Friday 8 January 2010

dirty celebrity royals

You probably know all about the Duchess of Argyll, but I didn't.

Ethel Margaret Wigham was deb of the year in 1930, and in 1933, 3,000 people crowded to gawp at her wedding dress.



One of the things I remember from Duff Cooper's magical diaries is how far the aristocracy played the same media and public role as today's more meaningless celebs - they got stuff free, were gossiped about by more or less normal people, married briefly and often, and cetera.

Anyway, her first marriage (to an American called Charles Sweeny) didn't last forever. She married the Duke of Argyll in 1951. When they divorced in 1963, the Duke named 88 of her lovers, but the real fun (for the crowd) came in the form of some polaroids of her fellating a man wearing nothing but pearls (she was wearing the pearls). The photo only went up to his neck, and he became famous as 'the headless man'. Channel 4 are sure that this was Defence Minister Duncan Sandys, who was Churchill's son-in-law, because the Ministry of Defence had the only Polaroid camera in Britain at the time. Seems pretty conclusive.

There was also a polaroid of a man pleasuring himself, again headless. Channel 4 thinks this was actually someone else - Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. The other main suspects had included Sigismund von Braun, brother of Wernher, who reached for the stars.

Why do people take pictures of themselves having sex? Is it because they hear that famous people do it? Anyway, it was all very scandalous. In later life, the Duchess adopted some kids, like beautiful modern celebrities, and kept a load of poodles, ditto, and spoke up for the armed services, ditto.

You can read all about it in the Telegraph's predictably perky obit, which also describes a feud with her Moroccan maid who said the Duchess was too drunk on whisky to remember saying she could run up thousands of pounds-worth of international phone calls and quotes a peer who was once sat next to her at dinner and didn't think much of her conversational style - 'She don't make many jokes,' he said.

Perhaps my favourite moment is that her co-campaigner against the disbandment of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders was Lt-Col Colin 'Mad Mitch' Mitchell, which reads almost like a palindrome.

8 comments:

jondrytay said...

There's a rather good opera about her by Thomas Ades, called 'Powder Her Face'. I'll lend it to you if such a thought appeals.

Robert Hudson said...

Do, please. While I was reading the obituary, I basically couldn't believe I'd never heard of her.

John Finnemore said...

I for one would like to hear more about her other maid 'the redoubtable Edith Springett'.

"The Duchess dispatched solicitor's letters instructing Springett to desist from calling her a 'Mayfair whore' and a 'silly old bitch' in front of guests."

In front of guests!

'The Mayfair whore presents her compliments, and begs to inform you cocktails will be served in the drawing room at seven, the silly old bitch'

Robert Hudson said...

Me too, John, me too. But it would take literal research, I fear.

Peter Foley said...

Oh the 'redoubtable Edith Springett' of whom I had the greatest pleasure to meet and befriend. I was working at the City of Westminster Homeless Persons Unit when I first met her, after being dismissed and made homeless by the Duchess. She was placed in temporary accommodation at the Adam Rondale hotel, W1. I used to visit her a great deal, and indeed she travelled to Birmingham with me to stay with my family over a Christmas. I knew her for around 3 years and she was like an adopted grandmother. We eventually found permanent accommodation in a 1 bed flat in St John's Wood for her, although she hated leaving the hotel. She was ever the Lady, and was a true Lady in her own right. I would often take a bottle of whisky (although she always had a bottle at home) which she loved dearly which she would drink straight. 'One should not tarnish perfection with a mixer darling' she would say. I remember she had beautiful long hair for her age and was always brushing it. She would tell me stories of her time with the duchess which included when the Duchess had her Jewels stolen from out of a hotel safe in Paris, to when the Duchess met a man, a complete stranger, whilst sitting on a bench in Regents Park, taking him back to her suite, and yes, Edith added with a chuckle 'the mayfair whore'. Edith was a lovely person, with a great sense of humour, a real Lady, in her presence one could have been mistaken for taking her for a duchess herself.
Peter Foley

a_77 said...

Peter Foley - please respond - Edith Springett was my Great Aunt...

Peter Foley said...

Hi Just saw your message after 2 years lol will come back and forth to this site to see if you have dropped by again :-)

Anonymous said...

Dear Peter Foley, is it possible to email me regarding Edith Springett? mitfordsociety@gmail.com I am writing a biography on Margaret, Duchess of Argyll.