Lillie Langtry’s ghost was said to have appeared to a Greek actress whose Hampstead home was up for demolition in the 1960sIt was a slice of London history that captured hearts and inspired locals to name a pub and streets after one of its most famous residents. For decades the actress and courtesan Lillie Langtry has been honoured in South Hampstead where it was said she maintained a discreet love nest for her and the future king Edward VII. SponsoredHistorians, however, say the whole tale was invented in the 1960s by a publicity-savvy actress seeking to save her home from demolition and that Langtry would not have been seen dead there. Edward VII had an extramarital affair with Langtry between 1877 and 1880, when he was Prince of Wales ALAMYDick Weindling and Marianne Colloms had long been suspicious of the claims placing the society hostess and her royal beau in a neighbourhood that was ploddingly professional. After trawling the archives, they found nothing to

Source: The Times June 02, 2021 16:03 UTC