This story has already been told more than once by memoirists, novelists and filmmakers. Usually romantic. The young king wished marry for love and sacrificed for this opportunity the crown of the British Empire. The people were on the side of the monarch, but vile politicians drove the slave of honor into a corner and forced him to recant. The cruel age left the king no other choice.

Why did the ruling class take hostility to Edward's bride? Because she was an American of lower origin and incomprehensible religion, besides, she was already in her second marriage ...

The British themselves do not believe in this simple fairy tale for a long time. The problem, say serious historians, was not the beloved of the monarch. The problem was the monarch himself.

The future king was born on June 23, 1894 and was baptized as Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David (in the family he was called simply David). He also found his great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, alive. His father, the Duke of York, became King George V in 1910. His mother was the German princess Victoria Maria Teck, who after her husband's accession to the throne became known as Queen Mary. His uncles were Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany (Uncle Willy) and the Russian Emperor Nicholas II (Uncle Nicky); the Russian tsar and tsarina were also godparents to the heir to the British crown.

Edward with parents

King George was distinguished by an extremely severe disposition and love of discipline. His children fully ate from the imperious nature of the head of the family. Their mother constantly reminded them that they were not only children, but also subjects of their father. Both parents were exceptionally cold, unemotional natures.

George V and Mary of Teck - Edward's parents

Edward grew up shy and nervous. As he writes in his memoirs, " I had few friends and very little freedom. Huckleberry Finn was not around to turn the prim and timid English prince into Tom Sawyer. My childhood was full of adversity". He also claims that he was always annoyed by the ceremonial of Buckingham Palace.

Shy and nervous...

Prince, in whose eyes arose modern civilization- cars, telephones, airplanes - was fully a product of the twentieth century: he was fond of sports, loved American jazz and preferred American women to English women, considering the latter too melancholy. A feature of Edward (as later of his great-nephew, the current heir to Prince Charles) was a passion for married ladies. Apparently, the prince lacked maternal care in childhood, and he was looking for women in relations with whom he could realize his Oedipus complex. One way or another, his first great love, Freda Dudley-Ward, was not only married, but also had two daughters. In 1931 (they met in 1918), Freda divorced, but by that time the prince had already become interested in another secular beauty, the American Thelma Furness.

Edward and Frida.

Prinz with Thelma

It was Lady Thelma who introduced the prince to her compatriot Wallis Simpson. In January 1934, Thelma Furness left for the United States for three months. When she returned, the place of the heir's passion turned out to be firmly occupied.

Wallis Simpson

The Prince of Wales met his fate at a soiree at a country estate. Wallis Simpson was an alien from another world. She was born in 1896 in Baltimore, Maryland, into a well-established family, but without any fortune. She grew up without a father - when she was not a year old, he died, leaving the widow no means of subsistence. Wallis spent her early years in the humiliating position of a poor relative, forced to live in someone else's house and dress in tatters, skillfully darned by her mother. The girl was brought up the way they have been doing it for centuries in the American South, where to this day the most effective tool education is considered flogging. At 20, she married US Navy pilot Earl Spencer. Already on the honeymoon, it was discovered that her husband was a drunken alcoholic with sadistic inclinations, and also desperately jealous. After suffering for five years, Wallis divorced contrary to the strict traditions of the southerners. This happened in Hong Kong, from where she moved to Shanghai and then to Beijing. Subsequently, speaking of Wallis Spencer, her "Chinese grip" was mentioned more than once. They say that she picked up some oriental sexual techniques in China, thanks to which she had an almost hypnotic effect on the men she was interested in.

Wallis Simpson with first husband

Seven years later, she married for the second time with Ernest Simpson, an employee of a shipping company owned by his father. The couple moved to London. For the first time in her life, Wallis acquired own house, servants, it became possible to order outfits from good, although not the best, tailors. She diligently learned to “be English”: she excluded the expression “okay” from her vocabulary and read the column of the chronicle of the royal family in the morning. Wallis began to arrange evenings in her house, gradually entered the circle of the London beau monde. Finally, the day came when the Simpsons received an invitation to the house where Wallis caught the eye of the Prince of Wales.

