To still be stunned that The Royals were close with Jimmy Savile?

[ThatCleverExpert]

It still blows my mind that the Royal Family had such a long-standing relationship with Jimmy Savile. Prince Charles sought his advice multiple times and he was treated like some kind of national treasure, even given access to hospitals and prisons.

Meanwhile, this was a man who was later exposed as a prolific predator - someone who abused vulnerable people, including children and even corpses in hospital mortuaries.
How did nobody see it? How was he so protected? And how was someone like that allowed so close to people in power?

I know it was a different time but AIBU to think the whole thing is still just horrifying?

And this is how batshit conspiracy theories spread, amplified by people who of course always precede their nasty words with "it might be a crazy conspiracy theory but…"

Yes it is. We should stop pretending that there is something about the reaction to Savile that is special.

Many child abusers are charismatic, charming people. And a large number of them, even if convicted, will be supported by their families and friends. We don’t talk about this in our society because we all like to imagine we are nice moral people. But the truth is far nastier than that. People often do not want to acknowledge child abuse if it affects them, their reputation or lives. Instead they ignore, equivocate or say it never happened.

If it were as simple as a child saying they have been abused and being believed the world would look very different. But actually the lesson of Savile is that people usually turn a blind eye for their own good.

That’s interesting because what you usually read about him was that part of his “success” as a paedophile was that he lived alone, had few friends or familial connections, and could move around very freely.

Members of the royal family are likely to be the very opposite of streetwise, they are useful idiots to whom the malevolently manipulative are magnetically drawn.

Yes I’ve read that the enormous sums of money he raised, acted as a shield from exposure.

Which is one of the reasons they have advisers.

Gosh - so much naivety on here . People who think because they & their Mum and Dad who watched Savile ion the telly didn’t know means that multiple police forces , the Intelligence services & the BBC were unaware . Please think it through . Why was a man with a recorded nefarious history dating back to Yorkshire in the 1950s allowed to become a Children’s TV presenter & unfettered access to vulnerable children ?
I personally reported him in 1991 .

Yep
I must have been about 5 thought he was a horrendous then …creepy guy.
I kept thinking if I was those children on his show I wouldn’t want him touching me
And princesses Di dud Not like him.

Back in the day the Royals were terribly sheltered. Charles is the first monarch to have attended school (aged 8).

Savile had a police record dating back to the 1950s . It would be completely impossible for those responsible for vetting who the Royal Family interact with to be unaware .

Princess Diana did like him - she wrote private letters to Savile (signed "with love from Diana) and they discussed Broadmoor together.

No - WE were sheltered from learning about the behaviour of our ‘betters ‘ .
Did the Royal Family shun Mountbatten . That he was a paedophile is and was well documented.

I think the dysfunctional upbringings (most of) the aristocracy and their circle have means they tend to have a massive blind spot when it comes to behaviour us common folk find creepy and distasteful at 100 yards.

Like calls to like. This includes the royal family. Randy Andy anyone?

As an Irish person I was always fascinated by this - to me - repulsive man, and by the love that British people had for him. I knew nobody who found him anything other than obnoxious. Most of us reasoned that British people really, really loved eccentric characters.

Now of course I realise that as a PP said, people know. Money talks. And it seems as if very many people in the media and entertainment industries knew but remained silent. I hope they're all ashamed of that but I suspect that many of them are not.

I agree. My friend went to see Jim'll Fix it. I loved watching him make kids dreams come true. It was a hugely popular programme. I didn't have much of an opinion about him but loved the programme. I didn't think he was creepy

This is indeed shocking. People were ignorant of SA in the seventies but 1991?

though apparently Princess Diana was reported to feel very uncomfortable around him

Diana was not that clued up. She cosied up to the fayeds & Mohammed was found to be guilty of rape & sexual
abuse of women he employed.

People were ignorant of SA in the seventies

🤔

I just don’t think it is unusual. People want to think they are “good”. If you get presented with evidence at the time that something is not right, you have two options;

a) accept your judgment has been wrong
b) dismiss it and tell yourself you are absolutely fine

Look at Epstein. He flattered people like Savile did. Some realised quickly there was something wrong. They didn’t see him again. The rest of them saw something in it for them. We should stop elevating people based on their power alone. And stop making excuses for those that choose to stay involved.

It's hard to overstate what a different world they move in.

Everyone says they thought he was creepy but I never heard any kids or adults say that at the time and we all watched Jim ll Fix it

Thatcher used to spend NY Eve with him I think, and whatever you say about her, I don't think she was a pervert.

It's extraordinary given how odd he was, but loads of people were taken in by him. So I don't think the RF can really be blamed for that.

I think that was for her charity work though.

I think it was Patrick Jephson who wrote that she privately thought him loathsome and tried to avoid seeing him.

My DM just didn't like him. But remember - who gives a fuck what common people thought ? Or indeed think. And "Jim'll Fix It" was almost too-good as cover for him. Because no kid watched it for Savile - they watched it to see kids they could relate to having a dream come true.

An awful lot of effort has been put in to minimise the extent of Savile’s depravity since his death . Child care professionals and survivors managed to get the parliamentary Child Abuse Enquiry into elite paedophile rings set up in the wake of the public horror following the Savile revelations . I played a very small part in that & watched it be very effectively managed & quashed as public interest moved on .