Who Were the Kray Twins? London's Celebrity Gangsters
Mobsters DailyThe Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie, were identical twin brothers who ran London's East End in the 1960s with their gang, the Firm — nightclub owners photographed with celebrities by day, and enforcers whose violence, including two notorious murders, earned them life sentences in 1969. Britain never produced another criminal act quite like them.
The Firm and the celebrity court
Raised in Bethnal Green and hardened by boxing, desertion troubles and Ronnie's commitment to a psychiatric ward, the twins built power the London way: protection rackets, long-firm frauds and clubs. Their West End nightclub, Esmeralda's Barn, drew show-business royalty, and photographer David Bailey's portraits made them look like pop stars. Politicians and peers were photographed in their orbit. It was the same glamour playbook as America's celebrity gangsters — the world chronicled in Mickey Cohen's Sunset Strip — run by twins who genuinely believed their own publicity.
The twins understood image better than any gangsters of their generation, which is why November is prime season for the Tony Soprano Ugly Christmas Sweater — Tony in a black-and-white stencil, gabagool energy included, made for holiday parties, family photos and long rewatch nights as the season closes in.
The murders that ended the myth
Underneath the gloss was Ronnie's untreated paranoid schizophrenia and a rising body count. In 1966 Ronnie shot rival gangster George Cornell dead in the Blind Beggar pub, in front of witnesses, for a perceived insult. In 1967 Reggie stabbed Jack 'the Hat' McVitie to death at a party after a gun jammed. Scotland Yard's Leonard 'Nipper' Read rebuilt the case witness by witness, and in 1969 both twins received life sentences with a 30-year minimum recommendation. Scotland Yard's methodical rebuild of the case was the British version of the grind later seen in the Mafia Commission Trial — witnesses assembled one by one until the myth had nowhere left to hide.
Why Britain can't let them go
The Krays became folk myth because they embodied a vanished, pre-corporate East End and because twins who dressed identically and finished each other's sentences are irresistible copy. Films, books and pub tours followed. The record itself is grimmer: extortion, torture and murder, dressed in excellent tailoring.
Frequently asked questions
What gang did the Kray twins run? The Firm, their East End organization built on protection, fraud and nightclubs.
Who did the Krays murder? Ronnie killed George Cornell in 1966; Reggie killed Jack McVitie in 1967. Both murders anchored their life sentences.
How long were the Krays sentenced to serve? Life imprisonment, with a recommended minimum of 30 years.
Keep reading: Lucky Luciano, who built the modern Mafia · Why the Mafia fell · Whitey Bulger, Boston's informant king
From the shop: Shadows of the Underworld — the real-mafia history behind the names in this story, in one gripping read.
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