These properties hide dark secrets. If walls could talk

July 1961. The guests of William "Billy" Astor, representative of one of America's richest and most influential families, enjoy themselves by the swimming pool at Cliveden House in Berkshire. The Astors have also been associated with Great Britain for many years, and have lived in the residence for nearly 70 years. Although they have not owned it since 1942, having handed it over to the National Trust, an organization that manages British monuments, they have the right to treat it as their home. Among the company invited to the party are m.in. John Profumo, Secretary of War in the government of Harold MacMillan.

Profumo has arrived in Cliveden with his wife, actress Valierie Hobson, but that doesn't stop him from pointing out Christine Keeler, a 19-year-old who is swimming in the pool. Keeler, who makes her living as a nightclub dancer, shouldn't really be here - she wasn't Astor's guest, she was Dr. Stephen Ward, a friend of the host's supporter of alternative medicine, who rented a small house on the grounds of the mansion. It was to him that Christine and her current boyfriend Yevgeny Ivanov, naval attaché at the Soviet embassy in London, who almost certainly also worked for the KGB, had come to him.

MINISTER AND DANCER

The meeting marked the beginning of Christine and Profumo's romance. There would be nothing scandalous about it - apart from the fact that a respected politician cheated on his wife - if it wasn't for the fact that the girl also continued to meet with Ivanov. Ward allowed her to receive both admirers at his apartment in London's Merylebone district. The triangle would have functioned perfectly if the British special services had not become interested in it. The truth came to light when MI5 started watching Ivanov. Then it turned out that he had a surprising amount in common with one of the highest officials responsible for the security of Great Britain. The Cold War was in full swing, so Profumo was immediately alerted by the special services of the danger and withdrew from the affair.

Just when the case seemed to die down, in December 1962, another of Miss Keeler's exes, handsome sailor Johnny Edgecombe, entered the scene. He found her in Ward's apartment, and since she refused to talk to him, he tried to force the door by shooting the lock several times. Edgecombe was arrested, but Christine, shocked by these events, became careless and too eager to talk about her difficult life. The news of the young dancer's simultaneous affair with the minister and the Soviet officer reached the press. In the spring of 1963, Profumo was forced to make a statement in the House of Commons. However, he did not tell the truth there - he denied that he had ever had anything to do with Keeler. When, under the weight of evidence, he had to confess to a lie, he lost his position and dragged with him the Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan, who supported him. For both, it was the end of their political careers. Two Cliveden residents who contributed to the scandal also paid a heavy price: the hosts of parties whose guests should never have met, Stephen Ward and William Astor.

The first was charged with pimping, but died before sentencing. Everything pointed to the fact that he had committed suicide. In the 1980s, it was revealed that he had probably been working with MI5 all along, but it is not known whether Keeler's appearance in Cliveden was orchestrated or accidental. Astor, who was accused of having an affair with Christine Keeler's friend Mandy Rice-Davis in the Profumo affair, has never been able to prove not only that he didn't sleep with her, but also that he accidentally got involved.

He died of a heart attack at the age of 58. It is possible that William Astor would have lived longer and avoided much trouble if he had listened to his mother Nancy, who used to say, "Don't trust people who swim in the pool," and that is why she opposed its construction in Cliveden for years. Interestingly, Lady Astor had no problem trusting Joachim von Ribbentrop when he was residing in London as the ambassador of the Third Reich. This was not without significance, given her political influence, wealth and position.

JUDGMENTS WITH CHURCHILL

Nancy moved to Cliveden in 1906 when she married Waldorf Astor. Her father-in-law William - once the richest American - several years earlier, after a row with relatives, moved to England, where he devoted himself to charity (for which he received the title of Viscount). William could afford his son and heir to marry the not-so-wealthy divorcee Nancy Langhorne Shaw. Waldorf Astor didn't have to worry about where he and his new wife would live either, because their father had given them Cliveden as a gift. The residence and London home of the Astors at St. James quickly became important centers of the social life of the English elite.

