The Profumo Affair: The Outline Of 1960s British Politics

The Profumo affair is vital for the outline of the 1960s British political history. Particularly, it suggests that political affair is a key element within the politics of planning and the rebuilding of Britain’s political government. John Profumo was the Secretary of War and was in charge of overseeing the British Army. Christine Margaret Keller became the center of the spotlight during the scandal because she was romantically involved with John Profumo and other politician leaders. Her sexual encounters caused a commotion within the national security issues. John Profumo denied any allegations that involved with Christine Keller, but eventually admitted that he lied to the House of Commons. The Profumo affair is an important factor for the history of politics because the sex scandal continues to shed light on today’s well-hidden world of sexual behaviors with the political elite.

Profumo was married to Valerie Hobson, a former movie actress, and they both were considered to be a powerful couple. John Profumo was first introduced to a 19 year old Christine Keeler at the Cliveden estate of Lord Astor. Christine Keller was working as a showgirl in a London nightclub, but she was considered to be a prostitute. For example, Dr. Ward took Keeler under his wing and encouraged her to sell herself to high-class clientele, some of which were politicans. Keeler was also involved in a sexual relationship with Ivanov, a Soviet diplomat. After several weeks with daily conversations with Profumo, she began having an affair with the war minister. People believed that men in politics would pay Keeler for sexual experiences; however, there was no