Amazing secret papers reveal how late Queen was kept in dark for 10 years about Russian spy infiltrating royal household
According to recently made public MI5 documents, Queen Elizabeth II was kept in the dark for ten years about a Russian spy who was one of her top advisors and infiltrated her home.
The renowned art historian and surveyor of the late Queen’s portraits, Sir Anthony Blunt, eventually admitted in 1964 that he had been a Soviet agent since the 1930s.
He was a member of the Cambridge Five, the most infamous spy ring of the 20th century, and had been recruited while still a young Cambridge undergraduate.
Blunt had given his KGB handlers a great deal of classified information while serving as a senior MI5 officer during World War Two.
Fearing a huge scandal if he was fired and the truth came to light, MI5 and the Government permitted him to keep his place at the center of the British establishment.
The Queen reacted calmly and unsurprised when the entire tale was eventually revealed to her in the 1970s.
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Declassified MI5 documents made available to The National Archives in Kew, West London, tell the story.
When Blunt developed a bad case of cancer in 1973, they decided to finally tell the Queen because they were concerned that reporters might find out after he passed away.
The Queen’s private secretary, Sir Martin Charteris, was instructed by Prime Minister Edward Heath to notify the monarch in February 1973.
Michael Hanley, the director general of MI5, said on March 19 that Sir Burke Trend, the cabinet secretary, had shown him a private handwritten letter from Sir Martin indicating that she had finally been informed.
As Hanley pointed out, Charteris wrote that he had discussed the Blunt issue with the Queen.
“She handled everything quite coolly and unsurprised. He also implied that Blunt had always been a source of mistrust for the Queen.
Evidently, someone brought up the subject with her in the early 1950s, possibly shortly after her ascension, Hanley stated.
Hanley had visited Buckingham Palace earlier in the year and addressed Sir Martin, urging the severing of all connections with Blunt.
However, Sir Martin declined, stating that there was little use because Blunt’s tenure was already coming to an end.
According to Hanley, Charteris believed that the Queen was unaware of it and saw no benefit in informing her at this time; doing so would only make her more anxious and there was nothing that could be done to stop him.
Charteris said that the Queen was not fond of Blunt and did not see him often, despite what Blunt may have previously stated.
Despite Blunt’s 1964 confession, the archives appear to indicate that MI5 and the palace had only seldom communicated about him.
Blunt’s admission was also not communicated to Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who served as Prime Minister in 1963 and 1964.
In 1979, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher finally revealed Blunt’s identity in a Commons address. After losing his knighthood, he passed away in 1983 at the age of 75.
The papers are being made public in advance of MI5: Official Secrets, a significant new exhibition that will focus on the activities of the home security service and launch in the spring.
This is the first time MI5 has worked together on an exhibition in its 115-year history.
A record of Blunt’s questioning, in which he eventually confessed after being confronted by MI5 officer Arthur Martin with testimony from Michael Straight, a young American Blunt had enlisted to serve for the Russians in the 1930s, will be one of the exhibits on display at the National Archives.
The first-hand recollection of Kim Philby’s 1963 confession, documents pertaining to the Cambridge Spy Five’s previous operations, and MI5’s fascination with actor Dirk Bogarde will also be part of the collection.
We are happy to collaborate with The National Archives to share our history through MI5: Official Secrets, said Sir Ken McCallum, director general of MI5.
Even though a large portion of our work must be kept confidential, this exhibition demonstrates our continued dedication to being accessible wherever possible.
“The delight of the MI5 files is that many can be read as though they were a compelling spy novel,” said Mark Dunton, curator of MI5: Official Secrets and historian at The National Archives.
The distinction is that they are the real, official documents that provide us with a wealth of information about well-known espionage cases.
According to the records made public under the Official Secrets Act, the ideal spy in World War Two would have been neither too tall nor too short because those two characteristics stand out too much.
As Britain’s battle against the Nazis was only getting started in 1939, the memo indicates further ideal attributes that were sought after in a so-called observer.
Ideal qualities
Men who could covertly follow suspects and report back on their activities were sought after by the Secret Service at the time.
New hires were informed that the job was more complicated than it appeared in the movies, which featured people wearing trilbys, trench coats, and artificial moustaches.
As readers were cautioned, “The use of facial disguise is not recommended,” false facial hair was really actively forbidden.
In Secret Service movies, it might be deemed necessary, but in real life, it is regrettable.
In a restaurant, tavern, or on a tube train, it is particularly easy to spot a fake beard or moustache under the bright lights.
The report goes on to say that the ideal observer should be little taller than 5′ 7″ or 5′ 8″, and should appear as unrelated to a police officer as feasible.
Using males who are too short is a mistake since they are just as noticeable as tall men.
A watcher should seem somewhat unremarkable; having strong vision and hearing is crucial because it’s frequently possible to overhear a suspect’s speech.
Given how often a suspect boards or exits a fast-moving car in a hurry, he should be proactive and vigilant.
Above important, a watcher needs to be able to think quickly and respond spontaneously.
A watcher must dress appropriately for the area in which he is required to maintain observation; for example, in slum areas, he must wear worn clothing, a cap, a muffler, etc., and in the West End, where he frequently has to visit hotels, apartment complexes, or office buildings.
To put it briefly, the watcher’s responsibility is to continue in a way that avoids drawing undue attention from the community.
ANTHONY BLUNT
Anthony Blunt served as MI5’s counter-intelligence chief’s assistant during the Blitz.
Prior to becoming an art historian, he was enlisted as a Soviet agent at Cambridge University in the 1930s.
Blunt admitted to being a double agent in 1964, and Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister at the time, revealed this in 1979.
GUY BURGESS
While working at the BBC in 1936, British ambassador Guy Burgess began providing information to Russia.
He was recalled from his post at the British embassy in Washington in 1951, and he left the United Kingdom.
He claimed in a press conference five years later that he and Maclean had been living with Moscowas communists.
KIM PHILBY
Journalist Kim Philby became the head of counterespionage activities during World War Two after Guy Burgess recruited him to MI6.
Philby was dispatched to Washington in 1949 to serve as the main liaison officer between the United States and Britain for MI6.
In 1951, he was released from his position.
Later, in 1963, he ran away to the Soviet Union.
DONALD MACLEAN
In 1934, while working at the Foreign Office, Donald Maclean began providing the Soviets with material.
It is known that he gave Russia information about the establishment of NATO.
After Philby alerted him and Burgess that counterintelligence was pursuing them, he and Burgess fled to Russia in 1951.
HOW TO LIFT AND LET DIE..
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To all MI5 members during the war, a TEN-page pamphlet on how to secretly pursue a suspect was sent.
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Using rhymed couplets akin to a children’s novel, Observation portrays the culprit as a man smoking a cigar while wearing a fur coat and top hat.
If the target enters a small elevator, one drawing instructs you to run up the stairs; two more show you how to follow him with an accomplice if necessary.
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According to released documents, MI5 questioned movie star Dirk Bogarde about his suspicions of being the victim of a gay entrapment plan.
The secret service discovered in 1970 that he was one of six homosexuals on a Soviet list.
A KGB defector warned at about the same time that a British actor had been the target of a recruitment attempt in Moscow in the 1950s, with some details similar to the career of the matinee idol.
Bogarde was upset to hear about the list during a 1971 interview at the Nice consulate and was unsure of how he ended up on it.
Officer FM Merifield wrote: I stated that he did not appear to be a promising target based on what he had informed me.
Despite having a long-term relationship with manager Anthony Forwood, Bogarde, who died in 1999 at the age of 78, never came out in public.