S8 Ep274: THE CORONATION AND INTELLIGENCE NETWORKS Colleague Charles Spicer. The coronation of George VI in May 1937 became a backdrop for diplomatic maneuvering, culminating in a disastrously overcrowded party at the German embassy organized by the social-climbing

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🗓️ 1 January 2026

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

THE CORONATION AND INTELLIGENCE NETWORKS Colleague Charles Spicer. The coronation of George VI in May 1937 became a backdrop for diplomatic maneuvering, culminating in a disastrously overcrowded party at the German embassy organized by the social-climbing Anneliese Ribbentrop. While Nazi sympathizers and high society mingled, the Anglo-German Fellowship was infiltrated by Kim Philby, who was hired to manage publicity while secretly reporting to Soviet intelligence. Simultaneously, realizing the futility of civilizing the Nazis, Conwell-Evans and Christie transitioned into functioning as a "private detective agency" for Vansittart, utilizing their access to gather intelligence that the official services lacked. Despite the social chaos and espionage, German War Minister von Blomberg attended the coronation and was well-received, hinting at alternative diplomatic paths had Ribbentrop not intervened. NUMBER 7
1946 DEFENSE COUNCIL AT THE NUREMBERG TRIAL

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm John Batson with Charles Spicer.
0:06.9	The book is Coffee with Hitler, the untold story of the amateur spies who tried to civilize
0:11.7	the Nazis.
0:13.4	The catastrophes ahead, it is May of 1937, the coronation, George the 6th.
0:18.9	The embassy, the German embassy in London is three buildings put together
0:24.4	by the Ribbon Trops. And we need to introduce a driving force in Ribbon Trops' attempt to
0:32.3	win the affection of the British public and then eventually to put the two states together.
0:38.9	And the formula being, Germany will take care of the continent and England can pay attention to its empire on the seas.
0:46.4	However, the Ribbentropes are guided by Annalise Ribbentrop.
0:50.2	And I tell Charles we must attend to Annalise because she outlived Ribbentrop, who was hanged in
0:56.2	1945, I believe.
0:59.2	47, thank you.
1:01.6	And she wrote afterwards about her memories of living in London where she was offended
1:08.4	by the English habit of making fun of newcomers or the new boys.
1:13.1	Annalise, she was well to do when she married Joachim van Ruben Trapus.
1:18.2	I remember her father was a champagne maker. Is that right, Charles?
1:22.8	Yes, sect, which is the German version of champagne, the Henkel family, and the Henkel brand is still,
1:28.6	I believe, the leading brand of sparkling German wine. And her ambitions were to dominate British
1:37.5	society. She wanted her son to Eden, her daughter privately schooled or to a private school
1:43.9	that is equal to Eden.
1:45.9	And she wanted people to come and pay obeisance to the new Germany.
1:51.9	There's a party held at the embassy to inaugurate during this period the new ambassador,
	...

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