Nancy was a brilliant woman and a great hostess. At her parties, there were famous and influential people from both sides of the Atlantic: from Winston Churchill - although Nancy made it clear that she did not like him, and he reciprocated - by T.E. Lawrence, Henry Ford, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Charlie Chaplin to George Bernard Shaw, with whom she was friends. So being invited to Cliveden for a weekend was no mean feat, and it was gladly accepted. Even if Nancy occasionally voiced a controversial opinion, no one cared too much about it. Some surprise, however, could be caused by the fact that over time she began to show more and more clear political ambitions. When in 1919 Waldorf inherited his father's seat in the House of Lords after his father's death and had to resign as a Member of Parliament, it was his wife who ran for election.

Although Nancy's program focused primarily on restricting access to alcohol, which she hated, she managed to win a seat for the Conservatives by defeating two opponents. The diligence of the candidate, who tirelessly appeared at subsequent meetings, rallies, tea parties and football matches, certainly helped. As a result, Nancy became the first woman to sit in the British parliament - Konstancja Markiewicz had been elected to it a year earlier, but because she was a representative of the Irish republicans, she did not take her place in the House of Commons. Lady Astor, though distinguished by her diligence in Parliament, was never particularly popular in the ranks of her party. Her very direct nature and sharp language certainly didn't help her.

Her skirmishes with Winston Churchill became legendary. Perhaps the most famous is a dialogue in which Lady Astor stated that if she were Churchill's wife, she would have put poison in his tea a long time ago. The later Prime Minister is said to have replied without hesitation: "If you were really my wife, I would certainly drink it!" Lady Astor made no secret of her disliking of Catholics and Jews, but she had the same feelings for Communists. However, she was not always consistent in her views - she got on very well with Joseph Kennedy, the father of the future president and the American ambassador in London, despite the fact that he was a Catholic and in the past it was said that during the American Prohibition he made a fortune smuggling illegal alcohol. In the 1930s, her relations with colleagues deteriorated also due to her positive attitude towards Hitler and warm relations with Ribbentrop. Nancy and her close friends, who were regulars in Cliveden, were accused of pro-Nazi sympathies and trying to reach an agreement with Hitler at all costs. In 1937, the press accused the so-called the Cliveden group of conspiracy to directly influence UK foreign policy.

Historians have found no evidence that such a conspiracy actually existed, but Nancy's political career suffered greatly. After 25 years in parliament, she had to resign her seat in the House of Commons when both the party and her own husband announced that they would not support her in the next election. She spent her last years away from public life, but also from her family, whom she could not forgive for not standing by her side when the fate of her political future hung in the balance.

TOXIC FRIEND

Nancy was not Cliveden House's first ambitious and influential hostess. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, this function was held by Elizabeth Villiers, Countess of Orkney. She was connected with Lady Astor not only by the fact that in her times Cliveden became one of the most important meeting places for influential politicians and scheming numerous intrigues, but also by her dislike of representatives of the Churchill family - Elizabeth passionately fought the influence of Winston John Churchill's ancestor, the Duke of Marlborough! The very story of Elizabeth's life and her appearance in Cliveden is ready material for a B-series TV series - there is betrayal, and sudden twists, an arranged marriage, a converted sinner husband, and even for a moment appears in it as an episodic character the author of "The Journey Gulliver by Jonathan Swift. Elizabeth came from a noble but impoverished family.

Fortunately, her mother was associated with the royal court. As she acted as governess to Mary, the elder daughter of James, Duke of York, later King James II, her daughter practically grew up with the princess. When she was married to Prince William of Orange, Elizabeth also moved to The Hague to serve as lady-in-waiting to her childhood friend.

Even though Elizabeth was not beautiful - her appearance was affected in particular by a very serious squint - she attracted the attention of William, who began an affair with her. Probably the duke appreciated the intelligence of his wife's friend, and since he himself was not particularly handsome, he easily reconciled himself to the imperfections of her beauty. When, after the dethronement of James II, Mary and William took power in England, Elizabeth returned with them to London. The new king did not hide his relationship - shortly after the coronation, he gave Elizabeth a gigantic estate in Ireland, and although she did not take it over in full, the monarch certainly managed to secure her financially. The romance - which of course everyone knew about - lasted in the best way until ... the moment of Maria's death.

