His role in one of the most notorious scandals of the 20th century has long been a source of speculation.
Now the Mail on Sunday can reveal that Prince Philip was named in secret FBI documents about the Profumo affair in the early 1960s.
Documents show the FBI had been told the Duke of Edinburgh was personally “involved” with Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies, the two women at the centre of the sex scandal that brought down the government.
US Justice Department files show the crucial memo was written by J. Edgar Hoover, then FBI director, and may be released after a five-year search by the Justice Department for relevant documents under US freedom of information laws.
At the centre of the scandal was the Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, who in March 1963 had denied in the House of Commons having had sexual relations with the teenage chorus girl Keeler. He was forced to resign months later when evidence of the affair became public.
Documents show the FBI had been told the Duke of Edinburgh was personally “involved” with Christine Keeler (pictured) and Mandy Rice-Davies, the two women at the centre of the Profumo scandal.
The scandal had national security implications because Keeler was also sleeping with Russian military attaché Yevgeny Ivanov.
As a result, osteopath Stephen Ward, who had introduced Keeler to Profumo at a party and who was well connected, was charged with living off the immoral earnings of Keeler and her friend Rice-Davies. Ward took a fatal overdose and died three days after being convicted.
In the newly revealed document, Thomas Corbally, an American businessman involved in industrial espionage who agreed to be interviewed by the FBI about his friendship with Ward, makes the claim about Philip.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s links to the Profumo affair formed a key plotline in the Netflix series The Crown
A cable sent by Hoover to the US embassy in London on June 20, 1963, reads: “Corbally also stated that there was a rumour that Prince Philip might have been involved with these two girls.”
Philip’s links to the Profumo affair formed a key storyline in the Netflix series The Crown.
Sir Anthony Blunt, the Queen’s art curator, later revealed to be a Soviet spy, warns Philip that he will expose his relationship with Ward when the Duke attacks him for his betrayal.
In his testimony before the FBI, Corbally said he did not believe the charges against Ward.
