Morbid - Episode 389: The Murder of Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey

Episode Date: November 9, 2022

Marguerite Alibert was a woman set on getting what she wanted out of life. She was raised a very poor girl and was sent away from her family at a very young age to go and live with the Sister...s of Mary. When she became pregnant at 16 and lost the job they had set up for her she was left all alone in the world and had to turn to sex work to make a living. She ended up being one of the most popular and desired courtesans in Paris, but that reputation would not remain spotless for long. Soon Marguerite, after scamming multiple men… like Prince Edward VIII, would meet a young Egyptian “Prince.” Their life was set up to be picture perfect, but all was not as it seemed. Just six months into their marriage, one of them would end up murdered. Thank you to David White for research assistance!Resources:Aberdeen Press and Journal. 1923. "Fahmy Trial." Aberdeen Press and Journal, September 14: 8.Nottingham Evening Post. 1923. "Fahmy's Fate." Nottingham Evening Post, September 14: 1.Rose, Andrew. 2013. The Woman Before Wallis: Prince Edward, the Parisian Courtesan, and the Perfect Murder. London: Picador.Shaw, Charles Gray. 1923. "Why a Woman Can Madly Love the Man She Kills for Hate." San Francisco Examiner, August 26.The Daily Mail. 1923. "Madame Fahmy Set Free." The Daily Mail, September 15: 4.The Dundee Courier. 1923. "Story of Broken Romance Behind London Hotel Tragedy." The Dundee Courier, September 11: 5.—. 1923. "Warning Sent to "Princess"." The Dundee Courier, September 12: 5.The Evening Telegraph. 1923. "No Will Left By Fahmy." The Evening Telegraph, September 17: 2.World Economic Forum. 2014. Open borders: WW1's forgotten casualty. June 27. Accessed October 20, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2014/06/open-borders-ww1s-forgotten-casualty/.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, Prime members, you can listen to morbid, early, and ad-free on Amazon music. Download the app today. You're listening to Immorbid Network Podcast. Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of Wondries Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the Kids for Cash Scandal, a story about two judges who stood accused of making millions of dollars in a brazen scheme that shattered the lives of countless children. Listen to American scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. We go eyes. We just wanted to come on here and chat with you for a second because we hear you, we see you, and we love you.
Starting point is 00:00:39 And we would like to take your feedback into consideration and we appreciate it. So we are diving hard back into some more true crime cases because again, we hear you, we totally understand. And thank you for letting us know because the reason we were kind of doing a bunch of collab episodes was one they're just really fun to do. We've been really lucky to be able to hang out with these people. But also we kind of like we kind of just needed like a mental break from like such hard cases And it was like a nice little kind of like pullback a little bit. We feel refreshed We feel anew and thank you for being patient with us and giving us that moment just to kind of like mentally reset because I mean we're like I don't know how many years, more than four years into this now.
Starting point is 00:01:25 So I think we just needed like a true crime like reset where we were like trying to figure out what cases really meant something to us and which ones we wanted to go forward with. And we gathered them while we were doing those collabs and some of the spooky stuff and it kind of matched up with spooky season. But now we're in November and it's coming. So buckle up, buckle up. But we want to let you guys know that we really do hear you and that you're not just yelling into avoid and that we're not just being like,
Starting point is 00:01:52 fuck off, you get spooky and that's ever. Cause I understand what you guys are saying. I myself sometimes, if I don't know a guess, we'll skip a collab episode on a podcast. Yeah. So I get it, I totally get it. We have had amazing guests. I'm gonna say that.
Starting point is 00:02:07 At the same time, I wouldn't skip any of the guests that we had because they are all incredible and they all deserve to have ears on their incredible work. Exactly. But we have done plenty and we will cool it for a little bit. Do know that we all have some like already that are gonna be coming out.
Starting point is 00:02:22 I think we're gonna try to see if maybe we could put them on Fridays for a little bit to take place of the listener tails. We'll make sure that you're getting enough true crime where you feel like, say she. You are where you want to be and where you came for originally. You know what I mean? So we're gonna give you all the true crime
Starting point is 00:02:40 you can handle, don't worry. And for those of you that do like this spooky episodes, don't worry, they're not gonna go anywhere. We're still gonna sprinkle them in because we have fun with them. They are, they're a lot of fun. And that's why, you know, like we wanted to venture out into more of that stuff, but we understand
Starting point is 00:02:54 when it's like you go too hard with one thing and you're taking away from the other thing, it's kind of a learning curve. We're just trying to figure out how to balance it all. But, you know what, You guys gave good feedback. We're gonna listen. So we're gonna make sure we're given a healthier dose of true crime in here.
Starting point is 00:03:11 And hopefully you guys like it. And actually, it's starting in this episode and it's gonna keep going for a little while. So you have a couple of pretty gnarly ones coming out, totally. I have a two-parter next week coming in the Acha and it's a lot of body parts. It's all the same. Well, listen guys, just know that we do hear you and we appreciate you.
Starting point is 00:03:35 The feedback, it only makes the show better. With that being said, I hope you all feel heard and I hope that we can continue to keep keeping it weird together. Because you're the reason we're here. So it's about you, man. You're the reason for this season. Love, Ash, and Alina. So I hope you guys enjoy it. Thank you. Hey, weirdos. I'm Alina. I'm Ash. And this is morbid. Hey, yo, hello everybody. We just clean the pod lab and it feels really good in here. Oh my God, we're not even actually really done yet, but it is feeling better.
Starting point is 00:04:38 We're organizing, we're hanging up some of the stuff you guys have sent us. We're burning some of the candles that you've sent. It's the vibe is right. The vibes are... The vibes are correct. The vibes are vibing. And by the time this comes out, Halloween will be over. You brought that to a dark place.
Starting point is 00:05:00 No, but we'll be on the way to Thanksgiving. And Christmas season, which is always fun with kids. It is so much fun. I'm like sad about Halloween this year. It just like, it went by, it came up too fast. It went by too fast. Way too fast. Yeah, but we had some fun costumes this year.
Starting point is 00:05:17 You would have. Yeah. Yeah. Lena was a circus ring leader. Yeah, they got like cloth in the face by a lion. And named John. John was a lion. Yeah. Yeah, they got like clawed in the face by a lion and named John. John was a lion. Yeah, and I was fashion drew where the bride of Frankenstein and Frankenstein.
Starting point is 00:05:31 There's true. There he is. There's true. He was like, what you called? That's me. What? Yeah, it was fun, but it's always like that lead up to Halloween that I get satir and satir because it's going to be over.
Starting point is 00:05:46 Yeah. Yeah. And then you just have to live spooky season, but like not everybody understands that. I know. You know, but you have Halloween pajama pants on now. I do. I'm still rocking them. Where are those from?
Starting point is 00:06:00 These are from little sleepy, I think. All of those ones you order. Yeah, these are the ones I got the kids, the same ones. So we all share the same ridiculous Halloween pajamas. They're really comfy. They look super soft. Little sleepies. They don't sponsor us, but they should. Laying those are great.
Starting point is 00:06:16 Shout out to little sleepies. Sponsor us. That's right. We started this and all of a sudden my throat feels gunky and I am pissed off. Oh, yeah. You know what? It's still that time.
Starting point is 00:06:28 Where it's always that time with your children. Yeah, and we're also, it's flu season. Cold in flu season, wash your hands. So still cold in flu season, wash those damn hands. Wash your nubs. Wash them. Wash. Make sure with soap.
Starting point is 00:06:41 And water. So very important aspect of that. Major key. Water temperature is great, but soap is the real important thing. So get those hands washed. But we got that. We got, so we got flu, cold and flu. We still got the cove, cove floating around
Starting point is 00:06:55 that everybody seems to be forgetting about. Still around. And then we also have RSV going crazy with kids. They're like flooding hospitals. Hospitals literally don't have beds for kids. And didn't you say the flu is like really bad this year? Yeah, the flu is going to, they're like flooding hospitals. Hospitals literally don't have beds for kids. And didn't you say the flu's like really bad this year? Yeah, the flu's gonna, they're calling it like a triple demic or something like that, like,
Starting point is 00:07:10 because it's like all three are happening at once. I'm done with the demics. Yeah, I'm done with all of it, but we're in a constant state of cold in this house. Luckily the kids seem to be throwing off colds, like it's nobody's business. Because they're throwing them to us. They're just whipping them at us. So we're just, I have had a cold for three
Starting point is 00:07:28 days. It's not a bad one, but it's still. No, but I'm sure you all love hearing about my immune system, you know, that's why you're all here. We can move on to what you are here, which is not only is immune system or mine. Today we're going to talk about the princess who killed the prince, but neither of them were even princesses or princes. Whoa! Adi Badd, we're going to talk about today. There's a lot of French in this story and I attempted to take French for a minute. I'm not good at languages. We, I have faith in you. Thank you. You're welcome.
Starting point is 00:08:07 But so I'm gonna try my best with some pronunciations. And if I do good, I do good. And if I don't, I don't. Yeah. So there's that. There's really no consequences that I'm gonna give you if you don't do well. So that's good.
Starting point is 00:08:19 I'm here for you. And I don't have a Twitter support you. I don't think anyone really has a Twitter anymore after the move. Woo-hoo. Yeah, we won't go there. I don't think anyone really has a Twitter anymore after the move. Yeah, we won't go there. Yeah, guys, get ready for Twitter. It's not a good place. No.
Starting point is 00:08:32 Just the fact, like I saw a report the other day that like slurs, specific slurs have gone up like 500%. Yeah, it's just no, I think we've reached that point of social media where it's like, all right, we gave that a good, a good go everybody. Let's, bye bye. Go back to the old fashioned things. So send me a fucking carrier pigeon. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:08:54 Send an email. Yeah, no, not even email me. Don't even know you can, and then you should, and I appreciate them. But like I'm just kidding. Send me a carrier pigeon too, while you're at it. All right, but we're going back to 1920s here. Oh, the Raw and 20s. We're gonna be in France, we're gonna be in London,
Starting point is 00:09:12 we're gonna be in Egypt, in Jet Set-in. Oh, okay, let's go. All right, so our story starts on July 10th, 1923 in London at the Savoy Hotel. John Paul Beatty, who worked as the night porter at the hotel, was just, you know, being a night porter carrying up some luggage to the full of floor, doing the damn thing. And as he was making his way up the stairs, he thought he heard some arguing. And then he reaches the fourth floor, and he sees two guests that he knows quite well,
Starting point is 00:09:40 and they're spilling out of their room, continuing to scream at each other. He very much should have known who they were the second, but he even heard arguing, because these two particular guests had actually been staying at the hotel for about 9, 10 nights now, and they were constantly at each other's throats. These guests were Ali Fami and his wife, Marguerite Elibair.
Starting point is 00:10:02 Ooh. The former, known as an Egyptian prince, and the latter known as his princess. Now, like I said, neither of them were actually real people. I was just going to ask. Fommy was a rich man from Egypt who was given the title Bay because of all the philanthropic work that he did. Bay comes from a Turkish word and it signifies a person's rank as a provincial governor.
Starting point is 00:10:24 But the press in Europe and America actually mistranslated the word and just advertised him as a prince. Wow. But he was not. He was philanthropic, but he was not a prince. All right. And he was super fucking rich, but not a prince. There you go.
