You may see on some British postings "MRDA", short for "Mandy Rice Davies Applies", I've used it myself on here. Today we got news that Mandy has died of cancer at the age of 70. Despite helping to almost bring down a government and having been played by Bridget Fonda (actor daughter of Peter) in a movie, she is today little known in the USA. Yet her most famous line has, although often mis-attributed to another woman involved in the scandal, is regularly quoted in the British media and unconsciously in everyday conversation.
Like the another phrase that has entered common usage, "I couldn't possibly comment", it has hidden meaning. That line is from the original and very popular BBC adaptation of "House of Cards". In the original it is spoken by the character Francis Urquart which was re-worked for the US version as Francis "Frank" Underwood played by Kevin Spacey. The circumlocution "you might think that, I could not possible comment" is, in effect, the answer "yes" to a question. Mandy's line is far more accusative so let me give an example how her line might be used in an American context;
"Chris Christie denies all prior knowledge of the lane closures"
might get the response
"Well he would, wouldn't he?" or just "well he would"
The code of course translates as "I believe he's lying to protect his position"
To understand the context, we have to go through the orange time tunnel back to July 1963.
We are at the trial of the dashing 51 year old Stephen Ward. He accused of "living off immoral earnings", by arranging prostitutes for wealthy clients and other offenses.
Ward had trained as an osteopath at the Kirksville College of Osteopathy and Surgery in Missouri. This qualified him to work as a general medical practitioner in the USA and entitled him to use the title "Doctor".
During WWII, although he volunteered to work with the Royal Army Medical Corps, they did not recognize his qualifications but gave him general duties as, in effect, a stretcher bearer. In 1945 he suffered a nervous breakdown and spent a while in a mental hospital.
He returned to London and practiced osteopathy at the Osteopathic Association Clinic in Dorset Square. There he had some famous clients, including Winston Churchill's son-in-law who recommended him to the former Prime Minister. This gave Ward the impetus to set up his own private practice. One of his wealthy clients was Lord Astor who introduced him into high society. Ward became a firm friend with Astor who let him use a riverside cottage on his Cliveden country estate. Ward used it for weekend parties and hosted a variety of friends from all social strata.
He also trained as a painter and had a sideline in portraiture. The Illustrated London News commissioned him to paint nationally and internationally important figures. Among these were the Queen's husband, Prince Phillip and Princess Margaret, her sister. He hoped to be able to include Soviet leaders and one of his patients, the editor of the Daily Telegraph, gave him a contact at the USSR embassy, Yevgeny Ivanov, I'll let wiki take up the story:
In 1959 Ward met Christine Keeler, a 17-year-old showgirl who was working at Murray's Cabaret Club in Beak Street, Soho. Captivated by his charm, she agreed to move in with him, although their relationship was not sexual. She stayed with him, on and off, for the next several years, and often spent time at the riverside cottage. During the weekend of 8–9 July 1961 Keeler was among several guests at the cottage with Ward. At the main house, among a large gathering from the worlds of politics and the arts, was John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War, and his wife, the actress Valerie Hobson. On the Saturday evening, Ward's and Astor's parties mingled at the Cliveden swimming pool, which Ward and his guests had permission to use. Ward introduced Keeler to Profumo, who was greatly attracted to her, and promised to be in touch. Ward later reported to MI5 that Profumo and Ivanov had met, and that Profumo had shown considerable interest in Keeler. This information was an unwelcome complication in MI5's plans to use her in a honeytrap operation against Ivanov, that might secure his defection.
Keeler and Profumo embarked on a brief affair; some suggest that it ended after a few weeks, while others believe that it continued, with decreasing fervour, until December 1961. The couple usually met at Ward's house in Wimpole Mews; Profumo did not pay Keeler for her services, apart from a few small presents and once, a sum of £20 as a gift for her mother. On 9 August 1961 Profumo was warned by Sir Norman Brook, the Cabinet Secretary, of the dangers of mixing with Ward's group, since MI5 were at this stage unsure of Ward's dependability. That same day, Profumo wrote Keeler a letter, beginning "Darling...", cancelling an assignation they had made for the following day. Some commentators have assumed that this letter ended the association; Keeler insists that the affair ended later, after her persistent refusals to stop living with Ward.
Although Ward liked to surround himself with beautiful women, his relationships with them appear to have been non-sexual. Indeed his lack of interest is believed to have been the cause of his divorce. Ivanov, although listed as a naval attache at the embassy was almost certainly an intelligence agent.
