‘A Very British Scandal’: Claire Foy and Sarah Phelps Reflect on Judge’s Brutal 1963 Take Down of Margaret Campbell
When a judge finally granted the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll in 1963, he famously delivered a blistering three-hour and seven-minute rebuke of Duchess Margaret Campbell, disguised as a judgment, where he branded her a “completely promiscuous woman.” The divorce case was filled with accusations by her husband, Ian Campbell, the Duke, of flagrant adultrey, titilating rumors about sexual liaisons coded in her diaries, and much discussion about a scandalous Polaroid photograph of Margaret in an intimate act with someone other than her husband. The case left Margaret vilified by the press in a pre-sexual revolution Britain and branded the “Dirty Duchess,” while her former husband, who was also accused of adultrey, escaped similar criticism.