Starting point is 00:10:36 There you go. You're, you're smelling what I'm on it. Now, it was something that neither he nor Margaret would go against. Margaret had been working a long time to get to where she was. She liked her man rich, she liked them powerful, so she was like, yeah, fuck it, I'm dating a prince. There's, excuse me, marrying a prince. Now, she'd been married before,
Starting point is 00:10:54 but a lot of her relationships were very short-lived. This one would also prove to be. Margaret and Fami had only been married six months, and clearly it was not going well. So Famy looks at the night porter and he motions to his face, and he screams at them and look at my face, look what she's done. Uh-oh. And there was a mark on his face, but this was well above John Paul's pay grade.
Starting point is 00:11:18 So he hauled on the hotel's night manager to report the incident, and he went along his merry way. He was barely down the hall when he heard three loud bangs, one right after the other. He ran back to the room and he saw the woman that he knew as Princess Marguerite standing over her husband, the prince, as he watched her, as he watched her. I was like, what happened? You really did. She got a function. I did. As he watched her, a pistol fell from her hand and landed next to Famy. Oh. Famy was bleeding all over himself. And John Paul could see a hole in his head from a bullet wound. Whoa, that escalated. Now before he could think twice and before Marguerite
Starting point is 00:12:00 could run, John Paul picked up the gun and grabbed Marguerite by the arm. And as he did, she fell to her knees next to Famy and whispered something in French in his ear. It's unclear what it was, nobody's ever picked it up. I want to know. I want to know too, because it could have been something like, and you'll realize they're at the story, it could have been something like,
Starting point is 00:12:18 I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do this, or like, fuck you. Or it could have been like, told just, yeah, or something really intense. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. She didn't mess around. She sounds intense. She's so that's one way to describe her. It's just me. So far. Taking the vibes here so far. Just wait. What makes a person a murderer? Are they born to kill? Or are they made to kill? I'm Candace DeLong and on my podcast, Killer Psychie Daily, which you can find exclusively on Amazon Music, I share a quick 10-minute rundown every weekday on the motivations and
Starting point is 00:13:02 behaviors of the criminal masterminds you read about in the news. I have decades of experience as a psychiatric nurse, FBI agent and a criminal profiler. On Killer Psychie Daily, I'll give you my expert perspective on cases like the mysterious New York City drugings, breaking down Lori Valow, a.k.a. Mommy Doom stays motives and what drove Caitlin Armstrong to murder? I'll also bring on expert guests who add even more insight into these criminal minds. I promise you won't regret adding these 10 minutes to your morning routine.
Starting point is 00:13:35 Hey Prime members, listen to the Amazon Music exclusive podcast Killer Psychie Daily in the Amazon Music app. Download the app today. So just then the night manager arrived on the scene and from the floor, Margaret looked up at him crying and she just kept asking, what have I done? And the night manager was like, why why did this happen? How did this happen? And Margaret replied, Oh, sir, I have been married six months and it has been torture to me. I have suffered terribly. And then she just stared off in the distance
Starting point is 00:14:09 and repeated over and over to no one in particular. I lost my head. I lost my head. Oh, man. Isn't that so? That is really creepy. So we'll get back to that scene. But first you ought to know about the key people here
Starting point is 00:14:21 a little bit better. So we're going to start with Magarite. Magarite was born Marie Margarite Ellibar in Paris on December 9th, 1890. She did not come from much. Her family was pretty poor and her parents were both of working class. Elaine is blowing out the candles and motioned for me to keep going but I was like wait what? is blowing up the candles and motioned for me to keep going, but I was like, wait, what? Oh, sorry. The candles were making a little flickering sounds. They're one of those like flicker candles. And I was worried that like an hour into this, all of a sudden it was going to be like, wait a second. Can you guys hear that? People are like, what the hell? What the hell?
Starting point is 00:15:00 But Margaret, she didn't come from much. Her family was working class folk. Her father for mean was a coachman for a wealthy Parisian family. And her mother was a maid for another wealthy family. Okay. They lived in a very, very small, very, very cramped apartment on Rue de Arha-Mahi. I think. Oh, I know it well. Yeah, me too. It was a really nice area, actually, overall. And Margaret was surrounded by like rich people and beauty all the latest fashions, jewels, beautiful people, everything was at her fingertips but all she could do was stand by and kind of watch it hoping someday that she'd be able to enjoy the luxuries. But for now she was stuck with baby watching duty. Her little brother was four years old and while her parents worked it was her job to look after him. But unfortunately, one day while she was watching him, tragedy struck.
Starting point is 00:15:48 Oh, no. Her little brother was hit and actually killed by a truck while they were playing in the street. As soon as her parents were called to the scene, Marguerite's mother placed the blame on her, even though she was a child watching a child. Oh, man. And she was sent away to live in a religious home run by nuns known as the Sisters of Mary. Oh, wow.
Starting point is 00:16:09 They literally like banished her from the home. And it's like, can you imagine the trauma she went through being there when that happened? Oh, that's the thing. She's. Now, it wasn't far from where she lived with her parents, but she was abandoned and completely alone now. Luckily, it didn't sound like she suffered the kind of
Starting point is 00:16:25 abuse that we know sometimes happens in stories like this when children are sent away to homes like this. Yeah. She learned, I mean, we can assume that it probably wasn't like peaches and roses and so on, but I couldn't find that she was like abused there. She learned to sing, she got a basic education. She was also taught etiquette and different social graces that would be necessary to navigate her way through French society. So it wasn't all bad. And then when she turned 15, the sisters felt like it was a good time for her to get a job. And she was sent to work as a housemaid for a lawyer named Henry Jules Langlois. He lived in a mansion with his family actually not too far from where Margaret's parents lived.
Starting point is 00:17:04 So it must have been kind of weird for her. Yeah. And again, she was living around these high society people. So while she was performing her servant duty, she did her best to kind of study the people that she worked for and the rich people that they lived near. She wanted to know all the ins and outs of high society, and she was really able to learn through her time there, but it would not last very long. Because in the summertime of 1906, when she was just 16 years old, she got pregnant and she was immediately fired and ex-communicated, excuse me, from the family. Oh my god, she just keeps getting kicked out of family. I know. So when I heard that, I was like, was she like getting it on with
Starting point is 00:17:43 Henry there? Yeah, like what's happening? Is that why she was kicked out? Nobody is actually quite sure who the father was to this baby. Oh wow. My money's on Henry or like someone in that house. Someone's going on there. Because the way that they were like get the fuck out of here, yeah, I think it might have been.
Starting point is 00:17:59 But Marguerite did give a couple of options. She first said that the man was a 28 year old who she had known her entire life. She said they were actually engaged to be married, but that her dowry was not good enough for him, and that's when everything came crashing down around her. And then she gave another option, according to Andrew Rose, who wrote, the woman before Wallace, Prince Edward, the Parisian court song, and the perfect murder. And according to him, Andrew Rose, the father was an Englishman, and his father was a colonel administrator working in India. But this man's father wouldn't give him permission
Starting point is 00:18:33 to marry Marguerite, so their engagement was called on. Oh, sad. Now, it's pretty well known that Marguerite loved to exaggerate stories and kind of fabricate them here and there. I'm not shocked at all. No, so who knows if any of those options are true? But what was true was the fact that now she was expecting.
Starting point is 00:18:50 And in January of 1907, she gave birth to a daughter that she named Remold. But since she didn't have much to take care of the baby, the baby was actually sent to live on a farm with like a completely different family. Oh. So sad. So she not only lost her baby in job,
Starting point is 00:19:05 but now she'd also lost her place to live with the sisters of Mary because they were like, you sinned girl. Yeah, that's a no-no. So now she's 16, jobless, homeless, and completely alone. Oh, man. So in order to get by and survive,
Starting point is 00:19:19 she did really the only thing that she could at that point. Yeah. She started working as a sex worker. Now, there's really not a lot known about this specific period, like right when she kind of got out on the streets, but we can assume that it was not easy and that I'm sure it came with a significant amount of trauma.
Starting point is 00:19:35 Yeah. Like, we all heard the five-part Jack the Ripper series. Oh, yeah. But eventually, Marguerite learned that there were different levels to sex work. I guess you could say to this job and some avenues that could provide her a much better life. Now, in the early 20th century, in France, sex workers could be organized into three categories.
Starting point is 00:19:55 La Corte-San, La Fille de l'occasion et la Prosta-Toute professionale, which is the courtesan, or excuse me, the courtesan, the woman for hire and the professional sex worker, but we say it a little different here. Now, while the last two are pretty similar to what sex work looks like kind of in the present day, working as a courtesan actually afforded women much more opportunity. I all I can think of as Moulin Rouge.
Starting point is 00:20:19 Yes, exactly. And that's kind of like what it is. Yeah, it's very that. And that's what Marguerite wanted to do. And she actually caught the attention of a woman named Madame de Narte who owned a high class brothel known as Maison de rendezvous. Oh, now it's not clear if that was the actual name of the establishment because that actually just translates into meeting house. Oh, so I don't know if like at all the brothels they were referred to like that or if it was a little meta name for the particular role. But either way Madame did art was really taken with Marguerite. She felt like there was
Starting point is 00:20:53 something special about Marguerite and so she took her under her wing. She taught her how to play the piano. She gave her speech lessons. She taught her how to dress, how to act. If she wanted to accompany these rich, powerful men in Paris. And Marguerite was actually said to be a fast learner. And you know, she'd been studying this way of life pretty much all of her life so far. So she was ready in her own way. And in no time, Madam said that Marguerite became incredibly popular among her best clients.
Starting point is 00:21:21 She specifically said that she was, quote, the mistress of nearly all my best clients, gentlemen of wealth and position in Paris, England and America and other countries. The Spacling Diamond. The Jewel. Oh, what is it? And the Crown Jewel. Isn't that the Spacling Diamond? Oh, Spacling Diamond. That's what you were saying. That's what I said. Went right over my head. You really get that. Why am I dumb? But the money that she was making and the people she was meeting really afforded her some new opportunities. And she started kind of becoming interested
Starting point is 00:21:52 in the arts of Paris, the museums and the theaters. And she actually even started performing in plays and cabaret shows. Wow. And sometimes that some of the most like famous establishments in Paris. Now, it was her goal to meet a rich and powerful man so that she could always enjoy these luxuries and not have to depend on work.
Starting point is 00:22:12 Of course, and she also didn't want to worry about where her next check was coming from. And she didn't realize that throughout her life, she would meet not one of these men, but a lot of these men. Wow. And that wasn't really the plan, but that's how it happened. But here we are. Yeah. So the first man was Andre Miller.
Starting point is 00:22:28 And she actually wasn't set up with him as a Cortezan. They met by happenstance. He was 40 years old. He was tall. He was very handsome. And of course, very rich. We love a tall man. We love a tall, very good.
Starting point is 00:22:40 A tall rich handsome man. Now, his father had been a wine dealer who supposedly got wine for the Vatican when they needed it. Oh, like, okay. I was like, jeez. But the issue was that this man, this Andre guy, this fella, what do you think? Was he married?
