What the Butler Saw (And Swallowed)

ALL IN THE FAMILY Linley(Photo: Getty Images)

The news that Viscount Linley is at the center of a jolly blow 'n' blow-job blackmail scheme, which we broke yesterday, may have come as a surprise to those who think the Windsor clan is all about wellies, tweeds, and stiff-upper-lipped sexuality. Long-time royal watchers know otherwise. The reigning family and their private staffs are, in spite of their English teeth, a randy bunch, quite accustomed to accusations of untoward palace antics.

Indeed, only a few years have passed since the last royal scandal involving upstairs-downstairs sex came to a, well, head. Prince Charles's image was rocked when palace valet George Smith announced in the press that he had been raped by a member of Charles's private staff and had come forward regarding a gay sex act he witnessed between Charles and a servant. Though Smith later recanted the accusation, admitting he was an alcoholic with a vendetta against the male staff member in question, the damage had been done and tales of rampant cruising on hallowed royal grounds hit the gossip circuit.

And if, as those rumors suggested, the palace is gayer than Hampstead Heath after the pubs close, who can really blame Linley for getting frisky with the butlers? That hot Freddie Windsor, who was allegedly remanded for bringing a few too many cute boys back to his royal pad, can't corner all the action, can he?