Wallis Simpson's second wedding

Subsequently, she recalled that she was terribly afraid to sit down incorrectly and generally died of fear, and therefore the first meeting failed. The prince asked if she, an American, was suffering without central heating. " I'm sorry sir she replied, but you disappoint me. "Why?' the prince wondered. " This question is asked here to every American woman. I was hoping to hear something more original from the Prince of Wales.". Edward hurriedly retreated, but her words etched into his memory.

After meeting a few more times in society, they began to plan their dates. For weekends, the prince invited the Simpsons to his country estate, Fort Belvedere.

On the first photo O -Prince of Wales. On the second, he , Wallis and Ernest

In the summer of 1935, Edward invited Wallis, this time without her husband, among other close friends on a Mediterranean yacht cruise. After this trip, the first reports about the heir's new hobby appeared in European and American newspapers. Ernest Simpson, meanwhile, was ridiculed in the same press. He confessed to a friend: I feel like I'm hindering the course of historical events.".

On a yacht.

How did she take Edward? She was not very pretty, although people who knew Wallis claim that photographs disfigure her. Most likely, she had a charm that the camera is not able to convey. There was a strong and imperious character, from which infantile men are thrilled - the prince undoubtedly belonged to this type. Even her rivals note perfect figure, which Wallis kept to a ripe old age. In addition, she was distinguished by impeccable taste and, when she had almost unlimited funds, she became a trendsetter of ladies' fashion, recognized on both sides of the Atlantic. They said that before the conclusion of an official marriage, she had never entered into an intimate relationship with Edward. " Not a single man, - she allegedly said about this, - not allowed to touch me below the Mason-Dixon line"(the border between the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland, drawn in 1763-1767 by English astronomers and topographers Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon). They also said that Eduard was a masochist, a homosexual... A lot of things were said.

Edward was sure that his father did not know anything about his new novel. However, the king knew and was on this occasion at first in extreme anxiety, and at the end of his life - in the deepest sadness. To Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, he allegedly said: After my death, the boy will destroy himself within twelve months.»…

George V died on January 20, 1936. The Prince of Wales became King Edward VIII. However, he could become a fully legitimate monarch only after the coronation, scheduled for May 12, 1937. His romance with Wallis Simpson developed rapidly. In August, the king went on a new cruise. Simpson accompanied him among other guests. Photos of the couple in love appeared in the American and European press, which judged and argued about what this relationship would result in. Wallis, meanwhile, began formal divorce proceedings.

On October 20, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin spoke to the king for the first time on a sensitive subject. He asked Edward to be more discreet and under no circumstances make public the fact that Wallis Simpson had begun divorce proceedings. " This woman is my friend and I don't want her coming in through the back door.' said the king.

Stanley Baldwin

On November 16, the king informed the prime minister that he intended to marry Wallis Simpson. The prime minister resolutely replied that the people would not accept such a queen. For that matter, the king declared, he was ready to abdicate. On November 22, Edward met with Baldwin again and told him that a marriage could be morganatic, that is, one in which the monarch's wife does not have the title of queen, and the children born from this marriage do not inherit the throne. In 1880, after the death of his wife, the Russian Tsar Alexander II entered into such a marriage with Princess Dolgoruky, who had already given birth to three children by that time. However, the British monarchy did not know such examples. Baldwin replied that he should discuss the matter with members of the cabinet. On December 2, the prime minister informed the monarch that the idea of ​​a morganatic marriage had been rejected by the British cabinet. Edward, he said, now has three options. The first is to end the relationship with Mrs. Simpson. The second is to marry her and accept the resignation of the cabinet. The third is to renounce and marry.

Cabinet of Ministers. Stanley Baldwin is seated on the left.

Edward told Baldwin that he wanted to address the people by radio. The prime minister answered him without a shadow of a doubt that such an appeal over the head of the government would be unconstitutional. In declassified papers, this conversation is stated in the words of the prime minister as follows: “ His Majesty then said, "You want me to leave, don't you?" The Prime Minister replied in the affirmative. According to him, the king told him that he wanted to leave with dignity, in the best way in relation to Mrs. Simpson, himself and his successor, without splitting the country". The situation was heating up. In one of the declassified minutes of cabinet meetings, it is noted that there is an attempt " fan the mass hysteria in support of the king's right to free, unfettered choice».

