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Late Prince Philip Linked to Shocking Sex Scandal, King Charles Trying to ‘Restore’ Family’s ‘Image’
It’s one of Britain’s most notorious political scandals of the 20th century: the Profumo affair. The 1960s public imbroglio involved U.K. Secretary of State for War John Profumo’s relationship with teenager Christine Keeler, a model who was also intimately involved with a Soviet naval attaché — a connection with national security implications that ultimately brought down government leaders and cost a man his life.
For decades, it’s been speculated that Prince Philip — the late Queen Elizabeth II’s husband of 73 years — was linked to some of the main players. Now, more than 50 years later, that royal rumor has finally been verified: On July 20, a U.K. news outlet reported that, following five years of digging using U.S. Freedom of Information laws, a cable sent from then–FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to the U.S. embassy in London in June 1963 confirmed that one of the spy agency’s informants told the FBI that Philip was “involved” with Keeler and another model named in the sex scandal.
The news is the latest blow to a monarchy that’s already struggling. Amid family infighting — Prince Harry, 39, remains estranged from brother Prince William, 42, and has had limited contact with father King Charles III, 75, since moving to America in 2020 — The Firm’s popularity has plummeted: A recent U.K. poll revealed that this year, public support for the institution fell below 50 percent for the first time ever. “The monarchy is in a precarious place,” a source exclusively tells In Touch. Nearly two years into his reign, “Charles is doing his best to restore the royal family’s image, but there’s only so much he can do, especially with his health the way it is. There’s a feeling that if enough people believe the rumor about Philip, it could hurt the whole institution, which is in a weakened state with both the king and William’s widely beloved wife, Princess Kate Middleton, undergoing cancer treatment right now.”
A Vulgar Attack
Charles is no stranger to sex scandals. His own relationship with his second wife, mistress turned Queen Camilla, 77, made headlines in the ’90s amid his divorce from the beloved Princess Diana, who was killed in a Paris car crash at 36 in 1997. He spent years rehabilitating his image as well as that of Camilla, the infamous “third person” in his ill-fated marriage to Diana. “It was an uphill climb to finally win acceptance and a measure of respect,” says the source, “but now the family is being rocked yet again by this tawdry story involving Philip. Some worry if Charles has the strength to fight it.”
Will he even bother? “It’s no secret that Philip was a bit of a ladies’ man who appreciated good looks as well as character and intelligence,” admits the source, “but Charles and William both refuse to believe he would stoop so low as this. It’s upsetting to them that people persist in spreading rumors and innuendo about the royal family and expect them to respond.”
The king also finds the British media’s “gotcha” approach three years after Philip’s death at 99 shameful. “The royals find it absurd that Philip could have been involved in the Profumo affair. Charles is aware his father was not a saint, but to implicate him in this scandal years after his death when he’s no longer around to defend himself is appalling,” adds the source. “The palace has denied time and time again that Philip had any connection” to the Profumo scandal’s key players “and continue to do so.”
It’s likely the late queen’s “never complain, never explain” philosophy will be the default approach here. “There have been serious discussions behind closed doors at the palace on how they’re going to deal with all the negative press,” says the source. “The hope is that the scandal will blow away since the Profumo affair happened so long ago, though that may also be wishful thinking.”
Problematic Prince
It doesn’t help that, despite Elizabeth’s staid example, sex scandals have repeatedly plagued the royal family. In addition to Charles’ affair with Camilla (memorialized by his cringey “Tampongate” recording), Diana’s infidelities, which came in response to his cheating, also marked a dark period for The Firm.
More recently, they’ve been unable to shake their Prince Andrew problem. “Andrew’s sleazy association with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein is a stain that won’t go away,” laments the source.
In 2019, the 64-year-old Duke of York was forced to step down from royal duties after giving a car crash interview about his friendship with the financier, who died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. In 2022, he settled a civil lawsuit brought by Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre, 41, who for years claimed she’d been forced to have sex with the prince when she was 17. Though Andrew denied it — he’s even insisted he never met Virginia, despite being photographed with her in 2001 — he paid her a reported $16 million, though made no admission of guilt. “The Andrew situation remains a mess,” says the source. “He doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong.”
Saving the Firm
With the family’s diminishing number of senior royals and the king’s ongoing health crisis, one thing has become clearer. “The future of the monarchy rests with William,” says the source, who believes the Philip drama “is the last thing” he and Kate, 42, need as they work to rebuild respect for the royal institution. In recent weeks, the Prince and Princess of Wales took an unprecedented step toward building bridges within the U.K. by announcing that they’re seeking to hire a new private secretary who speaks Welsh and has “specific expertise” on Welsh communities so that they can increase their royal impact — for themselves and their three children, future king George, 11, Charlotte, 9 and 6-year-old Louis — in their namesake U.K. nation, as well as in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
They’ve faced challenges before. “But the fact that the monarchy is suffering is worrying to them,” says the source. With William the heir to the throne and Kate Britain’s most popular royal, “they feel it’s up to them to save the monarchy at this point, and that’s a huge responsibility. But what other choice do they have?”
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