Was ronnie kray openly gay

One of the many major films that made their world premieres at Venice or Telluride this past week was Brian Helgeland’s “Legend,” which finds Tom Hardy starring as both of the Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie — gangsters who terrorized London in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1964, the Sunday Mirror reported that Scotland Yard was investigating a homosexual relationship between an unnamed peer (actually the Conservative peer Robert Boothby) and a major underworld figure (Ronnie Kray). Kray, who died two years ago, was serving life for the murder of Jack 'the hat' McVitie. He died aged 1995 of a heart attack. Yet despite their infamy, as West End nightclub owners the twins went on to mix with politicians and some of the most famous entertainers of the day, including Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Diana Dors.

The second episode of the ITV programme charts Ronnie and Reginald ‘Reggie’ Kray’s rise to the height of their power, before murder leads to the downfall of their criminal empire.

The programme includes interviews from Tom Mangold, who was a one time friend of the Krays, and Michael Emmett, who befriended Reggie Kray in prison in the Nineties.

Now Reggie Kray's gay lover has spoken out for the first time - to Today - and he says that Reggie's wife Frances was forced - by his brother Ronnie - to take the pills that killed her.

Bradley Allardyce moved to Altea, Spain, and opened a restaurant after his release from prison three years ago. He also gave him a tape cassette on which Reggie boasts of how Ronnie murdered George Cornell.

It was also rumoured that the Labour MP Tom Driberg had had a relationship with Ronnie.^[3][4]

In 1966, Ronnie Kray shot and killed George Cornell, an associate of the rival Richardsons gang, in the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel; in 1967, Reggie Kray fatally stabbed a minor member of the Kray gang, Jack "the Hat" McVitie.

In 1979 Ronnie was certified insane, and transferred to Broadmoor Hospital.

One night in prison Reggie Kray revealed to Allardyce the crime that haunted him the most: the apparent suicide of his first wife. On being called up for National Service, they immediately went absent without leave, and were held briefly in the Tower of London.

He served nine years for armed robbery.

The first episode of ‘Secrets of the Krays’, which aired last week, charts the twins’ rise to becoming prominent figures in the UK, through protection rackets, thuggery and violence.

A portion of the documentary also focuses on Ronnie’s sexuality.

Read More: Only Fools and Horses actor Patrick Murray shares cancer diagnosis

Ronnie Kray was open about his bisexuality (Image: Getty)

At the height of their success the Krays rubbed shoulders with actors and musicians (Image: gETTY)

In his book ‘My Story’ Ronnie Kray stated he was a bisexual, though this was not a revelation to those in the gangster’s circle during the Sixties.

Nemone Lethbridge, who was the Kray twins’ barrister from 1957 to 1962, said on the ITV documentary: “I was aware of Ron’s homosexuality because he talked openly about it.

“Ron would boast about his affairs but he said, ‘It’s alright because I'm a giver not a receiver.’

“But he was fearless.

Reggie always denied what many suspected - that he was also attracted to men. I don't suppose his dad was very pleased. They spent most of their time at Maidstone in each other's company.

He revealed the secret as they relaxed in Kray's cell. "It would have added weight to the allegations that these were indiscriminate murderers." All the people involved, except Allardyce, are dead.

That’s alright then’. He thought someone else was coming in to separate the them, and he did not want to be separated from Reggie."

The Krays' rule came to an end when they were arrested by a team of Scotland Yard detectives, led by Leonard 'Nipper' Read. Very homophobic.”

Watch ‘Secrets of the Krays’ tonight on ITV at 9pm.