However, it is soon revealed that the Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, Sir Anthony Blunt, is the real culprit and is the Soviet spy in question. So Blunt had one on him, and he had one on Blunt.. In 1951, Burgess and Maclean were exposed as double agents - but after being tipped off by Philby they were able to escape to Moscow. Stephen Ward with Christine Keeler (top right). 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 collapse plowed into the school just as classes began, killing over a hundred children. As it turns out, it had already been lurking inside the palace for years. Did the British government kill Alan Turing? What I did not realise at the time is that I was so nave politically that I was not justified in committing myself to any political action of this kind.. How historically accurate is "The Crown"? - CBS News Did Anthony Blunt really blackmail Prince Philip with the - Quora Blunt flipped the script on Philip, threatening to reveal his involvement in the Profumo Affair if he crossed him. For the first 19 of those years, he operated undetected as a spy for the Soviet Union. Subscribe to our newsletter now and you will be. Then he confessed in exchange for immunity from prosecution, and remained in the palace for eight more years. Did Anthony Blunt blackmail Prince Philip? - Study.com Did Margaret Earn A Bailout For The U.K.? The Queen was also informed of his confession. And memorably, to fund his trial expenses, Ward put some of his artwork up for sale, including his portraits of Prince Philip, Princess Margaret, and her husband Lord Snowdon, the New York Times reported in 1963; however, these portraits of royalty were a part of a series, assigned to Ward by a magazine. The show is both accurate in the suspicions about the new PM, and the actual culprit, Anthony Blunt. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (KCVO) in recognition of his services. Did Cardinal Thomas Wolsey commit treason? Was Wallis Simpson at Edward VIII's abdication speech? 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 adds: I also think there was a hope on the part of the intelligence services that they could get something extra out of Blunt or get something back from the Russians somehow.. He was a member of the notorious Thursday Club, which met in Soho every week for boozy lunches, sometimes stretching long into the night. But she covers it up to protect the crown's reputation because he had supposed blackmail on Prince . 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. And the image of Pope Francis sporting a Balenciaga, 'My wife and I have the same first and middle name - it's beyond confusing', A couple soon hit it off after meeting on a LGBT dating app - but there were forced to keep their surnames after getting married to avoid further confusion, 'Picky' woman's 54 demands for potential boyfriend - including compulsory vasectomy, July Jinku has asked whether she's being too harsh with her future boyfriend requirements - such as him not wanting children and not following other attractive women on social media. The answers are yes. The maddening answer is well sort of. ), Ward was a colorful character: by trade, an osteopath, but also a socialite, artist, andmost unfortunate for Profumoa Soviet ally. But sadly, none of that happened. In fact, the links between the Prince and the scandal are tenuous at best and has already been accused of being one of the most heavily fictionalised elements in the series by Marie Claire. Channel 4 is set to air a new documentary, Queen Elizabeth: Love, Honour and Crown, which . He would pass all of this information along to the Soviets. True Story of Anthony Blunt, Queen Elizabeth's Art Curator & Russian Spy 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. All rights reserved. Anthony Blunt: The Russian Spy Who Collected Royal Secrets 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. But its more likely that the Mountbatten-Windsor clan kept their lips tight to protect their own honor. 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. Did Elizabeth's brother Richard challenge Henry VII? Regardless of the political climate at Cambridge or his sexuality, Blunt likely never would have engaged in espionage were it not for his close friend, Guy Burgessafter all, while many on the Cambridge campus had Marxist sympathies, a scant few would end up spying for the other side. This scandal and Philip's suspected links to it were dramatised in the second season of The Crown. However, the publication reports that few were allowed in on the secret outside of Queen Elizabeth II. Later, Ivanov would claim that he managed to photograph some of Profumo's secret documents, among other acts of espionage. He visited the Soviet Union in 1933 while he was in university, but it is believed he was recruited as a spy for the KGB in 1934, and spent his remaining years at Cambridge recruiting his peers. Anthony Blunt: Anthony Blunt was a Former British art historian cum Soviet spy . After World War II, he wrote that his beliefs changed. The show doesn't emphasize it, but Philip's mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, leading first to an asylum and later into religious life. Michael Straight, an American whom Blunt had attempted to recruit at Cambridge, informed British intelligence of Blunts espionage after years of wrestling with the knowledge. The King knew that, in the wrong hands, the letters could prove highly damaging. Is the Confessions of Nat Turner a reliable source? A KGB spy worked in Buckingham Palace for decades. She would have been horrified but also bewildered how somebody could do this. But in November 1979, the then newly elected Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher blew his story wide open in the House of Commons. The Crown, however, is doing its part to remedy thatfirst by showing the Affair's fallout at the end of season two, and in season three, having the Queen's art curator, Anthony Blunt, blackmail Prince Philip with some related artworks. Only a few months later, in June 1963, he felt he had no option but to step down from his post. