Keeler Christine

British party girl who had a short and sporty stint with the Rolls Royce and caviar crowd in 1963. She was noted for sharing her affections and her bed with both Russian Captain Eugene Ivanov, and British M.P. John Profumo. The ensuing scandal ruined Profumos career and helped topple the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan. Christine was a war baby whose dad left for the Army. Her mom took up with a man whom Christine called Dad and they lived in a poorly converted railway carriage on the edge of a gravel pit in Berkshire. By 11 and 12, she was babysitting for neighbor kids when she first became familiar with adult male abuse. "The fathers," she said, "If they got me alone, would try to kiss and fondle me. I hated it." She developed an intense fear of her stepfather, avoiding him with a suspicion that never was overtly justified. She said that from the time she was 13, she never spoke to him or remained alone with him. At 16, Keeler became pregnant by a local boy. She tried to hide the fact and to abort her baby with a pen - with castor oil - gin and hot baths, unsuccessfully. When her secret came out her step dad confined her to her room for months. She had a premature labor in her own bed, making no sound for fear her step dad would hear. The baby boy was taken from her and died later in a hospital. In their village, her unmarried mother’s living arrangement and her own teen-age pregnancy insured them a place of disrespect, if not shame. After the baby, she left home. Christine was a beautiful child-woman at 17. She was working as a topless dancer when she was "discovered" by Dr. Stephen Ward, a flashy name-dropping society osteopath whose client-list included royalty and movie stars. As a sideline to celebrity back-cracking, Ward, 46, provided comely, willing companions for his wellborn friends. She trusted Ward and they had a caring relationship and she said that, although he called her his little alley cat, they never became lovers. Ward was enchanted with Christine and soon invited her to share his Marylebone flat, playing Svengali to her Trigby. One muggy July night in 1963 they were at the Thames-side cottage he rented on the grounds of the palatial Berkshire seat of Lord and Lady Astor when the Astors were entertaining Pakistani royalty and the esteemed War Secretary John Profumo. Chris was taking a nude swim and emerged with only a scant towel to what amounted to a chase and a game from Profumo, out strolling the grounds. The next day, she got a ride back to London with Wards friend, Capt. Eugene Ivanov, 37, a tall, dark Soviet naval attaché rumored to be a KGB spy. At home, he made love to her, and the following Thursday, Profumo also became her lover. By her account, she slept with Ivanov only that once and Profumo, five times. She swears she did not take money for sex. Still the public saw her as a call-girl and the press paid her well for her kiss-and-tell version when the story broke. Ward was accused of pimping for Keeler and for Mandy Rice-Davies who was also living at his house. Among the "introductions" that Ward contrived, he arranged that Christine meet the West Indian café owner Lucky Gordon, who imprisoned and raped Keeler on two occasions, each time, she says, after Ward let him know where she lived. On 31 July 1963 Ward was found unconscious from an OD of Nembutal; he died three days later. For Christine, life went downhill. On 6 December 1963, Keeler received an 18-month prison sen Read less