After Blunt was found out in 1963, not only did Her Majesty keep his deception quiet, she had to watch him continue in his job until his retirement nine years later, aged 64. Also, well give you Esquires A-to-Z of Mens Fashion for FREE. By It is probable that Blunt was uncovered several years before the of. The following year, Blunt was the fourth member of the Cambridge Five to be identified. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Did Philip IV distribute land in Gascony? Are you a fan of The Crown? This outlandish scene, it turns out, is loosely based on some historians' conjectures. Employed as Surveyor of the King's Pictures, it was revealed in 1979 that Anthony Blunt was a secret agent who had been providing the KGB with damning information about the monarchy. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Other correspondence kept at the property included letters between the Dukes of Windsor and Kent and Prince Philipp of Hesse, the grandson of Empress Victoria and one of Hitler's most powerful aristocratic henchmen. 2023 Operated by ITP Media Group of PO Box 500024 Dubai UAE by Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc., New York, United States of America. Its true, Daily Mail reports, that MI5 confronted Blunt in 1964 and he confessed to being a KGB spy. As it turns out, it had already been lurking inside the palace for years. It is, after all, more than 30 years ago. It sounds like something the show would make up, a documentary, filmed over a year of the Queen's life. (He most likely didn't blackmail Philip into silence over the Promo Affair though, . Clive Irving, author of The Last Queen, told the programme: 'Churchill sanctioned this mission, as well as George VI, because they both understood the threat potentially caused by knowledge of how far back this sympathy with the Nazis ran through the Royal Family. 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. Later, he was discovered as a Russian spy. 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. According to the Times, a spy inside the KGB wrote at the time that "the Russians had in fact received a lot of useful information from Profumo from Christine Keeler, with whom Ivanov had established contact, and in whose apartment Ivanov had even been able to lay on eavesdropping operations at appropriate times. Was John, Duke of Burgundy, at Agincourt? It would have been brilliant. But instead of being hauled off to jail, the double-agent was offered immunity and continued to work at the Palace even receiving a knighthood in 1956. Blunt received far more than immunity from prosecution. Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux Open Up, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. The Crown accurately portrays how the royal family swallowed the secret and kept Blunt in his role for nearly a decade following his confession. Queen Elizabeth II attends a performance at RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), to celebrate the drama schools Diamond Jubilee (60th anniversary), London, UK, November 1964. The Crown turns its attention to the Cold War this season when rumors of a Russian mole in the very high reaches of the British government start flying. The Crown season 3 is out now on Netflix. A privileged upbringing. The Crown Got It Right: Anthony Blunt, Queen Elizabeth's Art Curator, Was a Soviet Spy, What the Stars of The Crown Look Like in Real Life, Everything We Know About 'The Crown' Season 3, latest additions to Meghan Markles staff, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Like fellow spy Burgess, Blunt was already leading a double life because of his homosexuality, which at the time was illegal in Britain. Not only that, but the show is correct that Blunt got a full pardon, to save the country the embarrassment of admitting he's been operating out of Buckingham Palace for years. While a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in the 1930s Blunt became a member of a circle of disaffected young men led by Guy Burgess . We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Get access to this video and our entire Q&A library, The Royal Family: History, Roles & Powers. Were Jack Rackham and Charles Vane friends? Channel 4 is set to air a new documentary, Queen Elizabeth: Love, Honour and Crown, which . Blunt received far more than immunity from prosecution. It describes Blunts background. But she covers it up to protect the crown's reputation because he had supposed blackmail on Prince . Now it's the late 1960s, and a new set of actors have taken over to cover QEII's middle age period. The Crown introduces a curious new figure in season three: a buttoned-up curator, well-practiced in the art of espionage.The Crown Got It Right: Anthony BluntAnthony BluntAnthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 - 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian who in 1964, after . Answer: There are several reasons why HMG may have agreed to keep Blunt's treason secret. 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. But a Channel 4 documentary has now confirmed that Blunt also made copies of Royal correspondence and passed it directly to the KGB. Robert says: All secrets pass across the Queens desk and go through her private office. Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean and Anthony Blunt all met at the University of Cambridge, where Blunt was an academic and the other three were undergraduates. See full answer below. (This being despite the U.S.S.R.'s own regressive ideas about sexuality.). In the memoir, he described how the atmosphere at Cambridge was so intense, the enthusiasm for any anti-fascist activity was so great.. He continued to write books and give lectures at institutions across London. The 'Cambridge Five' spying scandal rocked the Establishment by revealing Soviet double agents at the heart of many of Britain's most important institutions. Just how tense were things between the Queen's husband and a Soviet spy? 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. 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. Its 1964, and the air in Buckingham Palace is rife with fear of communism as frustration with the tax-guzzling monarchy swells outside the palace gates. Did The Queen Fail To Go To The Aberfan Disaster? Later, as journalists neared the truth about Blunt, Margaret Thatcher outed him in speech to the House of Commons. 