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Beringia

(5,717 posts)
Sun Jul 5, 2026, 12:47 PM 5 hrs ago

The Netflix series "The Crown" and the story of Dr Stephen Ward and relationship with Prince Philip

I have been enjoying watching The Crown on Netflix and it seems there was another sort of Epstein scandal happening in 1963 when Prince Philip was age 42

Prince Philip's connection to the Profumo Affair‍

Sharp-eyed viewers of The Crown will recall that the fictional portrayal of Prince Philip sees the royal involved in the Profumo Affair, attending sex parties for several nights. While Buckingham Palace has always denied Prince Philip’s involvement, the rumors persist. Royal biographer Sarah Bradford wrote in her book Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Our Times: “The women he goes for are always younger than him, usually beautiful, and highly aristocratic… He has affairs and the Queen accepts it.”

Prince Philip belonged to the men's-only Thursday Club who gathered for weekly lunches at Wheeler’s restaurant in Soho, London. Lunch soon morphed into supper as the alcohol flowed. The notorious KGB spy Kim Philby was among the 15 or so members, as was Stephen Ward, the artist and ‘society osteopath’ who introduced Christine Keeler to John Profumo. Philip, therefore, had a tangential link to the Profumo Affair through Ward. The osteopath also dabbled in art and sketched Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace.

In The Crown, Dr. Stephen Ward is featured in the Season 2 finale as the central figure connecting Prince Philip to the infamous 1963 Profumo affair.




Stephen Ward (1912-1963)
Portrait of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
signed, inscribed and dated 'Stephen Ward/at Buckingham Palace/9 June '61/This drawing was one of two/which were done at the same/sitting, and was published in/the I.L.N. - it took 40 mins.' (lower right)
charcoal, pastel and watercolour
18½ x 12 in. (47 x 30.5 cm.)



https://spyscape.com/article/the-profumo-scandal-spies-showgirls-and-five-buried-secrets
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The Netflix series "The Crown" and the story of Dr Stephen Ward and relationship with Prince Philip (Original Post) Beringia 5 hrs ago OP
I don't know how BaronChocula 4 hrs ago #1
I seem to remember snowybirdie 4 hrs ago #2

snowybirdie

(6,787 posts)
2. I seem to remember
Sun Jul 5, 2026, 02:15 PM
4 hrs ago

Andrew and Edward were products of that reconciliation between Elizabeth and Phillip. Especially Andrew.

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