Mandy Rice-Davies: sex, society and wonderful photos

Mandy Rice-Davies: 21 October 1944 – 18 December 2014.

Mandy Rice-Davies was a central figure in the 1960s Profumo affair. Along with her flatmate Christine Keeler, the scandal brought Harold Macmillan’s government to the edge. It was the story that kickstarted the Swinging Sixties.

John Profumo was the War Minister. He’d been having an affair with Keeler who was also said to be having a relationship with Soviet defence attache Yevgeny Ivanov.

Rice-Davies testified at the high-profile trial of Stephen Ward, an osteopath who was charged with living off the immoral earnings of her and Keeler,. The pot boiled with tales of sex and secrets in the upper echelons of society. Ward was guilty. But he never served a prison sentence. He took an overdose the night before a guilty verdict, and died days later.

Rice-Davies was famous. And she’d became notorious for claiming to have had an affair with Lord Astor. He denied it. Stood in the witness box during the trial at the Old Bailey, she called the noble Lord a liar.

When told he had denied the affair, she replied: “Well he would, wouldn’t he?”

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Mandy Rice-Davies and John Andrew Hamilton Marshall at a preview of a portrait exhibition by artist and osteopath Dr Stephen Ward - who became a central figure in the Profumo Affair. Mr Marshall was treated as a hostile witness after a dispute over evidence during Dr Ward's hearing.

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Posted: 19th, December 2014 | In: Celebrities Comment | TrackBack | Permalink