Profumo affair Party was marked by the scandal, which may have contributed to its defeat by the Labour Party in the 1964 general election. When the Profumo–Keeler affair was first revealed, public interest was heightened by reports that Keeler may have been simultaneously involved with Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet naval attaché, thereby creating a possible security risk. Keeler knew both Profumo and Ivanov through her friendship with Stephen Ward, an osteopath and socialite who had taken her under his wing. The exposure of the affair generated rumours of other scandals, and drew official attention to the activities of Ward, who was
Profumo affair been variously represented as a "gentleman", her truest love, a Soviet spy, and a traitor ranking alongside Philby, Burgess and Maclean. She also claimed that Profumo impregnated her and that she subsequently underwent a painful abortion. Her portrait, by Ward, was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 1984. Christine Keeler died on 4 December 2017. Rice-Davies enjoyed a more successful post-scandal career, as nightclub owner, businesswoman, minor actress and novelist. She was married three times, in what she described as her "slow descent into respectability". Of adverse press publicity she observed: "Like royalty, I simply do not complain". Mandy