After several days of heavy deliberation, on December 9, Edward informed the Cabinet of his decision to abdicate. The next day he signed the relevant papers. The king took leave of his subjects live Air Force. The key phrase of this speech was: I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to bear the heavy burden of responsibility and fulfill the duty of a king without the help and support of the woman I love.».

Radio performance

The maid, who observed Wallis' reaction to the king's speech, subsequently claimed that Edward's bride was darker than a cloud and muttered through her teeth: “ Fool, stupid fool". The landlady of the house on the Riviera where Simpson was staying said that when the broadcast of the speech ended, Wallis rolled " monumental hysteria”, filling the house with screams of rage and destroying everything that was tucked under her arm ...

On December 12, the British monarch was proclaimed younger brother Edward, Albert, Duke of York, he became George VI. Two days earlier, Edward, who had received the title of Duke of Windsor, had sailed to the Continent from Portsmouth aboard an English warship. He was on the throne for 325 days. As his former personal secretary, Alan Lachelles, said of him, “ perhaps he will be happy in Austria - he will settle in a small castle, he will play golf, go to Viennese nightclubs ... There is no need to feel sorry for him. He'll be quite happy in his stupid Tyrolean costume. He was always indifferent to England and the British ... He, perhaps, hated this country ...».

On May 3, Wallis Simpson received her final divorce. Exactly one month later, on June 3, her marriage to the former king took place in France. She became known as the Duchess of Windsor. The former monarch really wanted representatives of the royal family to come from London so that his younger brother George would become the best man. But the government didn't allow it. He wanted them to be married, but the Anglican bishops categorically forbade all priests to perform the ceremony. To avoid trouble, David even had to postpone the wedding so that it did not coincide with the day of George's coronation, scheduled for May 12 ...

Modern experts, analyzing the purely legal conflict of renunciation, come to the conclusion that by marrying Wallis Simpson, the king would not have violated any British laws. He had full right whom he wants to marry. Neither the government nor the parliament had the legal ability to prevent the marriage of the king. In the event of the resignation of Baldwin's cabinet, a political crisis would undoubtedly arise in the country. However, supporters of the king would rush to replace Baldwin, and it is by no means a fact that in order to form a new government, Parliament would have to be dissolved and early general elections announced.
The Royal Marriages Act 1772 does not assign any role to parliament or government in the procedure for concluding the marriage of the monarch himself. Nowhere is it said that a royal person cannot marry a person who was previously married, that the king's bride must be a maiden, or that she must be of blue blood. The only prohibition, introduced in 1701 by the Act of Succession to the Throne, was that the spouse (husband) of the monarch could not be a person belonging to the Roman Catholic Church. Wallis Simpson was not a Catholic.

Modern “political technologists” (in English-speaking countries they are called “strategists”) are confident that the king could take the initiative in his own hands, could, using the goodwill of the media magnates Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Rothermore, enlist favorable coverage of the issue in the press and win over the public opinion, could have the support of such influential politicians as Lloyd George, Churchill and Duff Cooper, who slept and saw the fall of the Baldwin cabinet. Instead, he painted himself into a corner by agreeing to Baldwin's proposal to consult the cabinet. Stanley Baldwin bluffed, threatening the king with a constitutional crisis and denying him the right to marry at his own discretion. Why did he do it? Was he afraid of losing the prime minister's seat? But then there was no need to start the whole story. By the way, he retired at the peak of his popularity, shortly after the coronation of George VI in May 1937 - that is, exactly when Edward was to be crowned. It is possible that Baldwin, who grew up in a deeply religious Methodist family, saw it as his moral duty to prevent the king's marriage. But the fact of the matter is that Baldwin did not seek marriage breakdown, but renunciation.

The declassified papers represent the most complete collection of documents telling about the history of the Renunciation (that's how, with a capital letter, this word is written in England). It includes minutes of cabinet meetings, correspondence from the monarch and other members of the House of Windsor, and reports from the Scotland Yard Special Section on Wallis Simpson's lifestyle.