Starting point is 00:22:58 He was married. Yeah, he was married. Although it really didn't seem like too much of an issue because this fucker was able to live two separate lives, one at home with his wife, and one at the apartment where he set up Marguerite. Oh, no. As a kept woman. Andre.
Starting point is 00:23:12 Andre. Come on. Not only did he rent her an apartment, but he bought her fancy presents all the time. He would travel with her. He would go take her to his racing stable where he kept his horses. Damn. And he actually taught her how to ride horses there And she fell in love with riding horses. Wow. This is very Pretty woman. No, I wasn't thinking that. No, I was but I I agree. It's also very
Starting point is 00:23:37 Thomas Shelby and Grace and Peaky blinders. I haven't seen Peaky blinders yet. Yeah, you gotta watch it. Maybe it's based on that. Okay, I'm good, guys. It's getting good season four. What? What? What's happening? I'm watching White Lotus season two right now. There you go.
Starting point is 00:23:51 So fucking good. Now, she actually, yep, she learned to ride horses. I just thought you did like race. And they even went on trips across Europe together and they stayed at all of his multiple resonances that he had everywhere. And Ray. They spent a beautiful question mark seven years together. Whoa. Yeah. Marguerite even
Starting point is 00:24:09 started going by Madame Miller and Maggie Miller, like taking his last name. That's like common law. Actually, that's it. Seven years. Nicely common law. I don't know when common law started. I don't know if I don't know what that means. Well, and I think it's I don't know if that's just a strictly like that's our wall. Yeah, probably. Yeah. Taxes. Taxes and such. You know. But so she was, she was with Andre, but she was still working for Madame de Nart when Andre was away on business or, you know, being a husband to his actual wife. You know, she started to get lonely while he was away, so they would argue when he came back around because she was always very vocal if he did something to piss her off. And that was something that he wasn't really used to with his wife back home.
Starting point is 00:24:52 And he also didn't really like that Marguerite was still working, and he did not love the attention that she was always getting from other men. Eek. So he's away, she's mad about that. When he's away, she's working, and he's mad about that. So he's away, she's working and he's mad about that. So they were at each other constantly and sometimes their arguments would become physical. Marguerite on her own admission actually started baiting Andre into fights by like feeding his jealousy. One night they got into a really, really bad, loud argument in public. And as they were fighting, Marguerite just walked out and walked home without
Starting point is 00:25:25 Andre, but to his home. And when she got there, she locked him out of his own house and let all his horses loose on his estate so that they could just roam around. Oh, damn. Yeah. So he had enough and he had to do things with Marguerite. Yeah, it was not good. So it was 1914 when the relationship came to an end. And he was nice enough to give her a settlement of 200,000 francs, which would be about 30,000 US dollars back then, and about 900,000 dollars in US dollars today. Damn. Like a pretty sick settlement for a dude she wasn't even married to. So with all her new coin, Marguerite actually rented her own apartment in Paris.
Starting point is 00:26:08 Get it. She's like, get it Marguerite. Yeah, exactly. She was also able to hire two of her own servants and buy a stable with a few horses. Whoa, look at her. She had climbed a few rungs on the social ladder. Oh, my keep forgetting she's a Marguerite. Yeah, she's a Marguerite.
Starting point is 00:26:22 But that's what my mind per second. At that time, she had climbed up a few runs to the social ladder and she was really determined to get all the way to the top. So for the next few months of her life, she did all the glimmers thing she possibly could. She went to the theater, she made well-connected friends, shopped for the newest fashions, rode her horses, and how she even bought a car. Get it. Which was a really big deal back then.
Starting point is 00:26:46 Yeah. Actually, I guess France was one of the leading places when cars were first coming about. Oh really? Yeah, but it was still really rare for anyone to have a car. And it was a big deal for a woman to have her own car. That makes sense. So she got herself a 2030 Renault Touring car.
Starting point is 00:27:02 It's picture like one of those black buggy looking cars with like the big wheels. Oh yeah. And the convertible looking top. Yep. But yeah, exactly. So having her car meant that she could get even more connected to the upper echelon of the time,
Starting point is 00:27:15 because she was able to use her car to offer show first services to like doctors, nurses, anyone with a high paying job at a prominent establishment, and then she makes connections there. That's enterprising. She's a good enterprising. She is. She's a good business woman. So it was going well for a while, but then seemingly out of nowhere, she became sick. Now, it's not specified anywhere, what she was actually suffering from, if anything at all, but her doctor suggested a warmer climate. Okay. So in the winter of 1915, she boarded a ship that was heading to Cairo, Egypt. Now, she needed an aid to travel with that would protect her because this was during
Starting point is 00:27:52 World War I, and it was a really risky time to be traveling at all, but especially as a woman alone. Yeah. Now, her man, her man, whoa, her aid was a man named Mehmet Sharif, and she knew him actually because they had met in Paris years earlier. He was previously a Turkish ambassador to Sweden, and he escaped death during the Turkish Revolution by hiding out in Monaco in France. But he was a wanted man because he had spoken out against the Ottoman Empire and had been sentenced to death, but being constantly on the run was kind of his only option to stay away from that.
Starting point is 00:28:26 Because they have to say that he was a pretty impressive dude, but I don't know if I would have felt safe with him, because people quite literally were constantly in search of him so that they could kill him. Yeah, it feels a little counterintuitive. Yeah, a little bit. A little bit. So he was her aide,
Starting point is 00:28:43 and while they were traveling in Europe, in Egypt, excuse me, he would get shot at multiple times. And he was like, you know what, I'm actually a little bit worried about getting you caught up in all of this. Yeah, he's like, you know what, it just struck my mind that like, you might get shot. You might get shot with me.
Starting point is 00:29:00 While you're with me. And I'm my whole purpose right here is to protect you. So I should probably dip. He's like, people shoot at me. I forgot to mention that. It's like actually a good job interview happened multiple times. He's like, it didn't come up. You didn't ask me straight out.
Starting point is 00:29:14 Do people shoot at you? Yeah. On a regular basis. You've got to ask the burning question. You've got to do it. So one night he was like, I think enough is enough. I need to move on to the next location. So Marguerite woke up to a signed photograph from him.
Starting point is 00:29:27 Wow. He slipped under her door before he got on a board. Before he got on board a ship heading to Geneva. That is so extra. I just like, here's a signed headshot. Here you go. But people like did that ship back in the day. People were so fucking weird.
Starting point is 00:29:43 It was so awesome. You would just give somebody a photo of yourself would write something on the back. Like how narcissistic but beautiful. Everyone was narcissistic, but in the best way. Yeah, it was like a pure narcissism. A pure kind of narcissism that you can write home about. Like it was a good one.
Starting point is 00:30:00 A kind of narcissism that made the heart grow fond of. Yeah, not the kind we have now. No, that's a bad kind. But with her companion, Gone, Marguerite really had no choice but to go back to Paris because she's like, I'm saying, I'm traveling alone. No. And it was also going to be too hot of a summer
Starting point is 00:30:15 for her to endure in Egypt. Oh, yeah. It needed to be a warm climate, not a fucking burning climate. Not the sun. So by the summer of 1915, she was already on her way back. She only had spent a few months in Cairo, but I'm sure you know, as well as I do by this point, Egypt had not seen the last of our greed. As a member. Oh, I know. Fommy was an Egyptian prince, Quintenquist. That's right. So when she got back,
Starting point is 00:30:38 she was not in the good graces of Madame de Narte anymore. Madame de Narte was pissed. She would not allow her to come back and work in the brothel. And for a minute, things were pretty hairy for Marguerite. Madame de Nart was one of the most well-known and powerful madams in town, so she was not someone you wanted on your bad side. Blacklist, you. But at the same time, Marguerite had a really good reputation on her own and was well-known enough to find work at another high-end brothel.
Starting point is 00:31:05 There you go. This one was run by a woman called Madame Sonia D'Ethaval. Okay. Yeah. So Madame Sonia's brothel was a bit different than Madame D'Arts. Madame Sonia had a waiting room for her gentlemen. And as they sat, they would look through photo books of the court of sounds. There were all kinds of different girls that these men could choose from. What a fucking awful sentence that was. Yeah. There were married women, girls known as
Starting point is 00:31:30 Erin girls, girls looking for support for their theater careers. And a lot of theaters and cabarets at the time would look to women like Madame Sonia and Madame Denart to offer girls to act in their shows because it would bring in more business if you could be like after the show, she's available. Wow. Which is like really fucked up. It also reminds me of last night and so how. Yeah, I was thinking that too. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:31:53 That was a great thing that happened and such a good movie. Guys, great movie, criminally under marketed. Yes. And badly marketed. Like go watch that movie, we'll regret it. Yeah, terrible marketing on that movie won't regret it yeah I'm marketing on that movie when I watch the commercials
Starting point is 00:32:08 I had no interest at all and then I for some reason oh my one of my friends told me she was like that It's really good. You like it and I tried it and I was like what the fuck yeah nothing like I thought it was gonna be No and everybody's a Matt Smith head right now because of house of dragon If you like Matt Smith and you're suddenly like, ooh, Damon Targaryen, go watch him the last night and so on because he's in it and he's great in it. He's really gonna hate him but he's good. That's, you're supposed to hate Matt Smith. Yes. I don't know if he ever should play a character that you like. No, it's the way of the world, okay. But back to the theater where the girls were. Back to the theater. So just like she was at Madame de Narts place, Madame, at Madame Sonia's, Marguerite was a grand vadeette or big star.
Starting point is 00:32:47 Sparkling diamond. Precisely. Exactly. She was one of the most expensive girls to be with. And she had work skills that included being a dominatrix. She would do lesbian activity, which was like very unheard of at the time. And sawdame, which was just literally not like spoken about at all. Wow. But she offered that service. Now again, all things that were very
Starting point is 00:33:09 hush hush in Parisian high society and kept behind closed doors that were very quietly closed and locked with a few dead bolts. Yeah. We put bolts and bolts of fabric on top of it so you can't hear anything. Don't talk about lesbians. We don't talk about butt stuff. No way. LOL. LOL. LOL. Now while she was working at Madame Sonia's, Margarit made the acquaintance of a very important man, Prince Edward VIII.
Starting point is 00:33:34 Oh, just him. Inactual Prince. Okay, just that guy. Yes. It seems that one of her clients actually knew Prince Edward and wanted the two of them to meet. Like he wanted to set Prince Edward up with somebody. Wow.
Starting point is 00:33:47 Because this was during a time where Prince Edward obviously wasn't married yet and he didn't have a ton of experiences. And actually, the, like his people wanted him to have some sexual experiences before he settled down. So they like made it happen. Oh, right. They would like set him up. Yeah. You know, like some people will like, you know,
Starting point is 00:34:07 they'll buy you some stuff for your new apartment. Yeah. Before you do, but like this is good too. Yeah, whatever works. Whatever works. Yeah. So it was late April of 1917. The Prince was 23 and Marguerite was a bit older.
Starting point is 00:34:21 She was 27. Oh. The two were set up for lunch. A coup. And Marguerite was usually not one to fall head over heels, but she was immediately taken with the prince. I mean, he's a prince. Because he's a prince, exactly.
