9. The Profumo affair brought down a government
The Profumo affair was a British scandal which involved high government officials, a teenaged “model”, a Soviet naval attache, a socialite who was charged with living off immoral earnings, a showgirl, and various subplots and rumors which kept London tongues wagging and embarrassed the government to the point that Prime Minister Harold MacMillan resigned. At the heart of the entire scandal was an affair between Secretary of State for War John Profumo, and Christine Keeler, nineteen years of age, who lived with Stephen Ward, the socialite who was later charged with being her pimp. Keeler also was involved with Yevgeny Ivanov, the Soviet naval attache and GRU officer in London. Showgirl Mandy Rice-Davies became involved after meeting Keeler and Ward, and was later cited as one of the sources of Ward’s immoral income.
As the affair unraveled in the press and television, Profumo first denied, and then later admitted to the affair with Keeler, for which he resigned. The Conservative government was shaken by the scandal and MacMillan’ confidence in his ability and that of his cabinet to restore control fell. The exposure of the entire tangle of sex, implied liaisons with the Soviets, and illicit relationships, reached its height during the summer of 1963. In October of that year MacMillan, citing health issues, resigned as Prime Minister. In the general election of 1964, the Conservative Party was defeated by the Labor Party and led to Harold Wilson becoming Prime Minister after 13 years of Conservative control of the government. Ward committed suicide while awaiting sentencing, and it was later determined that Keeler committed perjury in her testimony.