Prime Video: “A Very British Scandal,” starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany

After watching “A Very British Scandal” (HBO Prime), you’d be entirely justified in thinking every member of the Scots aristocracy drank like fish and cheated on their spouses.

It was certainly true of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll. Their 1964 divorce trial in Edinburg was the culmination of a 12-year marriage characterized by deception, physical assault, and lots of the Macallan 12.

Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll (Paul Bettany) briefly served in the British armed forces only to be captured by Rommel in 1940 and interned in a POW camp for five years. In the late 1940s, nearly broke and without prospects, he met the luscious Margaret (Claire Foy) on a train and decided he must marry her, even though he was already married to “We-We” (Sophia Miles), the mother of his two sons.

Margaret was herself married, but that did not stop her from eyeing potential lovers and quickly taking them to bed. In the case of Ian, she was again swept off her feet, mostly at the idea of becoming a duchess and living in Inveraray, the storied Campbell castle.

Once wed, the marriage rapidly went sour. Ian’s plan to retrieve Spanish gold from a ship that sank off the coast of Scotland came to naught, and he spent his days awash in alcohol. Margaret was seen as little more than a cash cow who could hit up her wealthy father (Richard McCabe) for money to finance Ian’s profligate lifestyle. Meanwhile the promiscuous Margaret continued to have affairs with men (David Niven was rumored to be among them) when she wasn’t spending heaps of money to refurbish Inveraray Castle.

This sordid situation reached a climax (pun intended) when Margaret took a Polaroid selfie of herself fellating a man in her boudoir. Ian discovered the photo, along with a diary chronicling all her infidelities (she was said to have slept with 88 different men) and sued for divorce. The ensuing trial was pure gold for the Fleet Street press, as all the nasty details of Ian’s drunkenness and Margaret’s infidelities went public.

Talented, gorgeous, and attired to perfection,  Claire Foy and Paul Bettany make it difficult to hate the Argylls. Additionally, the stylish cinematography and biting dialog make this three-episode series a breeze to watch. So should you? A definite aye, but do mind your whisky consumption. Any more than a wee dram reportedly leads to scandal.