When the queen died in 1694, William - apparently under the influence of a letter from his wife, who on her deathbed begged her husband to end the sinful relationship - did indeed dismiss his mistress. As a farewell, however, he arranged her marriage to the Scottish military man George Hamilton. Elizabeth had to bring a serious dowry to her husband, because at the same time he bought Cliveden, which had been in decline for some time, and started its extension. Although the marriage was initially a simple transaction, Hamilton was able to appreciate his wife, and she repaid him by bearing several children and looking after his interests.

Under her rule, Cliveden became for the first time a place where rulers (the house hosted both George I and George II and his son Frederick, Prince of Wales), politicians and the military. Elżbieta was active in politics, she supported numerous initiatives of her aristocratic friends from the time of her stay at the court. She also maintained close contacts with Jonathan Swift, who said that the countess was "the smartest woman he had ever met". Elżbieta, in turn, gave him a writing table and a self-made nightgown...

THREE IS AN ALREADY A CROWN?

Cliveden provided the countess with a fresh start - allowed her to transform from the king's mistress into a respectable aristocrat. Elizabeth and her husband probably had this in mind when they bought the house and estate, but given what had been going on there until recently, they were taking some risks. The beginnings of the residence were connected with a scandal no less serious than the government scandal of the 1960s. Although it did not involve the fall of the government, it made Cliveden famous for the first time, and was even talked about in parliament. On a frosty morning in January 1668, several hundred miles east of Cliveden, a duel took place that was of great importance to the future of the estate. Its owner - quite recent date, because only from 1666 - George Villiers, the second Duke of Buckingham, defeated Francis Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. The aristocrats were dueling for a woman, Talbot's wife Anna Maria, one of the most beautiful women in England. Talbot was badly injured and died soon after.

Malicious rumor had it that the countess did not care a bit about this event - on the contrary, she was supposed to get a perverse pleasure from making Buckingham put on his victim's bloody shirt during bed games! Shortly after her husband's death, the young widow caused another scandal and moved in with her lover and his wife in their London home. Mary Fairfax, Duchess of Buckingham, was extremely humble in agreeing to this arrangement, but Anne Maria did not seem to be entirely happy with it. She wanted a place where only she would be mistress and where Buckingham would devote his attention only to her. That place was to become Cliveden. The prince therefore began the construction of a residence worthy of his beloved.

Anna Maria planned to have a special boudoir in her apartment in Cliveden where she could receive guests as the greatest ladies of the court did. However, her dream never came true. In 1674, her late husband's family brought a petition to the House of Lords demanding that they finally deal with the unusual situation in the prince's house. Buckingham was forced to send his mistress away - which was probably easy for him, since the relationship had not been going well for some time - and Anne Maria left for France. She returned after a few years and married a certain George Bryges, a courtier of Charles II. But the house was completed, and the mistress of Cliveden was finally... Mary Fairfax. Interestingly, a frequent visitor to the scandalous atmosphere of the walls of Cliveden in the 19th century was the icon of morality - Queen Victoria.

The monarch was friends with one of the subsequent owners, Harriet, Duchess of Southerland. Probably on this occasion the walls of the palace witnessed more than one intimate conversation between the two women. It was also here that Rule Britannia!, the most famous song from the time of the British Empire, was performed in public for the first time. This happened because for several years the house was leased by George II's son and George III's father, Frederick, Prince of Wales, an avid music lover. Today, you don't have to be a ruler or an aristocrat to enjoy the splendor of Cliveden.

Since there is an elegant hotel here, it is enough to spend a little over 500 pounds a night (unless we would like to stay in a suite, which would already cost over 1500 pounds) and for several hours we will be able to move to the world of a spy scandal from the swinging 1960s. , Lady Astor, Anne Maria Talbot and the Duke of Buckingham, and Elizabeth Villiers. For the less affluent, it remains to buy a ticket to the part of the house open to the public.