WHERE WERE YOU WHEN Christine Keeler grabbed the headlines - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Celebrity WHERE WERE YOU WHEN Christine Keeler grabbed the headlines By You Magazine - August 4, 2019 She was a symbol of 60s debauchery, remembers her biographer Douglas Thompson. At the trial of society osteopath Dr Stephen Ward, the star witness, 21-year-old showgirl Christine Keeler, was the only close-up that mattered. Christine arriving at the Old Bailey for Dr Stephen Ward’s trial. Image: The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images. Ward had introduced Christine to John Profumo, Britain’s Secretary of State for War, and Yevgeny Ivanov, Russian military attaché and agent – a ménage à trois that was to bring down the Tory government. When Profumo resigned as an MP after admitting that he’d lied to the House of Commons about his affair with Christine, it was an embarrassment too far for Harold Macmillan’s administration, already in turmoil through spy scandals. The Prime Minister had earlier backed Profumo’s denial. On trial with Dr Ward was the lifestyle of the nation’s elite. He was a scapegoat, absurdly convicted of trumped-up charges of pimping Christine and Mandy Rice-Davies. Distraught by his impending fate, he killed himself before the guilty verdict. Christine was deeply hurt at having to give evidence against him, and told me it was the ‘mistrial of the century’. It troubled her for the rest of her life – she died in 2017. Outside the Old Bailey Christine was the main attraction: the pictorial complement to the enthralling tales of aristocratic peccadilloes, sex with a cabinet minister, frolics with a Soviet spy and two-way mirrors. For eight days, the pavements outside the courts were overflowing with the curious. Every day Christine and Mandy (‘trying to look our best’) had their hair done at Vidal Sassoon on Bond Street. Exquisitely groomed and dressed in Chanel couture, Christine struggled through the public and photographers to get into the building and was often helped by eager policemen. For her, it was the start of the circus she spent her life trying to run away from. The show trial changed Britain, and Christine will forever be a symbol of the decade when promiscuity became fashionable. Also that month… David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images Artist Tracey Emin was born in Croydon, South London. The British comic strip Fred Basset was introduced, with its first appearance in the Daily Mail. Cleopatra – starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton – was released in the UK. At the time, it was the most expensive movie ever made. The Beatles recorded ‘She Loves You’ with their producer George Martin at Abbey Road Studios. RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR 50 of the best celebrity Halloween costumes of all time Shirley Ballas ‘ Strictly gave me back my hope’ Davina McCall discusses how men can help women going through the menopause Popular in Celebrity TV chef Gino D Acampo on Sardinia Sophia Loren and scary salads May 25, 2017 The Evergreen Goddess Exercise guru Diana Moran on looking fit and July 10, 2017 More more Julianne Moore November 13, 2017 Author Jill Mansell on designer notebooks commissioning art and the family January 16, 2018 EMOTIONAL TIES Kelly Hoppen on vodka vintage finds and being a April 4, 2018 ‘ I have no regrets’ Millie Mackintosh on divorce debt and reuniting May 20, 2018 EMOTIONAL TIES TV presenter and tennis player Annabel Croft shares her July 1, 2018 Stella Parton ‘ Dolly and I have always been close’ August 12, 2018 Anna Friel on getting jeered in the street shared parenting with September 23, 2018 Queen of primetime Charlotte Riley on juggling rising stardom with pregnancy October 21, 2018 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved