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A newly-released FBI memo has suggested Prince Phillip could have been involved in the Profumo affair.
The historic sex-scandal involved John Profumo, the then 46-year-old Secretary of State for War, who had an affair with teenage model Christine Keeler in 1961.
Profumo was forced to resign and the affair threatened to topple the Macmillan government as it was revealed the 19-year-old was also sleeping with a Russian spy.
The pair were introduced by osteopath Stephen Ward, whose friendship with Prince Phillip was featured in the Netflix series The Crown.
Decades after the scandal, the Mail on Sunday have obtained a cable sent from the then-head of the FBI, J Edgar Hoover, sensationally suggesting the royal’s involvement.
A cable sent to the US embassy in London on June 20, 1963 reads: “Corbally also stated there was a rumour Prince Philip may have been involved with these two girls.”
The second girl referred to was Mandy Rice-Davies, a fellow showgirl who was also at the heart of the scandal.
The claims reiterated by Hoover come from Thomas Corbally, an American businessman who was also friends with Ward.
In the aftermath of the scandal, Ward was arrested and charged with living off the earnings of prostitution.
He took an overdose of sleeping pills during his trial and died before he was officially sentenced.
He introduced Keeler to Profumo at a party in 1961 but the teenager was also having an affair with Soviet spy Yevgeny Ivanov at the time.
In The Crown, Prince Phillip is seen being threatened by another Soviet spy who warns that he will expose his relationship with Ward.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s involvement in the scandal has long been a source of speculation but the new documents have brought the affair back to the forefront.
The crucial memo has been was sent more than 60 years ago but has since been hidden within the US Department of Justice archives. It was made available by a Mail on Sunday freedom of information request they claim took five years to obtain.
Ward was known to the prince with the pair even having been sketched by an artist at Buckingham palace.
Keeler had lived with Ward at his London apartment and cottage on the grounds of Cliveden estate, where she was introduced to Profumo.
Profumo denied the affair in the House of Commons in March 1963, but in June he was found to have been lying.
Ward later faced charges of immorality as, although Keeler was not a prostitute, she had benefitted off of generosity of wealthy men.
