private lives
Ronnie Kray
Ronnie was openly bisexual, evidenced by his book My Story and a confession to writer Robin McGibbon on The Kray Tapes where he states, "I'm bisexual, not gay. Bisexual." He also planned on marrying a lady named Monica in the 1960s whom he had dated for nearly three years. He called her "the most beautiful woman he had ever seen."
This is mentioned in Reggie's book Born Fighter. Also, extracts are mentioned in Ron's own book My Story and Kate Kray's books Sorted, Murder, Madness and Marriage and Free at Last. He was arrested before he had the chance to marry Monica and even though she married Ronnie's ex-boyfriend, 59 letters sent to her between May and December 1968 when he was imprisoned show he still had feelings for her and his love for her is very clear. He refers to her as "my little angel" and "my little doll." She also still had feelings for Ronnie. These letters were auctioned in 2010.
A letter to his mother Violet, sent from prison in 1968, also gives references to Monica; "if they let me see Monica and put me with Reg, I could not ask for more." He went on to say, with spelling mistakes, "Monica is the only girl I have liked in my life. She is a luvely little person as you know. When you see her, tell her I am in luve with her more than ever."
This is mentioned in Reggie's book Born Fighter. Also, extracts are mentioned in Ron's own book My Story and Kate Kray's books Sorted, Murder, Madness and Marriage and Free at Last. He was arrested before he had the chance to marry Monica and even though she married Ronnie's ex-boyfriend, 59 letters sent to her between May and December 1968 when he was imprisoned show he still had feelings for her and his love for her is very clear. He refers to her as "my little angel" and "my little doll." She also still had feelings for Ronnie. These letters were auctioned in 2010.
A letter to his mother Violet, sent from prison in 1968, also gives references to Monica; "if they let me see Monica and put me with Reg, I could not ask for more." He went on to say, with spelling mistakes, "Monica is the only girl I have liked in my life. She is a luvely little person as you know. When you see her, tell her I am in luve with her more than ever."
Reggie Kray
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Reggie once had a one night stand Barbara Windsor, whose EastEnders character Peggy Mitchell was reputedly based on Violet Kray (i.e. her matriarchy over two thuggish sons).
In an interview with author John Pearson, Ronnie indicated a strong identification with Gordon of Khartoum, explaining: "Gordon was like me, 'omosexual, and he met his death like a man. When it's time for me to go, I hope I do the same." There was a long-running campaign, with some minor celebrity support, to have the twins released from prison, but successive Home Secretaries vetoed the idea, largely on the grounds that the Krays' prison records were both marred by violence towards other inmates. The campaign gathered momentum after the release of a film based on their lives called The Krays in 1990. Produced by Ray Burdis, it starred Spandau Ballet brothers Martin and Gary Kemp, who played the roles of Reggie and Ronnie respectively. Reggie wrote: "I seem to have walked a double path most of my life. Perhaps an extra step in one of those directions might have seen me celebrated rather than notorious." |
Others, however, point to Reggie's violent prison record when he was being detained separately from Ronnie and argue that in reality, the twins' temperaments were little different.
Reggie's marriage to Frances Shea in 1965 lasted eight weeks, although the marriage was never formally dissolved. An inquest came to the conclusion that she committed suicide in 1967, but in 2002 an ex-lover of Reggie Kray came forward to allege that Frances was actually murdered by a jealous Ronnie.
Bradley Allardyce spent three years in Maidstone Prison with Reggie and explained, "I was sitting in my cell with Reg and it was one of those nights where we turned the lights down low and put some nice music on and sometimes he would reminisce. He would get really deep and open up to me.
He suddenly broke down and said 'I'm going to tell you something I've only ever told two people and something I've carried around with me' something that had been a black hole since the day he found out. He put his head on my shoulder and told me Ronnie killed Frances. He told Reggie what he had done two days after."
In 2009 a British television documentary, The Gangster and the Pervert Peer, was aired which showed that Ronnie Kray was a man-on-man rapist (commonly referred to in criminal circles as a "nonce case"). The programme also went on to detail his relationship with Tory Lord Bob Boothby as well as an ongoing Daily Mirror investigation into Lord Boothby's dealings with the Kray brothers.
Reggie's marriage to Frances Shea in 1965 lasted eight weeks, although the marriage was never formally dissolved. An inquest came to the conclusion that she committed suicide in 1967, but in 2002 an ex-lover of Reggie Kray came forward to allege that Frances was actually murdered by a jealous Ronnie.
Bradley Allardyce spent three years in Maidstone Prison with Reggie and explained, "I was sitting in my cell with Reg and it was one of those nights where we turned the lights down low and put some nice music on and sometimes he would reminisce. He would get really deep and open up to me.
He suddenly broke down and said 'I'm going to tell you something I've only ever told two people and something I've carried around with me' something that had been a black hole since the day he found out. He put his head on my shoulder and told me Ronnie killed Frances. He told Reggie what he had done two days after."
In 2009 a British television documentary, The Gangster and the Pervert Peer, was aired which showed that Ronnie Kray was a man-on-man rapist (commonly referred to in criminal circles as a "nonce case"). The programme also went on to detail his relationship with Tory Lord Bob Boothby as well as an ongoing Daily Mirror investigation into Lord Boothby's dealings with the Kray brothers.