Starting point is 00:34:34 He was a little shy, but he was handsome and very sweet. He loved Paris and all the beauty it had to offer, just like Marguerite did. They loved the same things about it. They spent hours together at this lunch, lunch turned into dinner, and then when that was finally over, the prince asked her when they could see each other again after he walked her home, adorable. He only had three days away from his duties, and he wanted to spend all of them with her. So we can assume that that was the case, and they
Starting point is 00:34:59 spent the next three days together starting their love affair. But after those three days, Prince Edward had to get back to work because there was a war that was starting. Yeah, and he's like a whole less prince. Yes, he's like actually got to get focused on that. But even when he returned to work, he could not get rid of Marguerite out of his head. Like he could not stop thinking about her. And he referenced their time together as those three days in Bliss and Paris. Oh, man. He really liked her. Damn. But it was hard for him to get back to Paris regularly.
Starting point is 00:35:30 So he and Marguerite spent most of the year writing letters back and forth. That's beautiful. He would send his letters along with a gift or a photo of himself probably. And Marguerite would do the same. She'd send him chocolate or other small tokens of affection. But one night, they finally
Starting point is 00:35:45 did get the opportunity to see each other again. Edward was traveling with his parents in Paris, and he was able to sneak away to where Marguerite was staying at the hotel Normandy and Deville. Now Deville was a pretty popular for soldiers that were on leave because it wasn't as close down as Paris was at the time because of the war. Like, they kind of were just acting like the war wasn't as close down as Paris was at the time because of the war. They were just acting like the war wasn't really happening. But since it was popular for all kinds of soldiers, British and American, it was really risky for them to carry out their affair in the restaurants and clubs because they could have easily been spotted and people would have been like, that's Prince Edward and that's a lady of the night.
Starting point is 00:36:21 And then they would have clutch their pearls and told on everybody. And that would have been a big fucking scandal for the royal family. So silly. So those meetings went on for a little bit. But no, by November of 1917, Edward was getting busier and busier with his duties because of the war. And it wouldn't be long before he actually got deployed to Italy. So he started drinking heavily, probably due to a mixture of sadness from not seeing Margarit and having to deal with the war. And he said he didn't really like being in Italy because he wasn't attracted to Italian women.
Starting point is 00:36:53 Yeah, I mean, you should definitely banish an entire place like an entire country because you're not attracted. What is wrong with you sir? I think he was kind of a giant asshole. It's okay, wow. That turned so quickly. It did. He wrote about how he didn't want to have relations
Starting point is 00:37:07 with any of the women he'd seen sort of explicitly. He was a douche and they probably didn't think he was hot either. Wow. So fuck off, turquoise. Oh, what a big bummer. Yeah, I know. Jeez, I was rooting for you.
Starting point is 00:37:18 We were all rooting for you. We were all rooting for you. How dare you? He went down in history as like the worst. Yeah, so there's that. That's fine. But he did finally actually meet another woman and he started spending more time with her. Her name was Winifred Freddy Ward.
Starting point is 00:37:32 Found her. No. And she would become his next mistress. Oh, because his feelings for her started becoming stronger than his feelings for Marguerite. And he was like, okay, I'm gonna try to break things off with Marguerite amicably. Clearly he didn't know who the fuck he was like, okay, I'm gonna try to break things off with Margarit amicably. Clearly he didn't know who the fuck he was dealing with because Margarit reminded Prince Edward about all the letters that had transpired over the past year and a lot of these letters had
Starting point is 00:37:56 information about the war and different things that Margarit should not know about, things that could ruin Edward and the royal family if they were to see the light of day. Oh Eddie. And she had kept every single letter. Yeah she did. So he could like end things with her if he wanted to, but it was gonna cost him a pretty penny. So she was like, yeah, just know that, buddy. Just letting you know, but we're gonna put that on the back burner because compensation would come later down the line. Don't you worry. But first Marguerite needed a new man to pay her way. So she actually had an operation recently to remove her ovaries Because she did not want children and while she was recovering she met another patient He was Charles Lauren to an Air Force officer who'd been fighting with
Starting point is 00:38:42 The white Russian forces during the war. Now, he came from a very wealthy family. He had money of his own and he was actually single and very ready to mingle. Oh. So Marguerite realized that if she were able to marry him, she actually might be able to get her daughter back, get her daughter a prominent last name, and finally be secure to live a very comfortable and well off life. Wow. So the thing was Charles really liked her, but meeting Charles was not love at first sight
Starting point is 00:39:13 from our greet. It was more like opportunity at first sight. Not good. Simply shelving one man for another. But after spending more and more time with him, she actually really did start to fall in love with him. Oh, good for Charles. And it probably helped that he moved her from one apartment to an even better one, which he paid the rent for, and also gave her a monthly allowance of 36,000 francs, which is roughly $500 US dollars back then, but translates into about $15,000 a month today. Oh, okay. This motherfucker was giving her an allowance of what would be $15,000 a month today. Oh, okay. This motherfucker was giving her an allowance of what would be $15,000 a month. An allowance.
Starting point is 00:39:50 Like, oh, just go send a little money. Yeah, I can go. She's us. That's a pretty penny. And it's a pretty penny. So she was like, oh, I'll get back to Ed. We're not gonna do this for now, whatever. But by the winter of 1919,
Starting point is 00:40:01 the two were engaged, we'll be married. Engaged. Engaged. Engaged. Charles knew who Marguerite was. He knew where she came from. He knew all about her background, but he didn't care. He loved her and he wanted to make a life together. I actually feel bad for him, retroactively.
Starting point is 00:40:14 I do too. Because he was kind of condent to this. Even if Marguerite did for Oto Luffin, which it seems maybe she did. But Charles may not have been on to Marguerite's plan. His family was though. They urged him. They were like, you cannot marry her. She's a gold digger. She's after your money. Now she wants to like get her kid back. She wants to give her kid your last name. Like this is really hairy. So they really weren't far off, but they're pleased with him, didn't sway him,
Starting point is 00:40:44 and they got married in May. Yee-charls, I'm worried for you. I know, so worried. They honeymoon in Venice, and it became clear on the honeymoon very early on, that they were two very different people after very different lives. That's a bad time to figure that out.
Starting point is 00:41:02 On your honeymoon. I feel like that's to like this. Right, you just missed the time you should figure that out. I was thinking I feel like that's to like this right you just missed the time You should figure that out. I was thinking I was like people got married so quickly Yeah, and like they were like hey, you're hot like do you have like one interest that I have you'd Your hair. Let's just get what's go. It's just so quickly. Yeah, didn't know a thing about the other person No, and then it's like everything out after you're married and it's like well this sucks Right like you go on your honey moon. Yeah Like, oh, this will be so much fun.
Starting point is 00:41:26 I love this guy. He's hot. Yeah. And then you're like, Oh, he doesn't want to go anywhere with me. And I want to go out and party like we want completely different things in life. Like that's a pretty big thing you guys should be talking about before you get married. Right. And that's exactly what happened here because Charles, he liked the arts and the culture. He wanted to go to museums. He wanted to see the sites. He's in fucking Venice, of course he does. Of course! Marguerite wanted to party. She wanted to enjoy the nightlife. She wanted to meet rich people. She wanted to meet famous people. She wanted to be seen in the latest fashions. And she just wanted to do Italy the way that Marguerite wanted
Starting point is 00:42:02 to do Italy. Of course. She didn't want to do it, the way Charles wanted to. No compromise there. No none. So they got through the honeymoon with a little bickering like it survived. It didn't go too well. Yeah, they survived their honeymoon. But when they got back to Paris,
Starting point is 00:42:16 I'm sure you're gonna be so shocked to hear. Things got worse. They did, they didn't get better. No, they did it. No, that's nuts. Because Charles wanted Margarit to be on his arm for all the social events He went to and he also had some political aspirations that he would need her support for
Starting point is 00:42:32 He was actually offered a diplomatic position in Japan in 1920 And if he were to accept it, he and Marguerite would have to move there So obviously he's like I'm not passing up this opportunity But he has a feeling that Marguerite's not gonna be interested. So he gave her an ultimatum, continued to be his wife, but get a little more supportive and come with him to Japan, or give up the marriage and go back to the life
Starting point is 00:42:54 that she was used to living without him. Marguerite was very thankful for the options and she ended up choosing the latter. Oh, I had a feeling. Yep, the marriage ended on March 30th, 1920, and only came with yet another settlement for the settlement queen of the fucking century. That's so real.
Starting point is 00:43:13 I couldn't figure out just how much she got from Charles, but it was enough to maintain the apartment that he had moved her into. Higher, more servants, get more staples. Oh, excuse me, more horses for her stables. She now had 10 horses in total. Damn. She got a full-time groomer for the horses and two limousines.
Starting point is 00:43:34 Sorry, I took a sip of mine. That's okay. While you were talking. That's our holy shit. Why do you need two limousines? Even one limousine. What are you doing? There's your craziness.
Starting point is 00:43:42 What are you doing? What are you doing, girl? But she was at a level now that she had never been at. She's truly like you said, the settlement queen of the century. Oh, and she only becomes... This is her career. It is. She's kind of a car-nardist.
Starting point is 00:43:53 A car-nardist? She's such a car-nardist. She's a car-nardist. She's a car-nardist. She's a car-nardist. She's a car-nardist. What is happening? I don't know.
Starting point is 00:44:01 Also, is it kind of like smokey in here, or is it just me? I mean, we got some candles. Does it look smoky? Maybe we should blow a couple of them out so we don't like set off the fire alarms. Yeah, it's smoky. It's smoky. It's smoky.
Starting point is 00:44:14 A bit smoky in here. I'm gonna blow some out. Ash is gonna vamp. Yeah, I'm gonna keep reading. So, Margaret moved on pretty quickly this time and she met a man named Juan de Astorica and who actually shared a lot of her interest in nightlife and partying. So maybe this was going to be a good point for them. I think it will be. The lane of things that will be.
