Margaret says that she did not like the ‘unkind” press coverage following her highly publicized divorce.
An interview Melvyn Bragg gave in BBC’s Read All About It was published by BBC Archive. Twitter Margaret stated that she found the coverage from 1930 to 1950 very pleasant and she is friends with reporters she trusts.
She said that she felt publicity had been ‘ghastly’ and added: “I must admit lately, the media, to be quite blunt, has become extremely unkind. It hasn’t been enjoyable at all.
This interview is back on the air as BBC broadcasts a series of three parts about Margaret. The BBC’s original story tells the true story of Margaret who was exposed in 1960s scandal for her flirty sex lifestyle.
Margaret, in a 1997 interview with Duchess-of-Argyll, reveals that she didn’t like the ‘unkind’ media attention following her highly publicized divorce.
Melvyn stated that publicity was one of the most important things in your life. Is it a way of life that has changed the way you live?
Margaret replied, “No.
After the interviewer asked her if publicity is all good publicity, she responded that she didn’t believe so.
“In those early days of publicity in 30s-40s, 50s and 60s, it was all very enjoyable. At a party, you looked lovely wearing pink.”
This interview was aired by the BBC in a series of three parts. It tells the true story of Margaret who, during the 1960s, was the center of controversy after her divorce proceedings exposed her wild sex lifestyle.
It’s not harmful. Our little paragraph was a great success. We were all friends with the writers, and met them at parties.
“They wore two hats. Either they came as a friend, or to interview and ask questions about you.
“You were different with them. They were absolutely trustworthy.
Margaret dominated the front pages as her divorce from the Duke of Argyll (portrayed by Paul Bettany in the new BBC drama) played out – featuring accusations of forgery, theft, violence, druDujgtaking, secret recording, bribery and the pictures.
The first episode of A Very British Scandal took viewers by surprise as they watched Foy perform three sex scenes in the first 30 minutes of the first episode – with two different men.
Margaret claimed she’d found coverage during the 1930s and 1950s “very pleasant”, adding that she’s friends with journalist she’s ‘absolutely trusted.
First episode: Margaret Foy (Foy) seduces a man at dinner, before she romps with her husband in his Scottish stately home.
This comes days after Foy said that she dislikes sex scenes and claimed they make her feel “exploited” and are the “grimmest thing you could do”.
Margaret, born in 1912 as the sole child of an independent Scottish millionaire, was described by Lyndsy Spence, her biographer, as “a daddy’s daughter with an absent father and living with a jealous mom who tried to remind Margaret about every fault she had”.
Margaret was thus born with a stammer, which Lionel Logue (King George VI’s speech therapist) treated.
At just fifteen, David Niven, a future film star, fell in love with her while she was on vacation on the Isle of Wight. After that, her father took her to London and gave her a secret termination.
Young, beautiful, she became a household name. Princes and millionaires wooed her, inviting Cary Grant, Noel Coward, and J Paul Getty to their Mayfair homes. Before her marriage to Charles Sweeny in 1895, she had four more failed engagements.
Margaret Campbell (1912-1993), Duchess Of Argyll, outside of the Strand law courts on the second day in her case
Their 1933 wedding day was an eventful affair. Traffic stopped for three hours while 2,000 wedding guests arrived at Brompton oratory west London. Meanwhile, 2,000 others gathered to view the beautiful 28ft train of Norman Hartnell’s wedding dress.
The couple had a daughter Frances and a son Brian together. However, their relationship ended after 14 years. Margaret claimed that Charlie was just a “pretty brainless doll” and the divorce took place in 1947.
She married Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th Duke, in 1951. They met on a Paris train station’s Gare de Nord in 1949. He had pursued her tirelessly knowing that she was wealthy while his estate was nothing.
She took pity on him and convinced her father to give him £100,000 to restore his family seat in Scotland, Inveraray Castle. He signed the Deed of Gift that included various goods as security and then promised to marry her once his own divorce was finalized.
After the union, the couple was able to live in luxury. The duchess was a favorite of fashion designers and socialites.
The duke quickly showed his true colors, with gambling, drug, and alcohol addiction and a violent temper.
They had previously agreed to live apart and have an open marriage. Bettany asked, “How many men are you married to?” Foy answers, “How many females do you have?”
Furious at the fact that the duchess wasn’t funding him, he hired private detectives who would follow his wife. He applied for divorce.
A set of blurry Polaroid shots of the Duchess of Cambridge, taken from her Mayfair bathroom mirror. These pictures showed her in her classic triple-string of pearls. Some pictures show her entertaining an unknown lover, whose head was cropped from the photo. He became known as “Headless man”
She allegedly paid a locksmith for access to her private papers.
The prehistoric legal system of that day, and the fact that her “lovers” were often gay prevented her from sharing her story. She was not likely to be imprisoned.
A Very British Scandal focuses especially on the attitudes towards women at the time, as Margaret was vilified throughout the divorce battle for refusing to go quietly, despite being betrayed by friends and publicly shamed by society.
He filed for divorce four years later, but a verdict did not come until then. It was granted on Margaret’s grounds.
She was ordered to pay most of the £50,000 legal bill. In the meantime, little was known about him or his six-week-old remarriage with Mathilda, an American woman of wealth.
Margaret lost her relationship with Frances after the case. Frances had never wanted Margaret to support the divorce. Her fortune was also diminished due to Margaret’s extravagant lifestyle and poor investments. Although she eventually reconciled herself with Frances after the case, Margaret lost her home. She was then placed in London’s nursing home, where she later died in 1993.
The original photograph showed Margaret – wearing nothing but a string of pearls – involved in a sexual act with a ‘headless’ man in her home.
This photo was cropped around the neck of the man, and his identity has remained unknown for many years.
In 2000, however, the documentary identified Sandys in his role as Cabinet minister.