Berkeley Levett
Berkeley John Talbot Levett,
Life and career
The son of Colonel
On 8 September 1890, the Scots Guards officer was in the company of royalty and fellow socialites at Tranby Croft in Yorkshire when the incident which set off the Royal Baccarat Scandal occurred.[3] At the time, Levett was a soldier and bon vivant said to be the best-dressed man in London. One society publication referred to him as the "noted soldier and dandy."[4] The subsequent events led to a slander trial at which Levett was one of the defendants. Although the defendants won the case, public mood was against them.
During the parties feting the German Emperor
Berkeley Levett served as
Berkeley Levett kept up his royal connections while serving as one of the
Baccarat scandal
Levett was drawn into the scandal after a night in which Sir William Gordon-Cumming, 4th Baronet, a fellow officer from the Scots Guards, was accused of cheating at Baccarat, a card game. Levett testified later that he had witnessed the cheating. Although Gordon-Cumming maintained that he had not cheated and the others had been mistaken, he had when confronted signed a statement pledging never to play cards again in return for an agreement that no-one present would speak again of what had happened. The assembled players feared the worst if the scandal leaked. For four months afterwards, Sir William split his time between his Scottish estates, his Scots Guards regiment, his wealthy American fiancée and his Paris club, hoping that the others would hold to their pledge.
The secret pact did not hold. An anonymous letter from Paris informed Sir William that gossips on the Continent were chattering about the events of that evening – and about Gordon-Cumming's alleged cheating. Enraged, Sir William brought suit against those present, including Berkeley Levett, charging slander. When the suit came to court in June 1891, it was a stylish affair: only those observers sporting a note from the
Levett testified under oath, and although the jury ultimately ruled for him and the rest of the defendants, the damage was done. Sir William was drummed out of his regiment and forced to resign from his clubs. The future King, who was required to testify and thus reveal his penchant for card-playing, was outraged. "Thank God", said the future King, "the army and society are now well rid of such a damned blackguard."[11]
The royal reputation had been called into question.[12] Newspapers and public opinion sided squarely with Sir William. Word in the street largely blamed the future King.[13] In circles like Berkeley Levett's, consensus was the King was to blame, but for a different reason: the contentious card game had transpired at the estate of a newly rich shipping millionaire.
The jury took 10 minutes to find all the defendants not guilty and award them their legal costs. It was not a popular decision. The crowd hissed and booed the jurors, and tried to attack the defendants as they left the courtroom.
See also
- List of Gentlemen Ushers
References
- ^ A History of the Meynell Hounds and Country, 1780-1901, Vol. II, James Lowndes Randall, Sampson Low, Marston and Company Ltd., London, 1901
- ^ a b Hart′s Army list, 1902
- ^ Gordon-Cumming v. Wilson and Others: Speeches for the Plaintiff Delivered by Sir Edward Clarke, M.P., Solicitor General, Stevens & Hayes, London, 1891
- ^ The First of the Autumn Weddings, The Bystander: An Illustrated Weekly, Wednesday, 2 Aug. 1903
- ^ A Great Day in London; The Emperor Partakes of the City's Hospitality, 10 July 1891, The New York Times
- ^ Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal: The Isabel of Essex Volume, Marquis of Ruvigny, reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Company, 1994
- ^ "No. 27474". The London Gazette. 16 September 1902. p. 5961.
- ^ Drexel Entertains Society in London, The New York Times, 9 July 1912
- ^ American Dollars Save London Season, The New York Times, 9 May 1914
- ^ Sir William's Counters, The New York Times, 3 June 1891
- ^ The Prince and the Parvenus, J. A. Maxtone Graham, Sports Illustrated, 28 April 1969
- ^ For the Prince's Sake, The New York Times, 8 June 1891
- ^ Wales and the Scandal, The New York Times, 5 June 1891
External links
Further reading
- "The Royal Baccarat Scandal", Edward Grayson, Michael Havers, Kimber, 1977