The most piquant sensation of the dossier is that Wallis Simpson, it turns out, had a lover just at the time when her affair with the Prince of Wales was booming. Mrs. Simpson's second boyfriend was Guy Marcus Trundle. As stated in the report, " a very charming adventurer, of fine appearance, good breed and an excellent dancer... He meets Mrs. Simpson openly in various informal companies as her personal friend". Trundle, agents say, is married. He works for the Ford Motor Company as a sales agent. The size of his salary is unknown to the detectives, but it is known that Trundle " receives money from Mrs. Simpson and expensive gifts ”, which he himself, according to the report, admitted.

There was supposedly a so-called "Chinese dossier" on Wallis Simpson. No one has seen these documents - everyone who writes about the "Chinese dossier" refers to information from the second or even third hand. The dossier was allegedly collected as a result of an investigation conducted by order of Stanley Baldwin shortly before the death of George V (and shown to the king, which may have caused his bitter prophecies about the fate of the throne). It begins with the statement that Wallis Simpson was born out of wedlock and was never baptized. In the 1920s in China, she was allegedly seen as an addicted to gambling and drugs, as well as visiting dens practicing different kinds sexual perversions. (Indeed, Wallis was known as a master of poker; as for the brothels, as the duchess herself later said, her pilot husband wandered around the Chinese brothels and wanted her to accompany him on these adventures.)
The “Chinese dossier”, however, lacks information that was widely circulated in English high society: that Wallis Spencer in Shanghai entered into an intimate relationship with a young Italian diplomat, Count Ciano, who later became Benito Mussolini’s son-in-law and Italian Foreign Minister. According to rumors that circulated among the wives of British sailors, Wallis had an abortion from Ciano, and the operation doomed her to infertility. But this is all from the category of piquancy. The real sensation of the declassified documents is elsewhere.

According to the reports of the special department of Scotland Yard, in London, Mrs. Simpson maintained close contacts with German diplomats, including the ambassador of the "Third Reich" in London, Joachim von Ribbentrop, who was appointed to this post at the end of 1936. The agents pointed to the king's careless handling of secret papers of extreme importance. It was noted that the contents of the documents became known to the German embassy hours after they were received by the king: Edward had no secrets from Wallis Simpson.

Joachim von Ribbentrop

The Germanophilia of the heir and his mistress is what worried British politicians in the first place. Back in July 1933, Bruce Lockhart, having met with the prince in society, spoke on the most acute political topic of those days - the rise to power of Adolf Hitler. According to Lockhart, " the Prince of Wales is pro-Hitler; he said that one should not interfere in the internal affairs of Germany, be it Jewish or otherwise, and added that dictators are very popular these days and that perhaps England also needs a dictator».

At Eton, at the age of 13, Edward (then David) befriended his German relative, Charles Edward Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg

His Royal Highness Prince Charles Edward Leopold, 2nd Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow, was born at Claremont House, Surrey on 19 July 1884. His father is Leopold, Duke of Albany, youngest son of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort. His mother is Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont. He was the favorite grandson of Queen Victoria. King George V of Great Britain was his cousin, as well as the Kaiser, Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. The First World War put them on opposite sides of the front line. Subsequently, Charles-Edward became an ardent supporter of Hitler and joined the SS.

By 1933, when Hitler seized power as Chancellor of Germany, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg was one of his most devoted supporters. Hitler made Charles president of the German Red Cross. This organization was engaged in the cleansing of the Aryan race and implemented a terrible program of forced euthanasia, which killed up to 100,000 people, mostly people with disabilities, including children who, according to the ideology of the Nazis, were unworthy of life. At the same time, the duke maintained close ties with members of the British royal house and, when in London, stayed with his sister, Princess Alice of Battenberg, at Kensington Palace.

Charles' sister - Alice Battenberg

At the news of the death of George V, the Duke of Coburg immediately hurried to London. He reported directly to Hitler about his conversations with the young king. According to the duke, Edward is determined to forge a lasting alliance with Germany. When asked by Coburg whether Baldwin would agree with such a course and whether he would authorize a personal meeting of the king with the German chancellor, the newly minted monarch allegedly replied: " Who is the king here, me or Baldwin? I want to talk to Hitler and I will do it, here or in Germany".