Starting point is 00:44:48 And by the way, at this point, she actually was able to get her daughter back. For her. But motherhood and the lifestyle that won in Margarit were living didn't exactly mesh. So Margarit actually abandoned her daughter for the second time and sent her away to a British boarding school called the Grange. All right, you know what, Margarita Giffa? And you know what, I have to wonder if it was worth it because in no time this relationship with Juan
Starting point is 00:45:11 fizzled out because of Margarita's temper. And when things ended, she must have regretted her decision. So she collected her amount and she left for Egypt once again. Come on, this poor kid. Right, she's been abandoned twice and picked up three different times. Yeah, like come on And it's like she has no fucking idea who you are. She spent most of her life out of farm without you Yeah, and now you're picking her up and just sending her away and then getting her and then sending her away again
Starting point is 00:45:34 Like she is good for children and show you're basically showing her that like she's an inconvenience and when she is an inconvenience you'll just get rid of her Yeah, then you'll go collect her when she's not anymore. Let me tell you if your parents treat is an inconvenience, you'll just get rid of her. Yeah, and then when you'll go collect her when she's not anymore. Let me tell you, if your parents treat like an inconvenience, it might fuck you up for a little while. Yeah, I would say so. So she went, she goes to Egypt with Ramon and she actually was, she was a mistress for Rich Banker. But at the same time, she met the man
Starting point is 00:46:00 from the beginning of our story, Ali Kamal Famy. So Famy, let's talk about him a little bit. He was born into a wealthy family in 1900, meaning that Marguerite was actually 10 years his senior. Ooh, cool direction there for you. Yeah, cool, cool, cool, cool. His father passed away when he was seven. And since he was the only boy in the family,
Starting point is 00:46:21 he got a very large payout. And he was totally spoiled by his remaining family. Then his mother passed away when he was 16 years old, which allowed him to get the rest of his dad's estate. Okay, so he amassed a lot all at once. And he also at the same time became involved in the cotton market and it was at a good time because when he got involved with it, Cotton was extremely more expensive during the war and it ended up making his family even richer than they had been in the past. Now, allegedly, his family's income back then
Starting point is 00:46:54 was never less than $40,000 per year, which today would be about $2 million. Oh, okay. Yeah. Crazy. Cool. Never less. Their income was never less than about $2 million. Yeah. Crazy. Cool. Never left. Their income was never less than about two million dollars. Damn. Now, Ali had a lot of women interested him, interested in him, mostly for his money,
Starting point is 00:47:12 but also because he was a good-looking guy. But what he didn't have was a lot of friends. His secretary, Saeed Anani, said that Fami was, quote, nervous with a weak personality. His behavior had his neurotic side and he had difficulty making friendship with peers. He eventually did, though, connect with a group of Egyptian intellectuals and had really a good time enjoying different events with them. And he was also said to give a lot of money
Starting point is 00:47:38 to different causes throughout the war, which as I said earlier, helped earn him the title of Bay. So that came from. That that's what that came from. It came from that's what that came from. So for me, while making friends and donating to causes and enjoying the arts, also found time to be a bit of a party guy. He liked it. A good playboy.
Starting point is 00:47:55 Like to good party. He, oh my God, he was described as a playboy. Oh my God. I was throwing up. I was there. That's fine. Why? I was the one who coined it.
Starting point is 00:48:02 Oh my God. Yeah. Time traveler. Now that was what the media really loved to focus on, because they were involved at this point. The newspaper people loved to write about him. Cool.
Starting point is 00:48:11 And they would write about all his visits to the Parisian and Moroccan nightclubs. And they also really liked to speculate on his love life and the multiple mistresses he had, as well as planting little seedlings that maybe he wasn't only interested in women, but men too. Hmm.
Starting point is 00:48:27 Again, something now that we would not care about at all, but back then, it was a very salacious rumor to be spread. Of course. So Fommy's family knew that the media was going to continue reporting on his life until he settled down and found a suitable wife, so they started laying it on thick trying to get him to that point. And he was the only man left in the family, and they were determined to make thick trying to get him to that point. He was the only man left in the family and they were determined to make sure that he carried on the family name. So perhaps
Starting point is 00:48:50 finding a lady to settle down with was on Fommy's mind when he and Marguerite met at the Semiramis Hotel, because just like all the men who came before him, Fommy was struck with Marguerite. He was also somebody to be struck with too, and he was very much Margarit's type if you catch my drift. Oh. Because like I said, he was 23 years old and a millionaire. Yeah, that's it.
Starting point is 00:49:13 He really ticks all the boxes. It does. He was said to own 11 cars, multiple boats that he kept on the Nile, and a casual palace. Very casual. Just a palace. I just looked him up. He's a very handsome guy.
Starting point is 00:49:25 He was, yes, he actually was. And he actually, at one point, to like Womar Grete, decorated one of those boats for her. He laid out flowers all over the boat. He got an illuminated monogram of her initials to put on the boat and invited her to spend an afternoon with him.
Starting point is 00:49:43 Damn, she declined the offer. Wow. She said, no, thank you. No, thank you. So she was still with that rich banker, and apparently she was playing the long game. Okay, but things didn't work out with that banker, and she ended up returning to Paris without Fommy,
Starting point is 00:49:58 and she never took his offer up to take her out again. Wow. But according to our good pal, Andrew Rose, in his book, The Woman Before Wallace, Prince Edward, The Prizes Prizes and Quartisan in the Perfect Murder. That one mortar. Moida Marguerite quote, made a mental note of this interested party for future reference. Oh, so she's like, I'm not going to go out with him quite yet. I'm going to play a game here and I'm going to go back to Paris. But it was Famy who made sure that he ran into Marguerite again when he took his next trip to Paris. except she was actually seeing somebody else and keeping Famy on
Starting point is 00:50:29 the back burner while he was there. It's weird because with as much as I've learned about her, you would think that she would drop everything for a prince. Like you would think. It's so weird that she was like, yeah, I'm just going to keep dating this other guy. I'm like, he is a palace. Yeah. And his family's income doesn't ever drop below two million.
Starting point is 00:50:47 But maybe she's, maybe she was burned by the first prince. So she's like, mm, that's true. I don't know. Okay, that's a good point. Maybe she's like, princes, they're not where it's at. Maybe, and also I think, but then again, though, she was burned by the first prince, but it ended up working out for her financially
Starting point is 00:51:02 because she could blackmail him. That's true. So she could have blackmailed him. But maybe it actually hurt her feelings. And she was like, I don't want to go throughmail him. That's true. So she could have blackmailed her. But maybe it actually hurt her feelings. Maybe. And she was like, I don't want to go through it again. That's I could see perhaps perhaps if she had feelings. I'm not sure if she had feelings.
Starting point is 00:51:12 I was going to say if she had them, I don't know. I don't really know. To me, it's not feeling like she does. Like my feelings are feeling that she doesn't have feelings. But that's just me. Well, I also do wonder if it was because he was 10 years younger. Yeah, that's true. And she's like, I think of wonder if it was because he was 10 years younger. Yeah, that's true. And she's looking for like, she's a her mind, like a rich, powerful man.
Starting point is 00:51:30 Yeah. She's not thinking that that somebody 10 years younger than her. That is true. But he was rich and powerful. There you go. Who freaking knows? But anyway, several months after their failed meeting in Paris, because he tried to meet her and she was like, no, no.
Starting point is 00:51:44 One of Margaret's friends gave her a ring of ding ding on the phone. And she was like, no, no. One of Margaret's friends gave her a ring and ding-ding on the phone and she was like, girlfriend, I got tea and it's hot. Let me spell it. She didn't say that. The tea, well, yes I do. I know it. I do.
Starting point is 00:51:56 I know it. But the tea was that this friend had actually heard from Fommy themselves and Fommy told them he couldn't get Margaret out of his head. No matter how hard he tried. He could, what is she? What does she have? I don't know.
Starting point is 00:52:10 I have no idea. But he had to meet her again. And it was actually the entire reason that he came to Paris on the first place. Wow. The only reason he came to Paris was to see if he could meet her. So this friend was calling to see
Starting point is 00:52:23 if she could get Margarita to have dinner with him. she could get Marguerite to have dinner with him. He's like, he really wants to have dinner with you and like, why the fuck wouldn't you? Yeah, why not? Now by this time, Marguerite had ditched the last guy that she was with, so she agreed to meet Fommy at the hotel majestic. It's like a very famous hotel.
Starting point is 00:52:39 Yeah. So they had a lovely lunch together, and within days Marguerite was meeting all of Fommy's closest friends, his associates, and actually even moving into his suite at the majestic. Oh, okay. And then before long, they actually traveled to one of Marguerite's old haunts, Deville, and took up a suite at the hotel Normandy, which was where she was staying when she was rendezvousing with Prince Edward. Wow. Another prince. Take in two princes to the hotel Normandy. Two princes.
Starting point is 00:53:08 So by that fall, which was in 1922, Fommy and Marguerite were traveling through Europe and joined the good life. They were dining in all the best places, giving each other lavish gifts, going on different trips, so on and so forth. I thought you were going to say giving each other lap dances, and I was like, they probably did. Good, I guess. I'm sure they gave each other a lap chance for two go off you two Now Fommy was completely smitten with Margarit, but his friends were starting to wonder about her intentions
Starting point is 00:53:35 It seems like the people around these men always yeah have her number, but these these men do not these men do not because they're so Smitten they're so smitten and infatuated but they're of course their friends don't have the blinders on them they're like she's trying to rob your drive of every last penny house black but they had a right to wonder as we know so yeah I wowed myself there the fuck was that what What was that? What was what was it? Scared. It was a bag that fell. I don't know what it was. It just went boo boo. But it's scared. I don't I heard you. That's scary. I thought that was a person. Maybe it wasn't. Keith Morrison is over in the corner, so it scared me a little bit because I was like, ah, oh yeah, because we left him. Man, this man. Well, there's man in the story.
Starting point is 00:54:24 One of them are all concerned about their friend I know for real because anyway soon Fommy would be traveling to Milan on business And he actually wanted Marguerite to come with him She refused. She was like I'm not coming to Milan with you I'm gonna hang out here and do my thing. No for me. It's no for me dog But later that year she said I'll meet up with you and Kyra later on so off he went without her What a life. Oh, it was meet up with you and Kyra later on. So off he went without her. What a life.
Starting point is 00:54:46 Oh, it was meet up with you and Kyra. I'll just say hang on a little later. It was almost October when Fommy returned to Egypt, but he barely had heard anything from Marguerite. He was sending her in influx of love letters that were romantic, but to Marguerite came off a bit insecure and desperate. Aww. But I think he wrote some things.
Starting point is 00:55:04 For me. He would write things like, my thoughts are for you who, by your bewitching charm, your exquisite delicacy, the beauty of your heart have brought out all that is good and generous in human nature. Wow! That's not insecure at all. This is really nice. It's just sweet. And later he sent one that said, come quickly and see the beautiful son of Egypt. I'll be saved for my death in my bed. My only consolation is you. My recovery, I owe largely to your sweet and beneficient vision.
Starting point is 00:55:33 Wow. So like low-key, he was saying what he was sick and that she needed to come rescue him from his woes. Yeah, like. And he actually included tickets, like tickets for her to get on a ship. From Paris to Cairo, along the bat letter. And she was like, no. Wow. She was like, you might be sick, but like, I'm busy. Whoa. Yeah. So she stayed in Paris and she kept hanging out with other dudes
Starting point is 00:55:57 until she was ready to hang, go back with Famy. And she actually did finally return to Egypt in November 1922 with her sister Yvonne, and they were greeted by Famy, who was in perfectly fine health. Of course he was. He had lied to me. He was just trying to get your ass over there. You certainly must. So when she got to the palace, I bet she wished that she hadn't drug her, drug her feet
Starting point is 00:56:18 for so long because this fucking palace, it's the first of all to palace and it's that stunning. It was everything she ever dreamed of. There were marble columns, beautiful tapestry, ornate rugs all over the place. Antique French furniture from like the 16th century. Famy had even decorated Margaret's room with all kind of expensive tokens of affection,
Starting point is 00:56:41 like monogrammed a kutimants, and a dressing table. Ooh, they advantage dressing table. Ooh, vintage even then. Once they got there, they spent their days horseback riding, taking in the beautiful landscapes of Cairo and just doding on one another. It was beautiful giving each other lap dances. Yes, it was beautiful. It was. This was pretty much everything that Marguerite had ever dreamed of and everything that she was trying to attain throughout her entire life. She had money, she had power, people wanted to be her, and. I know. So, Fommy's family were
Starting point is 00:57:28 completely against this idea. Shocking. They said, you've known this woman for four seconds. We don't really like what she's about. And she's also 10 years older than you. And we know about her past and we're not interested. This seems to be the thing. Yeah, his friends were worried, his associates, his family. It's just, you know, it just wasn't for them. Just not for them. But guess what? Fommy didn't care.