In September 1962 Keeler had met Antiguan jazz promoter and criminal John Arthur Alexander "Johnny" Edgecombe. Keeler moved in with him but also had a number of relationships with other men. While Edgecombe was known to have pimped out other girlfiends, there is no evidence that Keeler was a prostitute. When she told Edgecombe that one, "Lucky" Gordon, had held her captive and threatened her when she ended their affair; Edgecombe attacked Gordon with a knife. Gordon needed 17 stitches to his face. Edgecomber told Keeler and asked her to help him find a solicitor before he surrendered to the police. Keeler refused and instead left him, saying she would give evidence against him. She fled to Ward's London apartment. Edgecombe followed her in a taxi and fired several shots at the door when she refused to come out.
As well as John "Jack" Profumo, Keeler had also had a brief affair with Yevgeny Ivanov. Neither had hit the newspapers. So when Keeler was not called as a witness in Edgecombe's trial, things started to become public. There was much speculation as to the identity of the "missing witness" and Keeler was identified. She then began talking openly and attempted to sell her story to the newspapers. Profumo's name began circulating and he was forced, as a senior government minister with security responsibilities, to make a statement in the House of Commons. Hoping to survive in office, he lied. He claimed to have known her but that there was no "impropriety" in their relationship. This did not stop the newspapers publishing stories about the affair. By June 5, 1963 Profumo was forced to admit that he had lied to the House (the most serious offense and MP can commit) and resigned.
By this time most of Ward's society friends and patients had deserted him. The force of the British establishment was put on him and he was arrested for a number of immorality crimes. His trial process began on June 28 with "committal proceedings" prior to trial where Ward was given bail. All of the prosecution's evidence was put forward and widely reported in the press. While the prosecution's case was weak, this reporting affected the full trial which began on July 22. The judge was clearly hostile to him.
The case rested on the money given to Ward by Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice Davies when they stayed in his apartment. They regarded them as contributions to household expenses but the prosecution sought to show they had earned this as prostitutes.
At Ward's trial, Mandy Rice Davies was called as a witness. She had widely claimed to have had an affair with Lord Astor. The lawyers sought to show she was an unreliable witness and challenged her by quoting Astor as denying he had "had sexual relations with that woman" to use a US idiom. Her reply, which has pride of place in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations was.
"Well he would, wouldn't he?"
The judge's summing up of the case was so one sided that Ward was convinced he would be convicted. The jury retired for the night and Ward returned home, never to appear in court again. The following morning, Ward did not attend but was found guilty of living off Keeler and Rice-Davies immoral earnings. He was found dead in his apartment from a barbiturate overdose.
Although an inquiry by Lord Denning effectively whitewashed the Profumo affair, the Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan's premiership was damaged. The inquiry report was published on September 26, 1963. MacMillan resigned on "ill health" grounds in October. The Conservatives appointed a sitting Lord, Lord Home (pronounced hume: there was a lovely punning graffito at the time; "I thought home was a Prime Minister until I discovered squatting"). He resigned from the Lords and was elected to a seat in the Commons as Alec Douglas-Home.
Even before the Profumo Affair, the Conservatives had become increasingly unpopular. They were in their 12th year and, as in many countries, there was a desire for change. At the following election in October 1964, "thirteen years of Tory misrule" ended. The Wilson administration was to bring in the era of the "white heat of technology". Perhaps their most ironic help in the election was the 18 months or so when the Tories were reminded and ribald comments made about their slogan for the previous election - "Life's better off under the Conservatives".
Jack Profumo retired from public life. After his resignation, he started by cleaning the toilets at the charity Toynbee Hall. He remained in the East End of London "quietly doing good works". He became their chief fundraiser, using his political contact. All this was as a volunteer, he had an inherited private income. In 1975 the Queen presented him with an honor, the OBE, at Buckingham Palace in recognition of his work for charity which would go on to total 40 years. He died in 2006 much respected.
The Profumo Affair was a watershed for British politics. It broke the taboo and threat of libel that prevented reporting of politicians' private lives. It brought in a more cynical and questioning attitude in the electorate.
Mandy Rice Davies would continue to live the high life. She married three times. She wrote her biography saying that she would take no secrets to the grave. She wrote a novel and appeared on screen in a number of movies and TV shows including Absolutely Fabulous. Often people believe her "catchphrase" was said by Christine Keeler. She was well loved and respected.:
Lord Lloyd Webber said he was "deeply sad" to hear of the news of her death.
"Mandy was enormously well-read and intelligent," he said. "I will always remember discussing with her over dinner subjects as varied as Thomas Cromwell's dissolution of the monasteries and the influence of the artist Stanley Spencer on Lucian Freud.
"With a different throw of the dice, Mandy might have been head of the Royal Academy or even running the country. She became a dear friend and I will miss her."
I can't help thinking she would be smiling at her being remembered for things other than her famous youthful retort. She would, wouldn't she? But you might not possibly comment.