The duke and duchess of Argyll's 20th-century divorce proceedings saw a wife slut-shamed, exiled from high society and turned into one of the earliest, most famous victims of revenge porn. Here's how the case unfolded.
How a beautiful Scottish duchess's scandalous 1963 divorce turned her into one of the first victims of revenge porn An heiress who scandalised British high society as much as she dominated it, Margaret Whigham thought she'd finally met her match in the duke of Argyll.
But what Margaret didn't know was that on that train to Paris in 1949, she had just encountered the man who would ruin her life.Behind his handsome looks and esteemed position in society, the duke was flat broke and in despair over his crumbling estate. The divorce proceedings saw her slut-shamed, exiled from high society and turned into one of the earliest, most famous victims of revenge porn.Margaret was born in 1912, the only daughter of George Whigham, a Scottish millionaire businessman.She was presented at King George V's court in 1930 and named Debutante of the Year, making her the most eligible bachelorette of the season and one of London's first It Girls.
After making her debut, she was briefly engaged to Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, but changed her mind and agreed to marry Charles Sweeny instead. Margaret, now a fully fledged socialite and tabloid celebrity, caused a three-hour traffic jam in the upscale London neighbourhood of Knightsbridge, as people flocked for a glimpse of her lace-trimmed gown with a 3.6 metre-long train.Margaret and Sweeny suffered eight miscarriages as well as the stillbirth of a baby girl, before they had a son and daughter.
"When I married Charles I married, in a way, a commoner who was a very glamorous man but he had not great wealth, or title, or anything," Margaret said.The couple quietly divorced in 1947, both agreeing to the split on the grounds of Sweeny's desertion. But both affairs ended before any wedding plans could be finalised and Margaret returned home to London to devote herself fully to the role of hostess, entertaining guests until well after midnight.
The duke of Argyll set his sights on Margaret and her vast fortune, launching a full charm offensive despite his marriage to an heiress. Meanwhile, Margaret wrote letters claiming his sons were illegitimate, and in a desperate bid to have his child, she faked a pregnancy and arranged to buy a baby in Italy to pass off as her own.
London's elite, the courts, the tabloids and even the government engaged in a merciless campaign to slut-shame Margaret. For her part, Margaret hit back with her trademark mix of bravery, strength and a startling lack of guile.The accusation caused an uproar in high society, but Margaret had miscalculated.
She also never disclosed the identity of the so-called "headless man" in the Polaroid, protecting his privacy and dignity when hers had been so violated. "I began to view Margaret as an early victim of celebrity hacking, albeit in an era before the internet," Later in life, Margaret gave many television interviews in which she was continually mocked and slut shamed.
Duchess Of Argyll Divorce Victims Revenge Porn Court Proceedings Dangerous
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