Starting point is 00:57:53 He did not care at all. He doesn't give a shit. First of all, he was young. And second of all, he was infatuated. So he ignored everybody's warning and made plans for a civil ceremony in December of that year and a religious ceremony in early 1923. People were not happy. People even on the outside because remember, this guy was pretty well known and respected in Egypt.
Starting point is 00:58:16 And unfortunately, a woman like Marguerite just wasn't. She also wasn't Muslim, so it was kind of like looked upon. Yeah, there's layers of things here. Yeah, this was not something that was agreed on back then. That Dendi Corier reported on the relationship in 1922, 23, quote, their natures appeared to have been unfitted to one, one to the other. He a quiet, retiring man. And she was fond of a gager life. Are we all? I'm fond of a gager life. And I love when people try to have an opinion about a relationship that they are not in.
Starting point is 00:58:52 Yeah, that's my favorite thing. It's like they seem not suited for each other. It's like, well, fuck off, because it's not like she don't know them. No, no. That's a strange thing to do to sit there and be like, yeah, I don't think you're good for each other. It's like you literally don't fucking know them.
Starting point is 00:59:05 No, like honestly, reading that sentence, a quiet, retiring man, and she was fond of a gayer life, that's me and Drew. I was just going to say, and honestly, that is like what you need. Yeah, in my opinion, if we're going to throw opinions out here for things that we shouldn't be, my opinion is that it's a good thing to have a little little ebb and flow. I think so too. In a relationship, you don't want to be the same exact person. Yeah, because I think Drew, for example,
Starting point is 00:59:30 chills me out when I need to be chilled out. And I can kind of bring him up to the clouds when he's a little too grounded. Exactly. That's like John and I, John can bring emotions out when I don't want to. And with him, I can tone his anxiety down. And when he needs it, he would live in a minimalist lifestyle. Oh, 100.
Starting point is 00:59:53 And I love things. I have loved collections of things. I like to be surrounded by my things. You're maximalist. And maximalist. And we bring each other. He tamper's it down just enough that like where it needs to be Or probably just be living in like a museum museum of things among your relics. Yeah, and I and I kind of like make him see like the fun and clutter
Starting point is 01:00:16 Yeah, that's the thing I think when you're and even if you're like it's just like you're I think your opposite's Complementing whatever your little ebb and flows are, I think they're necessary. Even in friendships, like you and I, and like sisterhoods or whatever you want to call it, you and I are completely different people. Exactly. But we still get along like worthic as thieves. Me and Deb, totally different people. That's why our friendship has lasted so long.
Starting point is 01:00:39 You and Lynn's, me and different people. We're totally like, yeah, you just find what works. But yeah, I always say it when people point to, oh, it's not going to work because they're so different. And it's like, that's not always the kiss of death, man. And it's also not your fucking business. Yeah. For real.
Starting point is 01:00:54 That's what the whole world has needed for a long time. Mind your fucking business. Live and let live. But back to the story. The only reason Marguerite was like somewhat accepted and protected was because she was connected to Famy and because he loved her. Otherwise, this would have been a very different story. But the other thing was things were like not going so well behind closed doors. Because just a few days before the civil ceremony was set to take place, Marguerite and Famy got into a very
Starting point is 01:01:22 explosive argument. That's not good. No one's really quite sure how this argument started, but it got so bad that Marguerite booked a return passage to Paris. It's been speculated that the fight started due to Marguerite's quote-unquote addiction to flirting. Oh, which, you know, that's what we're calling it. That's what we're calling it. Maybe that was the reason. And maybe that was the reason that some contracts and extra steps popped up right before they're wedding. Yeah, he was like, that seems right.
Starting point is 01:01:52 I'm gonna get a prenup. Yeah. But you know, maybe that was the reason or maybe it was Fommy's close circle making sure that Marguerite was in this for the right reasons and you know, testing her a little bit. Maybe a little mix of both.
Starting point is 01:02:04 But either way, Marguerite was to prove that she was truly divorced from Charles, and then there was a contract written up, like I said, almost kind of like a prenup, in which Fommy agreed to pay $2,000 of her dowry upon signing, and that the remainder would be paid if he were to die or they were to get a divorce. Okay.
Starting point is 01:02:23 The final provision was near the end. It stated that Marguerite must also convert to Islam. It's believed that this clause was put into their agreement because of a clause in another very important piece of paper, Mommy's mother's will. Oh, she wrote in her will that he would actually lose his inheritance if he married a woman that was not Muslim. Oh wow. She used a different word, but I he married a woman that was not Muslim. Oh wow.
Starting point is 01:02:45 She used a different word, but I'm gonna put it that way. Okay. So Magerie agreed to converting to Islam, but she didn't really have to adhere to any of the rules that actual women have to adhere to when they are Muslim. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:02:59 She didn't have to adhere to the dress code. She didn't have to give up her French nationality. She actually didn't even have to practice the religion. And when she met with a Christian priest during her conversion, which is one of the steps you have to go through, he was meant to try to convince her to, quote, stay within the folds of the mother church.
Starting point is 01:03:16 And she told him that she wasn't going to betray the faith of her childhood and that this was all about money. Wow. She said like she had to take Fommy's interests into account. Okay. I'm like, you're not like attending a football game. Yeah, like you're like watching a movie.
Starting point is 01:03:33 You might not normally watch it. Yeah. It was a pretty big step. This is a whole last way of life. Yeah. Like you should probably take that a little more seriously. I would say so. She didn't.
Starting point is 01:03:42 No. And once they were officially married, they definitely, I think there seemed to be like a big change in Fommy from what is reported. Because instead of being infatuated with Bargerite, he seemed to be kind of trying to mold her into his version of the perfect woman. Ooh, he wrote it. No, it's not. He wrote a letter to her sister early on in the marriage. And at this point, her sister had gone back to Paris. Um, and in this letter, he was explaining that he was training Marguerite because women were not to have bad habits. Oh, no.
Starting point is 01:04:17 But it clearly wasn't working though because they were fighting worse than ever before. Just days after that letter was sent, they got into one of their worst fights yet, and each of them told the other that they were going to kill the other one. Wow. Just newlywed things. I was like, what's happening here? And they ended bliss. There's like a couple steps to getting married, like in their process. So they did like a different ceremony, but then they had to take the Islamic right of marriage. So leading up to that, they were really going at each other.
Starting point is 01:04:50 And it's like, you're going up to this like beautiful ceremony that you're gonna have with each other. And this is the way you want to remember. Like what? So in January of 1923, Famy and Margarita did take the Islamic right of marriage. It was a separate ceremony where they would sign different documents and become legal
Starting point is 01:05:06 in the legal and official in the eyes of Islam and the Egyptian government. But right after that ceremony, things got even worse. Wow. Yeah. I mean, yeah, the Suns of Murder. So, yeah, it's, I see it going just pretty steadily downhill. It's like they just like keep climbing up the steps
Starting point is 01:05:24 of Yuck. Yeah. Quicker and quicker as they go. On their honeymoon, Fommy actually tried to lock Marguerite in her cabin so that she wouldn't flirt with anyone. What? On their honeymoon. So she wouldn't flirt with anyone? Yeah, that's what they said. But obviously Marguerite was not the kind of woman to be locked away. So this started a knockdown dragout fight. And this was the first one reported between the two of them that did become physical. Oh, man. This is such a depressing relationship. It is. And it's sad because it starts kind of nice.
Starting point is 01:06:01 Well, he's infatuated with her and she's just kind of like playing hard to get. Yeah, like his side of it starts nice. Her's kind of soft. Yeah. And then it's like you finally decide to marry one another. And I think it just gets worse. I think Fommy wanted to marry Margarit because he thought she was beautiful. And I think he liked her personality. And then I kind of think she just married him for the money. And I think maybe he started to see that and started resenting that a little bit. And then she, I think he thought things would change a little bit when they got married. But I don't think she was the kind of woman to be changed.
Starting point is 01:06:34 I don't think so. Basically, they just were not meant for each other. Definitely not. Yeah, so like I said, and I just want to let everybody know that like a little bit of a trigger warning for domestic violence because this becomes physical. They're in Egypt, though,
Starting point is 01:06:48 honeymooning and luxur, or luxur, excuse me. So Marguerite knew that she needed to be careful and went back to the cabin. So to calm down, she wrote her friend a letter and she told her, quote, I have on my arms the marks of my husband's gentleness. I ask you to send here one or two persons who will have this condition established so as to make use of it. So clearly she was documenting
Starting point is 01:07:12 things like this so that when the time came to requested divorce, she'd be locked and loaded with reasons as to why she wanted one. And I can't blame her for that. If he got physical with her, then you should have absolutely. I would document the hell out for that. If he got physical with her, then you're absolutely I would document the hell out of that. Same. So when they returned home, Fommy, according to Margarit's writings, started going out at all hours of the night with other sex workers. She said both men and women, and he was smoking a ton of hash and just like, not being a husband, partying, not acting like a married man, and she was becoming irritated, even though she never really acted like a married woman either. Do as I say, not as I do, I guess.
Starting point is 01:08:02 So as the days went on, the both of them were really resenting each other more and more. Fommy was really wishing that it was as simple and blissful as it had been in the beginning. And I think Marguerite was just wishing that she had stayed in Paris. She was bored, she was confined, and those were two things that she absolutely loathed. Oh no. So in early May of 1923, she decided that she wanted to go out for a night by herself, but she did, again, need to be escorted by a mail because she was in Egypt. So when a Fommy's valet took her to the theater where she enjoyed a nice show, but when the show was over, she didn't want the valet to drive her home. Instead, she had one of Fommy's friends drive her home.
Starting point is 01:08:43 And of course, he assumed something happens. Oh, no. So when she gets home, he's pissed. But this is where things take a dark turn. They started an argument and as things escalated even further and further, Fommy allegedly punched Margarit in the face. Oh my God. Yes.
Starting point is 01:09:02 She claimed that her jaw was dislocated, but then later said that she had exaggerated her injuries a little bit. Oh my God. Yeah. Which is like, you don't have to exaggerate anything about that situation. No. If he punched you in the face, then that is fucked up enough on its own. Yeah, exactly.
Starting point is 01:09:19 You don't need to make that anywhere. No. So Margaret wanted to go home to Paris, but she could not go alone and was not going to be going alone. So later in May, the 18th to be exact, the two of them got on a ship headed for Europe. Their voyage was absolutely terrible. They were arguing all the time, getting into tons of fights with each other, to the point where the ships captain was actually called down multiple times to calm their quarrels. Oh damn. Multiple times.
Starting point is 01:09:45 They're like, y'all, I'm driving a vessel from Egypt to Europe. Can you like give me a minute please? I'm driving a whole ass vessel. I am driving a ship. I am a ship captain. I don't have time for this. Let me do this.
Starting point is 01:09:57 Let me maneuver. Right. This is a vessel. They did maneuver the vessel and they did get to Paris, but it took some time because they had to kept stepping away. You had to take care of the kiddos. I'm saying, they're fighting again.
