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Chapter 1: What significant event occurred on April 19, 1965, involving the Kray Twins?
It is the 19th of April, 1965. In Bethnal Green, in the east end of London, a light rain is falling, marring what might have been a bright spring day. Staring out at the clouds, a man named Frank Shea sits in the back of a sleek black car as it pulls up outside a church. He steps out onto the pavement and takes in the scene before him. The church is like something from a storybook.
Red brick walls contrasting with a grey slate roof and ornate white window frames. A large crowd of guests, dressed in their Sunday best, mill around outside. His eyes widen when a huge Rolls Royce pulls up next to him and blonde bombshell actress Diana Dawes emerges and makes her way into the church. He follows her inside, exchanging nods with the two burly men flanking the doors.
Making his way down the aisle, he smiles at the people he recognizes, before hurrying to join his mother in a pew near the front. But there is another shock when he reaches her. Why is she wearing a black mourning dress, today of all days? Before he can say anything, the vicar at the altar steps forward. Clearing his throat, he asks everyone to stand for the entrance of the bride.
Tears of pride already filling his eyes, Frank turns to watch his baby sister, Frances, walk down the aisle. She is glowing in a simple white silk dress, her hair teased into an elaborate beehive. Her bright smile only falters for a moment when she sees her mother. Not just the pointed choice of color, but the fact that the older woman is also loudly sobbing.
Frank beams at his sister to make up for it, and can only hope that this obvious show of disapproval doesn't overshadow Frances' big day. As the music reaches its final bars, Frances goes to stand beside her bridegroom. Reggie Cray's dark hair is slicked back, and he wears a stylish black suit and white shirt. Next to him stands his identical twin brother, Ronnie.
Only the flower in Reggie's buttonhole indicates which one is Frances' husband-to-be. The service begins with a hymn. They are only a few lines in when Frank catches movement out of the corner of his eye. The two men who had been guarding the door are walking up and down the aisle, gesturing and whispering. Frank realizes they're telling people to sing louder and look happier.
He gulps and swiftly complies. All too soon, the ceremony is over and the congregation erupts into applause, some of them glancing nervously towards the big men at the back as they cheer as loudly as they can. Finally, the church bells begin to peal and the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Cray head down the aisle, arm in arm.
Looking at his sister's radiant face as she gazes up at Reggie, Frank sends up a silent prayer that their mother is wrong about her new son-in-law. Surely, gangsters can sometimes make good husbands. On the surface, the wedding of Reginald Cray and Francis Shea in April 1965 looked like a classy society event. But the glamorous exterior hid the rot beneath.
Because it was in fact the biggest gangland wedding that London had seen in years. In the decade leading up to that spring morning, Reggie and his twin brother Ronnie had built a vast criminal empire based on extortion, blackmail, and violent intimidation. Many of the guests toasting the happy couple were hardened criminals.
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Chapter 2: How did the Kray Twins rise to power in London's criminal underworld?
And while Ronnie Cray's sexuality is something of an open secret, the prevailing homophobia of the era undoubtedly shapes aspects of his life.
It's hard to know how society's attitude informed Ronnie's behavior because in so many ways, Ronnie lived outside of the law and lived outside of society in the way he operated in his life, in his ethics, how he operated in a legal and illegal manner. In terms of his sexuality and how society informed that, I don't think we'll ever know.
But I do think what we do know is that it was a really tough time to be a homosexual man in London.
The twins do not let romance distract them from their burgeoning criminal empire. After taking over Esmeralda's barn, they expand their protection racket into the West End.
Thanks to the involvement of a man named Leslie Payne, who becomes something like a business manager to Ronnie and Reggie, they embark on a series of bigger scams, including setting up fake wholesale companies to defraud suppliers. The twins also make a show of giving their money away, donating to local boys clubs, sports teams, hospitals and old people's homes.
It is all part of creating the image of themselves as community-minded gangsters. At the height of their power, they are now arrested on extortion charges. The firm immediately gets to work, hiring a private detective to dig up dirt on one key witness, intimidating others and bribing jurors. And just like that, in 1965 the twins are acquitted.
To celebrate, they buy the remaining shares of the club. The police officers, who led the investigation against them, are invited to the opening. The craze seem untouchable. Now aged 21, Francis finally agrees to marry Reggie. It is a lavish and glamorous affair, captured by legendary fashion photographer David Bailey. but not everyone is thrilled.
Folklore has it that marrying Francis caused a problem for Reggie with his brother Ron. There is the theory that Ronnie was jealous of Francis. Whether that is true, we will never ever know. And you hear so many different accounts, it's hard to actually find the truth in that.
But logic would suggest that twin relationships are different and special, so therefore marriage into a twin relationship is always going to prove difficult.
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