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. Hopefully that could lead to answers as to exactly who knew what, when they knew it and why a KGB agent was allowed to operate, then remain, in Buckingham Palace., News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. She publicly outed him in the House of Commons in November of that year and a media storm followed. Did Richard III die from sharp or blunt trauma? The show is both accurate in the suspicions about the new PM, and the actual culprit, Anthony Blunt. Sir Anthony Blunt, is a KGB spy. I might have joined the Communist Party, but Guy, who was an extraordinarily persuasive person, convinced me that I could do more good by joining him in his work. MI6, too, had apparently been aware of their relationship. The Crown Got It Right: Anthony Blunt, Queen Elizabeth's Art Curator, Was a Soviet Spy. She did go to the White House, where she made a very dull toast, and that was all. The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. Was Prince Andrew injured in the Falkland Islands War? Did King Henry VIII's sister kill her husband? Was Confessions of Nat Turner a true story? Did Philip and Elizabeth fight over their last name? 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. What did Anthony Blunt blackmail Philip with? "I said that there had been no impropriety," Profumo wrote in his letter of resignation, per the New York Times. The older man recruited the students to the Soviet cause before the Second World War - and they remained devoted to the USSR even after the start of the Cold War. Powered by. Daily Mail labeled Blunt a crashing snob who was the Fourth Man in the Cambridge Spy Ring that included Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean and Kim Philby (there was later a fifth member). A year later, aged 57, Blunt confessed and it is believed the Queen was informed. He explained that Cambridge was rife with Marxist sympathizers fueled by the ascendance of Adolf Hitler and the Spanish Civil War. Did Catherine de Medici poison her son King Francis? Queen Elizabeth was informed at the timeand this big reveal is what's depicted on The Crown. Blunt attended Trinity College at Cambridge, and stayed on to continue his studies after graduation. Be the first to know what's trending, straight from Elite Daily. In order to reassure him, Guy Burgess agreed to travel part of the way with him. Being in the palace means you have the best connections. He threatened the Prince Philip for accusing him of betraying his nation. Did Elizabeth's brother Richard challenge Henry VII? The understanding that he wouldnt be publicly revealed lasted for 15 years. It also suggests that Blunt blackmailed Prince Philip with a portrait of him done by osteopath . A KGB Spy Worked in Buckingham Palace For Decades. As we know, Anthony Blunt had insider knowledge of the Duke of Windsors correspondence with the Nazis, which the Queen was determined to keep secret from the world. For the first 19 of those years, he operated undetected as a spy for the Soviet Union. As someone outside the establishment, she was furious at the apparent conspiracy to protect a traitor because he was one of them. Watch the trailer below: Chloe is a News Writer for Townandcountrymag.com, where she covers royal news, from the latest additions to Meghan Markles staff to Queen Elizabeths monochrome fashions; she also writes about culture, often dissecting TV shows like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Killing Eve. Did those portraits actually exist or was Blunt bluffing? Did Edward VIII meet King George VI after his abdication? Anthony Blunt (left), photographed in 1929 with his friends from Cambridge. The Queen was also informed of his confession. Anthony Blunts memoirs were only released to the public in July of 2009. Blunt, a highly respected Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures, was only publicly exposed as a spy in 1979. King Charles Coronation: The Complete Guest List, Shop Emma Bridgewater's Coronation Collection. He was Queen Elizabeth II's spouse. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Tomorrows opening episode of the third series The Crown revisits the spy scandal and features a stunned Queen, played by Olivia Colman, 45, complicit in covering it up, KGB agent Sir Anthony Blunt operated from the heart of the establishment and, when his crimes were finally exposed to the world, it emerged he was third cousin of the Queen Mother, Blunt, played in The Crown by Sam West, 53, above, was a member of the infamous Cambridge Five, The Queen at the Courtauld Institute of Art with secret agent Anthony Blunt, Blunt with the Queen's sister, Princess Margaret, Robert Lacey, one of the historians advising the Netflix show says the Queen would have been horrified but also bewildered by Blunt's actions, In November 1979, the then newly elected Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, blew Blunt's story wide open in the House of Commons, Like fellow spy Guy Burgess, pictured, Blunt was already leading a double life because of his homosexuality which at the time was illegal in Britain, The Crown season 3 revisits scandal of how the Queen covered up for cousin who was a secret Russian KGB agent, Inside Keith Lemons 50th birthday celebrations as he throws star-studded fancy dress party, Bobby Davro devastated as fiance Vicky Wright is given heartbreaking cancer diagnosis, BBC presenter suffers shocking racist abuse outside pub while waiting for his wife on night out as he shares shock vid, third series of Netflix royal drama The Crown, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Margaret's upper-class party girl persona and Lyndon B. Johnson's working-class bruiser politician somehow magically found kindred spirits, causing him to sign a bailout worth millions to save the U.K. economy. The Queen did learn about his spying in the 1960s, and she did keep it quiet (above is a real picture of the Queen in that era. Anthony Blunt was at once a Soviet spy and, for decades, the royal family's chief art curator. (Clive Irving, who was working at the Sunday Times as the Profumo Affair unfolded, wrote in the Daily Beast that Ward was a member of the notorious Thursday Club, which Philip cofounded with Lieutenant Commander Michael Parker.). Sir Anthony Blunt (played by Samuel West), who held the position at the palace for 27 years. GettyThe Queen Elizabeth II poses with Prince Edward, 13 June 1964 in London. Tomorrows opening episode of the third series of Netflix royal drama The Crown revisits the scandal and features a stunned Monarch, played by Olivia Colman, 45, complicit in covering it up.

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