The Tragedy of a Gay
Image by Gemini AI - see PPS below H e possessed a grand estate, seven children, and the favour of the King. Yet in the spring of 1931, this man who wielded much political clout in the British Empire was given a choice by his own brother-in-law: catch the next boat into permanent exile, or face scathing insult before the hangman’s noose tightens around his neck. Earl Beauchamp was the man. His offence: homosexuality. His brother-in-law’s motive: jealousy. William Lygon was the seventh Earl Beauchamp. King George V held him in high esteem and bestowed many extraordinary honours upon him. Yet a moment came when the King exclaimed, “My God! I thought men like that shot themselves.” George V was a deeply traditional, rigid man who inherited his royal protocols and moral standards from Victorian conservatism. His mindset skipped the decadent, pleasure-seeking Edwardian era of his father, Edward VII. That’s why his sensibility was shocked by the allegation of homosexuality levell...
