SHOCKING Royal SCANDAL

THE MONARCHY FACES ANOTHER SETBACK AS A LEAKED FBI REPORT CONFIRMS THE LATE PRINCE PHILIP'S CONNECTION TO AN INFAMOUS SEX AND SPYING AFFAIR.

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IT'S one of Britain's most notorious political scandals of the 20th century: the Profumo affair. The 1960s public imbroglio involved U.K.

Secretary of State for War John Profumo's relationship with teenager Christine Keeler, a model who was also intimately involved with a Soviet naval attaché-a connection with national security implications that ultimately brought down government leaders and cost a man his life.

For decades, it's been speculated that Prince Philip the late Queen Elizabeth II's husband of 73 years was linked to some of the main players. Now, more than 50 years later, that royal rumor has finally been verified: On July 20, a U.K. news outlet reported that, following five years of digging using U.S. Freedom of Information laws, a cable sent from then FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to the U.S. embassy in London in June 1963 confirmed that one of the spy agency's informants told the FBI that Philip was "involved" with Keeler and another model named in the sex scandal.

The news is the latest blow to a monarchy that's already struggling. Amid family infighting-Prince, Harry, 39, remains estranged from brother Prince William, 42, and has had limited contact with father King Charles III, 75, since moving to America in 2020The Firm's popularity has plummeted: A recent U.K. poll revealed that this year, public support for the institution fell below 50 percent for the first time ever.

"The monarchy is in a precarious place," a source tells Star. Nearly two years into his reign, "Charles is doing his best to restore the royal family's image, but there's only so much he can do, especially with his health the way it is.

There's a feeling that if enough people believe the rumor about Philip, it could hurt the whole institution, which is in a weakened state with both the king and William's widely beloved wife, Princess Kate, undergoing cancer treatment right now."

A VULGAR ATTACK