In March 1936, Germany violated the Locarno Pact and sent troops into the demilitarized Rhineland. It was a pure gamble, Hitler literally risked everything - the French troops stationed on the Franco-German border would not have left a wet place from three German battalions, which would have meant the complete collapse of Nazism. As Hitler later said in one of his table talks, “ saved us my unshakable stubbornness and my amazing self-confidence". Memoirists, however, claim that the Fuhrer was terribly nervous, his hamstrings were simply shaking at the thought that Paris and London would rebuff him. On March 7, the day of the invasion, Hitler was on his special train halfway to Munich. Despite the loud speech in the Reichstag about the non-recognition of the Treaty of Locarno, he anxiously awaited the reaction of France and England. Finally, a telegram was delivered to him, after reading which he breathed a sigh of relief: Finally! The King of England will not interfere. He keeps his word". It was a dispatch from the German ambassador in London, Leopold von Hosch, about his conversation with Edward VIII. The press attache of the embassy, ​​Fritz Hesse, who overheard the conversation, claims that the king told the ambassador that he had summoned Baldwin and wanted to tell him about his intention to abdicate if England starts a war with Germany.

These testimonies may or may not be believed. However, the indisputable fact is that Great Britain refused to support France, and without this support, the French general staff, led by General Gamelin, refused to start fighting against the German units.

There are memoirists who believe that Edward VIII tried to imitate his grandfather Edward VII, who at one time, not without success, mediated in relations between his two nephews - Kaiser Wilhelm and Tsar Nicholas. However, the belle Opoque ended long ago, international politics became incredibly complicated, and the family relations of the monarchs no longer played any role.

"Uncle Willy" and "Cousin Nicky" - this is how Emperor Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilhelm II called each other...

But as it turned out, after the abdication, the Duke of Windsor became almost more dangerous than before. In October 1937, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor went on a visit to Nazi Germany. At the Berlin railway station Friedrichstrasse they were met, among other officials, by Ribbentrop and the leader of the Labor Front, Robert Ley, at whose invitation the Windsors arrived with the official purpose of studying the situation of workers in the "Third Reich". The British ambassador in Berlin, Sir Neville Henderson, was instructed by the Foreign Office not to take part in any events related to the stay of the Windsors, and to send a low-ranking diplomat to the meeting. Rudolf Hess, Heinrich Himmler, Hjalmar Schacht and Joseph Goebbels with their wives came to the evening reception at Ley's house. Three days later, the Windsors hosted Hermann Goering at his villa Karinhall. From there, the Windsors went to Düsseldorf, then to Leipzig - everywhere the Duke and Duchess were greeted by crowds with exclamations of " Heil Windsor!" And " Heil Edward!”, and he generously returned the salutes with the Nazi salute.

Finally, on October 22, a motorcade, accompanied by an SS escort, reached Berchtesgaden, where Hitler's most impressive residence, the alpine Eagle's Nest, was located. The owner met the guests at the doorstep of the house. The content of the conversation between Hitler and the Duke is unknown. The report, found in the papers of the German Foreign Ministry, remains secret. After the conversation, evening tea was served, and then the guests headed for the exit. One of the few journalists who accompanied them, a New York Times correspondent, wrote that " the duchess was clearly impressed by the personality of the Fuhrer, and he made it clear that they had become friends, saying goodbye to her with emphasized tenderness. He took her hands in his and spoke for a long last parting words, after which he gave a stern Nazi salute, and the duke returned the same". When the Windsors finally left, the Fuhrer turned to the interpreter Schmidt and said: She will make a good queen».

Edward, Wallis and Hitler

The hope of regaining the throne became an obsession for the Duke and Duchess. They settled in Paris. After the German army invaded France in May 1940, the Windsors moved to the south of the country, but they fled not from the Germans, but from the British: Churchill insisted on their immediate return to the British Isles. The couple rightly suspected that they had angered the prime minister with their obvious collaborationism. The British Consul-General in Nice could not persuade them to take an English merchant ship to Gibraltar. The couple went to Spain. Finally, succumbing to the relentless pressure from London, on July 2 the Windsors moved to Portugal. Churchill considered it good not to demand the arrival of the duke in England, but appointed him governor of the Bahamas in order to remove him away from warring Europe.