Starting point is 01:10:09 The cats and dogs out here. So when they finally got to Paris, Marguerite went right back to her old way. She was like, piece the fuck out. She's in her house now. Yes, exactly. So she's like, let's go. And she is a little bit more free.
Starting point is 01:10:22 She's got a little more at her fingertips here. So when she's away from Famy, she's taking clients, she's staying away for extended periods of time with said clients. She's spending money left in white left in right. Left in white left in white. She in my opinion, right, fully so at this point was talking about getting divorced. She told all of her friends that she simply would not go on in Egypt with Fami and she needed out of that situation. But what she didn't realize, but soon would, was that the contract she had signed during the Islamic ceremony didn't really have an out for her. Oh, yeah. That's scary. The only way out of the marriage would be if Fami initiated the divorce, which he likely
Starting point is 01:11:05 wouldn't because it would have been a massive scandal. Or if he died. Oh. And even then she would have to fight his family for whatever she wanted. So spring turned into summer and their relationship continued to be rocky. Marguerite actually hired a private investigator to follow Fami and specifically report back about his sexual engagements and habits while he wasn't with her. She was very much trying to prove that he was having relations with other men. I was going to say that was what that was exactly what that was because again it would have been so crazy.
Starting point is 01:11:39 So she knew and again she knew that if a divorce was initiated on his end, her past would be brought up. So she wanted to be able to fire back or blackmail him into some kind of settlement. Yeah. So now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to head back to where we started. Let's go. This avoid hotel. The couple arrived on June 1st, 1923, and they had quite the entourage. Fommy, Secretary, Said, and Nani was in tow, as well as Marguerites made, and their valet. Now, even though the two of them essentially fucking hated each other at this point,
Starting point is 01:12:13 they were trying to play the part of a happy couple because remember, the media is watching these two. Oh, of course. So the first night they were there, they ate at the hotel's restaurant, and then they went dancing in the ballroom. That night, Marguerite went to bed with a 32 semi-automatic pistol. It was loaded with six bullets. Now this might seem like Marguerite had planned to kill
Starting point is 01:12:34 Famy all along, excuse me. Yes. And that could definitely be the case. But I do have to play devil's advocate here and tell you that she was actually well known to travel with a gun whenever she traveled because she had a big fear of being robbed for her jewelry. Okay. But at the same time, we know what happens here. That's it's like with the... Maybe it was a little bit of both. With the magic of foresight right now, we get to be like hmmm, exactly. Now, Fommy also actually traveled with a weapon in which he had with him. He had a 25 automatic, which was decorated with gold leaf
Starting point is 01:13:10 chasing and pearls, I believe. I thought that made it work better. It was just fancier, you know? Yeah, exactly. It's a little pizzazz, little elegant. Alligons on your gun. A try on your gun. On your gun.
Starting point is 01:13:23 So on July 3rd, I bet Marguerite was happy that she had her gun alongside her because she actually got a pretty strange letter from Paris. The letter which had racist undertones said, please permit a friend who has traveled widely among Asians, they used a different word. And who knows the craftiness of their acts to give you some advice. Don't agree to return to Egypt for any object or even Japan. Rather, abandon fortune than risk your life. Money can always be recovered by a good lawyer, but think of your life. A journey means a possible accident, a poison in the flower, a subtle weapon that is neither seen nor heard,
Starting point is 01:14:02 remain in Paris with those who love you and those who will protect you. That's horrifying. Yeah. So as she finished reading, she showed the note to Fommy, but he told her that he was sure a hoax, and actually, he wondered if she had written it herself. Oh, damn. Which like, low key same.
Starting point is 01:14:19 I was gonna say, I mean, not a bad call on his part, I would say. It is widely believed that that letter was written by her or by someone she knew to kind of, because it's literally saying like, do not go back to Egypt and she's been telling everybody, I am not going back to Egypt. Like, exactly. Hello.
Starting point is 01:14:36 And it's saying like, oh, there's threats to your life. Yeah, like it's making it like you shouldn't go back because your life depends on that. Exactly. I think it was a pretty pre-mortated, if you ask me. I would say so. Six days after receiving that letter, this gets like a little bit sexual,
Starting point is 01:14:51 just so everybody knows. Oh, it's gonna get spicy. It's gonna get yucky. Uh-oh. I'm hungry called the hotel's doctor because she started experiencing some pain from hemorrhoids. Okay, I mean, you've had a kid.
Starting point is 01:15:06 If you had a IVS, am I right? I hate everybody. You know, she actually called earlier in the week for the same reason, and she told the doctor this time, that quote, her husband had torn her by unnatural intercourse, meaning, out. Yeah, I think we all, okay.
Starting point is 01:15:24 I was trying to think of like a good way to say that. And I was like, there really isn't one. So, you know what I think I'm talking about? Thank you so much. Yeah, no problem. And she said that he was, quote, always pestering her for that kind of intercourse. Ouch. Again, she's trying to prove something here.
Starting point is 01:15:39 Of course. So she then asked this doctor to document the state that she was in and provide a certificate of her health so that she could show it to her husband if he made it seem like she was lying about the pain she was in. Or also to have on deck to make him look like a bad person after she murdered him, which she was planning to do all along in my personal. Exactly. Exactly.
Starting point is 01:16:01 And also, I guess one could assume that she was after such receipt for divorce purposes. Of course. Now, the first week of their stay at this avoid was only getting more and more contentious. It was unusually hot in London that week. The temperature was, temperatures, excuse me, were in the high 80s and low 90s. Of course. So the weather was only adding tension between the two of them. Margarit's super uncomfortable,
Starting point is 01:16:23 Fommy's wicked hot, they're both just pissed. On their last morning spent together, they decided to go out for a drive and the hopes that the breeze would offer some alleviation for their discomfort. Is this giving you Gatsby vibes? It is. At this point, when it's too hot,
Starting point is 01:16:38 so they have to go to the apartment. So they go back to the hotel for lunch, but it was clear that the breeze really hadn't done much for either of them. They were bickering when the orchestra leader came over and asked them if they wanted to request a song for the band to play. Oh, yeah, we're doing great over here.
Starting point is 01:16:56 And Margaret's answer was, thank you very much. My husband's going to kill me in 24 hours, so I'm not very anxious for music. Oh, oh, how do you respond to that? I don't, I did not see that coming. Thank you very much. My husband is going to kill me in 24 hours and I'm not very anxious for music.
Starting point is 01:17:16 I'd be like, thank you for your honesty. I'd be like, so. Do you want me to call the police or not? We're gonna take a break and we'll come back to you. A little scared. Yeah, here's the top four. I'd like him to leave. Yeah, I would call that awkward. Yeah. So later that night around 8 p.m. the couple in their entourage. Actually, we're headed to the theater for a show. Marguerite was wearing a white dress that Coco Chanel had personally
Starting point is 01:17:40 designed for her. Damn. And Fommy was wearing a tail coat and a waistcoat. So like they had to be they were dressed to the night. And say, yes. Early enough, the show that they were heading into C was the Merry Widow. Oh. Yeah, not shocking at all at this point, but pretty much as soon as they got to the theater,
Starting point is 01:17:58 they started fighting. Yes. I almost said kissing and cuddling. No. But I went with fighting and I'm glad I did. Silly you. Silly me. Yeah. They were fighting almost immediately. They fought throughout pretty much the entire show. Cool. So they get back to the hotel a little bit before 11 p.m. and they have dinner. They have a late dinner at the restaurant.
Starting point is 01:18:18 So they continue their argument that they'd been having all night. Thank God. What can you argue for that long about? How do you argue in London? It also just like at some point you have to say all that you can say and just be like, well, disagree I guess like I don't whenever drew and I get into like any kind of argument and they're never like this whenever we get into any kind of argument, I'm like,
Starting point is 01:18:39 what can I say to just like make this be okay? Yeah, like we just end up like doing something stupid to make the other one laugh. That's what we do. But it's just like make this be okay. Yeah, like just end up like doing something stupid to make the other one laugh. That's what we do. But it's just like how I understand like big arguments can happen, but like, of course. These are like days and just all day, all night, all through dinner, all through a show.
Starting point is 01:18:55 It's like, I don't get it. You can't shut the fuck up and just watch a show. Like, like you're arguing to the point where a ship captain is having to leave his duties to fucking make sure you're not gonna throw each other overboard. He was wobbling around his vessel because of you guys. For real. That's why. I also just hate fighting. Like again, whenever me and Drew get into anything, by the end of it, we're like, I hate that we wasted like the time that we have to get together doing that. It's just a waste of fucking time. Oh, it's just I'm so, this whole thing
Starting point is 01:19:22 is just giving me so much anxiety. When I was reading it and like putting this together, I was also getting a lot of anxiety. So much fighting. Yes, a lot of quarreling. So they got so loud with each other that pretty much everybody in the restaurant was staring at them. And also at this point, they were arguing over where Margarit should have surgery to remove her hemorrhoids. So people were like really paying attention. Because they were like, wow, they're really arguing about that. Like, well, hemorrhoids, huh? In this beautiful establishment, we're talking about hemorrhoids surgery. Because the thing was Margarit wanted to have the surgery performed in Paris.
Starting point is 01:19:57 But Famy wanted her to have it in London because he was on business there. So at one point, things actually got so heated between them that Margarit stood up, grabbed a wine bottle off the table, and yelled to her husband, you shut up or I'll smash this over your head. Oh my God. And Fami replied, if you do, I'll do the same to you. Wow. This is a mutual love. I'm like, you guys got to get away from each other. So they were both ushared out of the room by Fommy's assistant Saeed. He brought them to the ballroom hoping that either dancing would distract them or that the music would drown out their screaming. Maybe both. Yeah. But Fommy asked Marguerite to
Starting point is 01:20:37 dance and she said no and as Saeed to dance and went and dance what in dance was Said instead? Clearly trying to piss him off. Oh, yeah. So around 1 a.m., Marguerite was ready to go up to bed and Said escorted her up to the suite. After she was all set in the room, Said went back down to Fami and probably was like, Bro, do you like really want to do this for the rest of your life? Like the press can't. Might be pretty bad, but this is worse. way worse. Like I think we should just take the scandal and call it an L. Of course. Call an L and L. Now they had a brief discussion about his and Margarita's relationship and then Sayid had it up to bed for the night. In the half hour that Famy and Sayid spent talking, Margarita was penning yet another letter to her doctor. She wanted him
Starting point is 01:21:22 to know that Famy was not going to take responsibility for her condition and for that reason she was going to go to her family in Paris and have the operation done there. So I think she was kind of trying to make it look like, oh I was just planning to go to Paris because I have to have the surgery. Of course. So when Fami returned to the room, that's when the argument between the two continued. And as we know, it ended with Fami laying close to dead on the hotel room floor. So eventually, now at this point, we know he's been shot. Yeah. So eventually, Said caught wind of what was going on. And when he did, he and the manager actually
Starting point is 01:21:57 made arrangements to have Fami quietly transported out of the hotel into the hospital. So it's not to create a spectacle. Marguerite was actually still in the room, dazed and looking around for her pistol. She told the manager that the argument started because they were talking about the divorce. Now soon the police arrived and they started questioning her. And as they asked questions, Marguerite handed the letter
Starting point is 01:22:20 that she had written over to the doctor, who was also in the room at this point. And at the hospital, Ali Famy Bay was pronounced dead at 325. I am so sad. At 23 years old. Whoa. 23. Damn.
