "There have been rumours over the years about who he was. 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. Even so, the court didnt thank Margaret for her classy silence. Her plan? In October 2021 Tatler shared news of 'The Crown' star Claire Foy playing the so-called 'Dirty Duchess' in a three-part series 'A Very British Scandal', produced by BBC Blueprint Pictures. 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. She suffered neglect from her mother, as well as a teen pregnancy that could have ruined her long before she became an eligible debutante. 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. It was something much worse. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. In 2000, a Channel 4 documentary sought to discover who the man really was, with two names in particular raised as possible candidates. Royal Family's thoughts . Sandys's identity is "conclusively proved", the documentary makers believe, by the duchess's claim that the only Polaroid camera in the country at the time had been lent to the Ministry of Defence . Until, that is, it blew up in her face. 'The Dirty Duchess'. The Duke and Duchess of Argyll's infamous 1963 divorce captured the public's attention with its twists and scandalous revelations. There was also a polaroid of a man pleasuring himself, again headless. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. & 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). . Written by Sarah Phelps (The Pale Horse; Dublin Murders), A Very British Scandal focuses on the divorce of the Duke (Paul Bettany) and Duchess of Argyll (Claire Foy), one of the most notorious . Margaret Campbell was a British socialite who was embroiled in a sex scandal during the 1960s and became known as the "dirty duchess." . With this disappointment in her wake, Margaret turned to a desperate ploy. Image: Amazon Prime Video. 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. The photo, in which the man was only captured from the neck down, became knows as the 'headless man' Polaroid. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. Fairbanks Jr and Margaret both denied he was the Headless Man, but he was identified through his handwriting. Thanks for your help! . Over the four years that Margaret and her duke were facing off against each other in court, the press speculated wildly about all of Margarets sins, dubbing her The Dirty Duchess. But there will be no press release or big [imagesource: Bleecker Street] Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. But as soon as they were over their shock, Margarets parents knew exactly what they had to do. Another, racier Polaroid, showing the Duchess pleasuring a man, was also produced. Looking back, this may have been the point it all began to unravel. On our left in the image atop, is the Duchess of Argyll, Margaret Campbell. It was the perfect recipe for disaster. There's a new period drama in theatres now, offering a w [imagesource:flickr] Who was Margaret the Duchess of Argyll? 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. One can only assume that the Dirty Duchess would be loving the Hollywood treatment. Her last shred of dignity went soon after. and Polaroid snaps showing Her Grace, clad only in a string of pearls . forever 'the Dirty Duchess' in the eyes of the public . In a move he had likely pulled before, Campbell began siphoning off the money Margaret brought into the union to restore his ancestral seat at Inveraray Castle. 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 . This was his third marriage - after wedding Janet Gladys Aitken and Louise Hollingsworth Morris Vanneck. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Unlike like her shocking accident in the elevator, this time Margaret was far too frail to survive. Im a cleaning whizz - three common products you need to ditch to save cash . All that the duke could do at first was stare, inchoate with rage, at the evidence of his wifes infidelity. Rebounding from a breakup is always risky, and Margaret was rebounding from a full-blown tragedy. Margaret learned the hard way that money cant buy you happinessbut she sure did try. 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. By the time Margaret was 15 years old, she was an undeniable stunner. In his court papers, Argyll accused Margaret of sleeping with no fewer than 88 men over the course of their marriage. The beautiful girl entertained flirtationsand morefrom high-powered men like Prince Aly Khan and daring aviator Glen Kidston. Claire Foy is transforming into a forgotten British icon in new BBC drama, A Very British Scandal. He was a notorious drinker and gambler, and was hooked on prescription medications to boot. She began appearing on television programs, making a cameo appearance on the talk show After Dark to discuss the Grand National horse race. Were always looking for your input! On 22 March 1951, Margaret, 38 at the time, married Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll. 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. Traumatic elevator accident or not, Margarets personality had always beenodd. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. She was known as the Dirty Duchess after her split from the 11th Duke of Argyll led to a bitter and scandalous divorce. Rural population was 822858 (72.88%) and urban population was 306157 (27.12%). Instead, Margaret had become erratic and impulsive with, most alarmingly, nymphomaniac tendencies. Sadly, thats not what happened, and Margaret may have been her own worst enemy. But she would be remembered for just one thing: the so-called 'divorce of the century', which ended her marriage to the Duke of Argyll in . Both denied it, and the Duchess, who died penniless in 1993, never made their identity public. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. The movie star was named as Margarets lover, one of the 88 men on the list that the Duke produced in court. It only spiraled from there. 1. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to New York, where Margaret spent . . In fact, during this time she desperately tried to get people to sell her an entire baby boy. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? "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. When she was in her late 20s, Margaret was visiting her doctor on Bond Street when she fell a whopping 40 feet down an elevator shaft in a freak accident. Still, it took a dark turn. The mystery man in the explicit photo became known as the 'headless man' and his identity has been largely speculated. In the spring of 1931, Margarets carefree life came to an abrupt halt. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. 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. 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 . Talking about the series, actress Claire Foy who plays Margaret Campbell said: "The premise is that it is an untold story of something that was a scandal. dirty duchess polaroidwilliam paterson university application fee waiver. She had only one option. To find evidence of infidelity, he broke into Margaret's personal cupboard in their London house, where he found the infamous Polaroids along with letters and other private documents. She is remembered as a nymphomaniac socialite who disgraced the Establishment when her diaries and sexually explicit Polaroids were . 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. The Duke and Duchess of Argyll at their wedding in 1951 Credit: Getty. 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 . Before joining the team, she worked as a course lecturer while completing her Ph.D. in English Literature. Margaret, the Duchess of Argyll on the June 1969 cover of Tatler. 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. 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. 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. The creators of the documentary claimed Sandys' identity was "conclusively proved" by the duchess's claim that the only Polaroid camera in England at the time had been lent to the Ministry of Defence. 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. . Margaret was utterly devastatedbut she didnt deal with her grief in the best of ways. 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. Im a baby naming pro and these are the top so far for this year - would you add them to your list? The Duke and Duchess of Argyll were so high-society that any split between them was going to be a matter of public interest. And when it came to Kidston, she was particularly ruthless. These matched the ones Ian Campbell held up in court. A POLAROID picture was one of the key pieces of evidence in the scandalous divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll. "It exploded in a way that now in present day, we seem to have forgotten about.". She became known as the 'dirty duchess'. Chuadanga had a literacy rate of 45.91% for the population 7 years and above: 46.88% for males and 44.93% for females. 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.