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In the latest episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Kate Williams delve into the life of Sir Anthony Blunt, who Williams calls Britain’s ‘ultimate traitor.’
A distant relative of Queen Elizabeth II, Blunt served as the Queen’s Picture Surveyor for 27 years before being outed as a Soviet spy by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1979.
As a staunch Communist, Blunt’s tale is one of immense betrayal. During World War II, he leaked military secrets to Soviet agents, risking the lives of the Allies, and despite confessing to MI5 in 1964, he continued to work for the Palace for nine more years.
In a twist of irony, Blunt was sent by the King to post-war Germany to recover sensitive royal documents, raising questions about what he found and whether it subsequently shielded him.
Hardman and Williams discuss why Blunt remained in his post and explore newly released files revealing the Queen was intentionally kept unaware of his betrayal until 1973.
You can listen to the latest Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things by clicking the player below or here
Why was Anthony Blunt allowed to continue working for the Queen years after confessing to MI5?
Blunt’s troubles escalated in 1963 when Michael Straight, an American publisher, was presented with a position in the new Kennedy administration.
Blunt, who had been knighted in 1956, held a senior position as Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures as well as having previously worked for MI5.
With Cold War tensions high, Straight knew he would face rigorous FBI vetting before assuming the post.
He decided to come clean about his past, confessing that Blunt had recruited him to work for Soviet intelligence while they were students at Cambridge in the 1930s.
Blunt belonged to the infamous ‘Cambridge Five’, a spy ring of gifted Cambridge graduates recruited by Soviet handlers in the 1930s.
On the latest episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Kate Williams chart the life of Sir Anthony Blunt (pictured), Britain’s ‘ultimate traitor’. Listen here
Blunt, a distant relative of Queen Elizabeth II , served as Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures for 27 years before being publicly exposed by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as a Soviet spy
A committed Communist ideologue, Blunt’s story is one of staggering betrayal – he passed military secrets to Soviet handlers during World War II that endangered Allied lives
The FBI passed Straight’s confession to MI5, which dispatched officer Arthur Martin to interrogate Blunt in April 1964. After initially denying everything, Blunt too confessed when offered complete immunity from prosecution.
The spy was not only given immunity but allowed to continue working for the Queen. The decision was taken by MI5 and the Home Secretary without officially informing Her Majesty.
‘The view was, if we punish him, if we hang him out to dry, the Soviets will know that we know the information he’s given us’, Hardman told the podcast.
‘They just leave him where he was – and this weird deal is done where he is allowed to remain Surveyor of the Queen’s pictures.
‘He kept his knighthood too – because if they’d stripped him of it, the public would obviously ask why.’
Williams added: ‘I think they really feared that the exposure of him would be so damaging in Cold War relations.
‘They also thought it could damage the current Conservative government and give Labour an in.
‘Therefore, he continued.’
Did the Royal family suspect Anthony Blunt?
Once the deal was struck, knowledge of Blunt’s confession was restricted to a tiny circle: MI5 leadership, the Home Secretary, and the Queen’s Private Secretary. Even the Prime Minister was initially kept in the dark.
Newly released files from the National Archives reveal that Her Majesty was not officially informed of Blunt’s treachery until 1973, nine years after his confession.
The files note the Queen took the news calmly and without surprise, leading to speculation she had already learned of his treachery through informal channels.
Robert Hardman believes the Queen was privately ‘deeply uncomfortable’ with the situation
Blunt (top left) belonged to the infamous ‘Cambridge Five’, a spy ring of gifted Cambridge graduates recruited by Soviet handlers in the 1930s
Once the deal was struck, knowledge of Blunt’s confession was restricted to a tiny circle: MI5 leadership, the Home Secretary, and the Queen’s Private Secretary
However, Hardman believes the Queen was privately ‘deeply uncomfortable’ with the situation.
He said: ‘The Queen always hated to put a mask on.
‘She was a straight talker, and I think she was very uncomfortable at having been formally told what Blunt was up to. He was still in the Palace.
‘I interviewed the Queen’s then Press Secretary, Ron Allison – it was fascinating. I asked him whether he’d ever come across Blunt.
‘He said: ‘Yes and he was this rather short, shambling and donnish figure who’d occasionally wander into the Royal dining room for lunch.
‘The thing Ron said – that I found interesting – was that, he was never around when the Queen was around.
‘I think that was part of the deal. She must have said, all right – I will carry on having this traitor under my roof… but at the same time, she didn’t want him anywhere near her.’
After growing speculation in the following years, Thatcher would use her parliamentary privilege to publicly unmask Blunt in parliament.
Blunt had retired in 1972, but Thatcher’s 1979 exposure stripped him of his knighthood and public standing. He died just four years later in 1983, aged 75.
‘Blunt was allowed to live to an old age, unlike many of the people he betrayed’, Williams said.
‘I don’t feel at all sorry for him.’
To listen to full espionage episode on Anthony Blunt, search for Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things now, wherever you get your podcasts.
