June 5: On This Day in World History … briefly
The 1989 film Scandal, featuring Ian McKellen as Profumo and John Hurt as Ward, was favourably reviewed. The revival of interest in the affair upset the Profumo family.
1963: Scandal-scarred Profumo quits
In a dramatic statement, British Secretary of State for War John Profumo admits he lied to the House of Commons about his association with model Christine Keeler. He resigned from his parliamentary position and from his cabinet position.
‘The Profumo Affair’, as it became known, rocked the nation and almost led to the downfall of the government. At the time of John Profumo’s liaison with Miss Keeler, she was allegedly also involved with Russian diplomat Captain Ivanov, a former naval attaché at the Soviet Embassy, a link which caused very serious security concerns.
The ‘Profumo Affair’ was a brief sexual relationship in 1961 between John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan’s Conservative government, and Christine Keeler, a 19-year-old would-be model. In March 1963, Profumo’s denial of any impropriety, in a personal statement to the House of Commons, was refuted a few weeks later with his admission of the truth.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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