Marguerite Alibert

Marguerite Marie Alibert (9 December 1890 – 2 January 1971 Marguerite Laurent, and Princess Fahmy, was a French socialite. She started her career as a prostitute and later courtesan in Paris, and from 1917 to 1918, she had an affair with the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII). In 1923, she killed her husband at the Savoy Hotel in London, England. She was eventually acquitted of the murder charge after a trial at the Old Bailey. Alibert had a number of notable clients, particularly Edward, Prince of Wales.

Alibert and Edward first met in April 1917 at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris. Edward became infatuated with her, and during their relationship, he wrote many letters to her. Although the affair was intense while it lasted, by the end of the war, Edward had ended the relationship. Upon returning to the hotel, they had a late supper where they started one of their frequent arguments. At 2:30 a.m. on 10 July, Alibert shot her husband repeatedly from behind, striking him in the neck, back, and head. Fahmy was transported to Charing Cross Hospital, and succumbed to his injuries an hour later. During the trial, Alibert presented herself as the victim of the "brutality and beastliness" of her "oriental husband". Alibert was defended by Edward Marshall Hall, one of the more famous British lawyers of that era. Alibert was acquitted of all charges.

In culture Books The killing of Alibert's husband was the focus of the 1991 book, Scandal at the Savoy: The Infamous 1920s Murder Case by judge and historian Andrew Rose. In the 2013 follow-on work, The Prince, the Princess and the Perfect Murder, Andrew Rose revealed — with the help of Alibert's grandson — that the acquittal of Alibert of the charges of murdering her husband was part of a deal for returning the love letters of the Prince of Wales to him and a guarantee by Alibert that Edward's name would not be mentioned in court.

Television The trial was dramatised as part of the Granada Television series Lady Killers, broadcast on 20th July 1980, starring Robert Stephens and Barbara Kellerman.

In 2013, the British Channel 4 aired the documentary Edward VIII's Murderous Mistress: Was there a cover-up of Edward VIII's fling with a murderess?

In November 2024, Channel 4 broadcast A History of Royal Scandals series 2 episode 4 entitled Crime in which Suzannah Lipscomb discussed Alibert's relationship with Edward, Prince of Wales, her trial for the shooting of husband Ali Fahmy, and the influence of authorities to ensure Alibert's acquittal.

Radio The trial of Marguerite Alibert for the murder of Ali Fahmy Bey was presented in a 2023 episode of the BBC Radio 4 series Lucy Worsley's Lady Killers.