It seemed like a wonderful idea at the time. After Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel died, aged 87, on January 10, 1971, her good friend Claude Pompidou – wife of French president Georges Pompidou – suggested a special tribute to the iconic fashion designer. Why not celebrate her life and work with an official exhibition? It would be a most fitting way to honour the legendary couturier.

Others agreed and a date was set aside for a grand opening the following year.

But then someone had a quiet word with Mme Pompidou. Rumour had it that Pierre Galante, an editor at Paris Match magazine – and husband of British movie star Olivia De Havilland – had some shocking information about Coco and the German aristocrat she’d had a relationship with during World War II.

Baron Hans Günther von Dincklage was not an innocent bystander to wartime activities, according to files Pierre had unearthed – he’d been a German agent, possibly with the Gestapo, and Pierre was planning to write a book revealing the truth.

Coco’s affair with the German was no secret – it had been the subject of much gossip for years and she’d been questioned about it in court after the war. But there had never been any repercussions and Coco had been free to later relaunch the business she’d closed at the start of the war, her dalliance with the enemy all but forgotten.

However, consorting with a member of the Gestapo was next level when it came to frownedupon