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Queen Elizabeth: Love, Honour and Crown: the true story behind Anthony In return for his confession, he was granted immunity from prosecution and stayed in his job until his retirement in 1972. He threatened the Prince Philip for accusing him of betraying his nation. Did any royals attend Richard III's reburial. It sounds like something the show would make up, a documentary, filmed over a year of the Queen's life. Especially on the heels of the Profumo Affair, which had reflected poorly on MI5 and MI6's competency in counterintelligence, higher-ups believed that keeping Blunt's crimes under wraps would be best. In them, Blunt confesses that spying was the biggest mistake of my life. Perhaps well meet him again in season four of The Crown to watch his public fall from grace. Anthony Blunt, in full Anthony Frederick Blunt, also called (1956-79) Sir Anthony Blunt, (born Sept. 26, 1907, Bournemouth, Hampshire, Eng.died March 26, 1983, London), British art historian who late in his life was revealed to have been a Soviet spy. Esquire Middle East The Regions Best Mens Magazine, Esquire is your destination for the best culture, interviews, men's fashion, style, food, watches, cars, sports, tech, features and more, Home | Film and TV | A KGB spy worked in Buckingham Palace for decades. Anthony Blunt | British art historian and spy | Britannica Did King Henry IV kill his dad Henry VIII? By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Did Anthony Blunt blackmail Prince Philip? Claudia Joseph For The Mail On Sunday, Lady Colin Campbell accuses Meghan of 'playing the race card to get a free pass to behave badly' and claims Harry 'would never have married her if she was white' in fiery tirade on Today, The Queen, 94, enjoys a socially-distanced Easter walk with Prince Charles at Windsor in their first photo together since the Sussexes' Oprah interview while Harry relaxes on beach in California, The screen for King Charles' coronation anointing is revealed, Monstrous tornado seen bearing down on Palm Beach, Ukraine drone strike hits major fuel depot in port Sevastopol, Women's rights activists and pro-trans campaigners separated, Historic chairs to be reused by the King for the coronation service, Hundreds of Household Division members rehearse for coronation, Russian freight train derails and bursts into flames after explosion, 'You motherf***ers don't understand': Bam Margera details 'turmoil', Moment large saltwater crocodile snatches pet dog off beach in QLD, Doctor slams Laurence Fox for 'spewing out biased views', Australian tourist allegedly spits in the face of a Java Imam, Braverman: People crossing Channel are 'at odds with British values'. He says: There are no sources where I know that happened, but I think we would have a pretty good idea as to what Philips attitude to someone like Blunt would have been. Did Prince Charles fight in the Falkland Islands War? Did Catherine de Medici poison her son King Francis? Given its nature, there is lingering secrecy around the Blunt affair, but Robert hopes retelling the story in The Crown might reignite interest and finally reveal the truth. It is probable that Blunt was uncovered several years before the of. Did Blunt blackmail the royal family for the KGB? Did Henry VII murder the princes in the tower? Blunt, who had been suspected and previously interrogated more than eleven times without breaking, confessed this time in exchange for immunity from prosecution. She publicly outed him in the House of Commons in November of that year and a media storm followed. Despite being discovered, it is decided to keep his treachery a secret so as to save face and humiliation for the Royals and intelligence services, becoming free from prosecution and keeping his position, to The Queen's chagrin. Chef baffles fans with plan to add semen-based dish to menu as some 'sickened' by it, If you're adventurous with your food, DiverXO in Madrid may be your perfect restaurant - chef David Muoz is soon to be serving a dish that contains fish semen in it, Kids cartoon characters that use AI to customize responses help children learn. 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. Sir Anthony Blunt, is a KGB spy. Blunt, like the other British men in the spy ring he was a part of, had everything on a plate. Philip was born in Greece to royal families from both Greece and Denmark. READ NEXT: Was Harold Wilson a Russian Spy? All 10 episodes of The Crown are available to watch on Netflix. 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. But did Anthony Blunt really threaten Philip in this way? Did English nobels help Prince Charles in the Jacobite Rebellion? Did John Brown die before Queen Victoria? Despite being discovered, it is decided to keep his treachery a secret so as to save face and humiliation for the Royals and intelligence services, becoming free from prosecution and keeping his position, to The Queen's chagrin. The following year, Blunt was the fourth member of the Cambridge Five to be identified. The fact he had spared the Windsors humiliation endeared him to the royal household and in 1945 he was given the respected title of Surveyor of the Kings Pictures. Instead, he was granted immunity from prosecution and was supposed to tell MI5 everything he knew about the Soviets operations in exchange. Did Prince Philip's Mother Really Turn Up? Philip confronts Blunt only to be met with blackmail over the Profumo affair, the Russian spy sex scandal that had toppled a conservative prime minister. Elizabeth did agree to let filmmakers follow the family for an entire year, and the resulting two-part series aired on the BBC and ITV in 1969, with subsequent airings in the U.S. and Australia. Later, as journalists neared the truth about Blunt, Margaret Thatcher outed him in speech to the House of Commons. 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. 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 Queen, with the audience, learns of Blunt's past as a Soviet spyand she, like us, is bewildered. 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. Blunt served as the Surveyor of the King's (then the Queen's) Pictures from 1945 to 1972. MI6, too, had apparently been aware of their relationship. But when Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979, she was furious at the leniency which with the country treated Blunts treason. Generative AI is forcing people to rethink what it means to be authentic, It turns out that pop stars Drake and The Weeknd didnt suddenly drop a new track that went viral on TikTok and YouTube in April 2023. Was Prince Andrew injured in the Falkland Islands War? Carter writes that between his confession in 1964 and his eventual exposure in 1979, Blunt did his best to avoid the Queen while carrying out his work for the royal family. It remains to be seen if The Crown will continue to focus on the story in the fourth season. Interestingly, Keeler would claim in her memoir, The Truth at Last, that Ward was Blunt's Soviet controller. 'The Crown' Devotes Episode to Royal Art Surveyor Anthony Blunt