Christine Keeler, the woman who effectively caused the downfall of British Secretary of State for War John Profumo in 1963, passed away at the age of 75 on Monday, December 4.
According to the Guardian, Keeler died at the Princess Royal university hospital in Farnborough after suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
In 1961, Profumo became engaged in an affair with Keeler, a 19-year old would-be model. After their relationship was exposed, Profumo initially claimed that there was no impropriety involved but eventually had to admit the truth and resign from the government and give up his seat in Parliament.
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The ensuing scandal was further exacerbated by the fact that during her affair with Profumo, Keeler was also enjoying a liaison with Soviet naval attaché Yevgeny Ivanov, fanning speculations about Russian intelligence possibly getting their hands on British state secrets.
The Profumo affair also dealt a serious blow to the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan, which lost the subsequent 1964 election to the Labor Party.