Starting point is 01:22:35 So there was sort of an investigation into the crime, but not really, because they knew what you did. Yeah, I mean, but no photos were taken of the room before the staff were allowed to clean up. Wow. And no evidence was really collected, except for the bullet casings on the gun. But at that point, like by the time those two things were collected,
Starting point is 01:22:55 the gun had been handled by multiple staff members. Yeah, but they margarited many two array of police out there. And she said that she had actually fired first at the window to scare him. And then she believed that the gun was empty and fired three more times and was really shocked when she shot. Three bullets came out.
Starting point is 01:23:14 Yeah, it was the craziest thing. Wild. So at 7 a.m., she made her formal statement to the police. She told them. So at first, she's like really apologetic, but then she's not. Oh, she says, I did it. I've told the truth. It doesn't matter. He assaulted me in front of many people since the time we've been married. He's told me many times, kill me, and many people have heard him say so.
Starting point is 01:23:37 She's like, I have witnesses that heard him say kill me. So I did. I am obliged. Like, I'm very apologetic. I appreciate it Great. Now before long, all of the newspapers were reporting on the quote unquote, princess death. And they were writing first kind of sympathetically and in Margarit's favor, commenting on her beauty, poison, elegance. Wow. But the next day, they were hyping things up way more and adding all kinds of their own embellishments and being like, fuck her. Yeah. So there was a corner's inquest. And the main question on everybody's minds was not who, but why? Yeah. And Saeed was one of the first to testify. And he gave the best insight into Margarit and Famy's lives, telling the jury, they used to insult each other openly and smack each
Starting point is 01:24:20 other's faces. It was an impossible life, Yet they loved each other. And he was unhappy when she was out of his sight. But it's like that doesn't necessarily mean love. That's toxic. That means control. Like he was just standing touch. Yeah, she's not near like he wants to be in control of her. Exactly. And vice versa. Exactly. And it's also just the classic like when things are good, they're good, but when they're bad, they're also bad. And it's like, no, they shouldn't be that bad. No, it should never be that one. It should never be so bad that you were smacking each other's face. No, absolutely. That is abuse. Exactly.
Starting point is 01:24:54 So at the end of the inquest, the corner ruled that the cause of death was willful murder. And with that, Marguerite was set to stand trial for the murder of her husband. Damn. Now the newspapers went wild, and it was pretty evident that there wasn't going to be an unbiased juror in Europe, but they had to have the trial regardless. Yeah. I think they were a lot less concerned about fair trials back then. And also, she killed him.
Starting point is 01:25:19 Yeah. So Marguerite's trial started on September 11, 1923. The prosecution started their arguments by going through the details on the night of the shooting. They noted that before Marguerite and Fommy had headed over to the banquet hall to dance, Marguerite had looked at Fommy and told him that she, quote, had finished with him and didn't want him. Whoa. So they're like, clearly she was doing this on purpose.
Starting point is 01:25:42 And once they had wrapped up with their openings, Saeed was called to testify. It made sense because he had been with them all throughout the whole trip, and especially a lot that night. And he was going to be able to paint a picture of all the events that led up to that night. So the defense lawyer, sir Edward Marshall Hall,
Starting point is 01:26:00 asked Saeed, was the deceased a bully, a man in the habit of beating women? And Saeed replied that he had actually never seen Fommy beat a woman not once and clearly Sir Edward Hall was not satisfied with that answer and he tried to paint the murdered man even more negatively and asked how many wives had he when he died was he not entitled by law to have four wives and Said confirmed that yes, technically, Famy could have that many wives, but at the time of his death, he only had the one, the one that killed him. Yeah. Clearly, what they were trying to do was like, this man, and I do think he did want to be in control of Marguerite. Yeah. But I think they were also kind of using his religion.
Starting point is 01:26:40 Oh, absolutely. To paint him in a more negative way, in a very poor light, exactly. And they wanted to make it seem like Margarit was very abused and suffering and this man was a beast and he could do whatever he wanted. And this is a frustrating one because it's like, there is abuse happening here. And it's like, but that is not the cause of all of that. You know, it's such, but that is not like the cause of all of that. You know, like there's there's it's such a complex situation.
Starting point is 01:27:06 Exactly. You can't just paint him as a beast in her as an angel. It's like they have to paint them both for what they are. Several layers here to all the neither one of them are angels. No. By no means. So not at all. So the second day of the trial, Marguerite took the stand.
Starting point is 01:27:22 And she explained her versions of the events. And she also added again, that the argument started over the topic of divorce. She told the jury that Fommy had sworn on the Bible of Korean that he was going to kill her someday. Wow. Something I doubt that he did because I don't know why you would swear on the Bible that you're going to kill someone, but who am I? Yeah. I never knew. I have no idea. So when asked why he would want to kill her, she told them that it was because she refused to hand over the jewelry that she had collected before they married. What?
Starting point is 01:27:50 I was like, I don't think that's why. Yeah. And when asked to describe her understanding of the gun she shot her husband with, she told the jury, I do not know anything about automatics. I felt when one ball had gone, the pistol was perfectly harmless. I never wanted to kill my husband.
Starting point is 01:28:05 I only wanted to prevent him from killing me. Hmm. Usually when you shoot at somebody, it could kill them. And yeah, no. You shot one bullet, a bullet came out. Yeah. You don't then aim at someone and be like, I'm out of sympathy. And then just keep shooting.
Starting point is 01:28:21 Right. Like that's when you shoot three more times and you're like, wow, this isn't empty yet? Like what? And you say that you don't you're like, wow, this isn't empty yet. Like what? And you say that you don't understand on a mattox, but then you trouble with one. And you intend to use it if you ever get robbed. And if you don't understand it, you definitely shouldn't point it at someone.
Starting point is 01:28:34 Absolutely not, especially your husband. If you don't understand it, you shouldn't sleep with it underneath your pillow. No. So the hotel doctor that she had been seeing, Dr. E. F. Gordon was then called to testify. And he told the court that he had found bruising on her arms and legs, as well as scratches, which indicated a physical altercation.
Starting point is 01:28:52 And then her sister, Yvonne, confirmed what the doctor had said, and then elaborated by showing the court the letter that she got from Fommy, saying that he was trying to train Marguerite. Now, during that closing arguments, the prosecution kept it simple. Margarit was tired of family life. She wanted out of Egypt and she was desperate for a divorce. But when she realized that she could get a divorce in her own way, she killed her husband.
Starting point is 01:29:16 Yeah. And they also presented a set of letters where Fommy had gushed over Margarit and all the things he loved about her. And they argued that he was not the man that the defense was making him out to be and then that it was time for the defense to talk they argued that Marguerite had been tricked by Fommy Edward Marshall Hall exclaimed that as soon as she entered the marriage quote every indignity was put upon her He said that she he said that she just stood by and watched as Fommy
Starting point is 01:29:45 took on several misters, is, misters is, excuse me, including her own sister. Oh, yeah. What a bitch. I don't know if that was the truth or not. Oh, I was going to say if that's true, like fuck her. Yeah. He told the jury that Fommy was a, quote, great hulking muscular fellow. And that was his way, and excuse me me and that his way of intercourse was a constant threat to Margarit and her safety And he said that they should believe nothing they heard from Saeed because he was his master's stooge quote unquote and was an equally cunning man Oh, which was really rude and also Follow he was not a great husk great hulking muscular fellow. Yeah, he doesn't look like it.
Starting point is 01:30:26 He's kind of lanky, pretty thin, and like, not hulking muscular fellow. Not a huge dude by the stretch of the imagination. It was a bit much. So on September 5th, the jury deliberated for a little more than an hour. And when they came back, they announced that Marguerite was not- I knew that was coming. I knew it was coming. Not guilty. So the courtroom literally erupted into cheers.
Starting point is 01:30:54 Like they were happy. But the judge wasn't finished. He had the room settle down and then asked the jury if Marguerite was guilty of manslaughter. Again, not guilty. Wow. And with that, she was discharged. What? So whether or not she planned to kill Fami for his wealth, it didn't work out for her. Fami didn't have a will in place before his death. And Margaret was going to have to fight his family if she wanted anything. She probably would have been up for it if it weren't a fight that would have to go down in an Egyptian court that certainly wouldn't be fond of her now. And she actually did sue in civil court, but Fommy's family had documents that detailed her
Starting point is 01:31:35 behavior before, during, and after their marriage. So the Egyptian courts refused to recognize the British courts verdict. And ultimately, they wouldn't even entertain Margaret's claim to the estate because in their book she was guilty and she was guilty. So over the following year she would actually try a few more times to gain access to his estate and anything in the mansion but every attempt failed. Wow. She went on actually to live a very long life and she died in Paris on January 2nd 1971. Wow. At 80 years old. Damn. She murdered a quote-unquote, Prince of Egypt and then just lived out the rest of her life in Paris. Holy shit. How fucking crazy is that story? That's, I can't believe that. I can't believe it ended with her just getting off. She got away with all of it.
Starting point is 01:32:25 And she got really everything she ever dreamed of, even though she didn't get Fommy's money, she had gotten money for several other guys. She had plenty of money. Wow. Absolutely. Why? That is truly outrageous.
Starting point is 01:32:38 Yeah. So nuts. Damn. And there's a lot of good books on this case. I'm going to link a couple that I used in the show notes, obviously, but that one by Andrew Rose was a great read. And it has a lot more information on her affair with the Prince, but obviously, like,
Starting point is 01:32:54 I didn't want to take all of it and put it in here. So I would check that out if you were interested in this story and any of the other books that I link. Oh, that's amazing. Crazy. What a story. I know. Great. Alibar, the. Crazy. What a story. I know.
Starting point is 01:33:05 Great. Allie Bear, the murderer of the Prince of Egypt. Holy, day. Damn. I know. It's a really sad story. That's the thing. It's just really sad. Because nobody wins really. I mean, she... No. If anybody does, she did, because she got to live out the rest of her life and
Starting point is 01:33:21 have access to everything. But it's like, did you really win? How dark is that? I know. You just shot this guy, this 23 year old guy in a hotel room, like, and then, and your marriage was so fraught and terrible and abusive, and it's like, oh, God. Like all of that is dark. Just so sad over.
Starting point is 01:33:39 Very sad. Damn. That's it. Do you think for that? You think that she went into that trip, planning it. It sure seems like there was something. I think she went into the trip. Yeah, it seems like she had been putting together the little
Starting point is 01:33:53 little pieces of it for a while. Like, I don't think this was like a snapped situation. No, I think it's she probably knew she wanted to do that. I think so, too. That's what it seems like, at least. You're gonna have to let us know what you guys think. And with that, we hope you keep listening. And we hope you keep it.
Starting point is 01:34:10 We're, but not to read about any of this. No, no. Literally not a bit. Never. I would be so disappointed. Bye. Hey, Prime Members! You can listen to Morvid, Early, and Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen Add Free with Wondery Plus and
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