The Windsors settled in a house that the British ambassador in Lisbon found for them - it was the villa of the Portuguese banker Ricardo do Espiritu Santo y Silva with the frightening name Boca di Inferno - "The Mouth of Hell". The German embassy immediately contacted the host, and he hired a Japanese butler, a long-time agent of the Abwehr, to serve the distinguished guests. In turn, Churchill read all the German diplomatic correspondence, the codes of which had by that time been successfully cracked.

The drama of the historical moment was that, having defeated France, Hitler had no plan for a military campaign against England - he was absolutely sure that London would agree to a peace agreement. On July 19, he made a peace proposal to the Reichstag. " I see no reason why this war must go on", - said the Fuhrer. An hour later, BBC radio transmitted an English “no” in response. The shares of the Duke of Windsor immediately jumped. And his wife, Wallis Simpson, should have pushed him to get closer to the Nazis. Hitler confirmed this by explaining: One should especially bear in mind the importance of the Duchess's point of view and try at all costs to enlist her support. She has great influence with the duke»…

By this time, the Windsors had made the final decision not to go to the Bahamas, which the Duchess called " Saint Helena 1940”, and settle in the south of Spain. According to the plan, the duke and duchess were to go to a mountain resort near the Spanish border, go for a walk and “due to an oversight” of one of the secretaries accidentally end up on Spanish territory in a conditional place, where Rivera, who “accidentally” happened to be there, would wait for them, who would invite them to his nearby estate.

The Duke, however, continued to hesitate. Upon learning of this, Ribbentrop sent a telegram to the ambassador in Lisbon with the last parting words to the duke, which Santo i Silva, the owner of the villa, was supposed to convey to him: “ In essence, Germany wants peace with the English people. Churchill's clique stands on the way to this world...". Ribbentrop went on to repeat that Berlin was ready to fulfill any wish of the Duke and Duchess.

In a reply message, the ambassador reported that the duke, in a conversation with Santo i Silva, " paid tribute to the Fuhrer's desire for peace, which he fully shares ... The call addressed to him to cooperate in establishing peace, he accepted with joy. For the time being, however, he is bound to follow the official orders of his government. Disobedience may prematurely reveal his intentions, cause scandal and undermine his authority in England. He is also convinced that it is still premature for him to come to the fore, since there are no signs yet that England is ready for a rapprochement with Germany. However, as soon as the mood changes in the country, he will be glad to return immediately. There are two possibilities for this. Either England will turn to him, which he considers quite probable, or Germany will express a desire to enter into negotiations with him. In both cases, he is ready for any personal sacrifice and puts himself at the disposal of circumstances, neglecting the slightest personal ambitions.».

In April 1941, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor met in the United States. FBI Director Edgar Hoover approached President Franklin Roosevelt for permission to surreptitiously monitor the couple. Hoover motivated the request with the pro-Nazi sympathies of the Duchess and the data of the FBI investigation. Witnesses told FBI agents that Wallis Simpson was in an intimate relationship with Joachim von Ribbentrop, who allegedly sent her a bouquet of 17 carnations every day - the number of nights spent in the same bed. The Hoover file revealed the secret of the duke's irresistible attraction to his wife: he was allegedly impotent, and only she knew the way to satisfy his sexual ardor; the witness who told about this referred to the words of the duchess herself. Representatives of the British government, according to one of the dossier documents, repeatedly warned the Duke and Duchess that they should exercise extreme discretion in their contacts with representatives of the Reich. However " the duke is most of the time in such a state of intoxication that he is actually non compos mentis (out of his mind). The duchess ignores the warnings»...

Instead of an epilogue

In the spring of 1945, in the south of Germany, occupied by American troops, British intelligence officer MI-5 Anthony Blunt appeared. He was accompanied by the royal librarian Owen Morshed. Blunt arrived on a delicate mission: he had to find and deliver to London documents relating to the connections of the Duke of Windsor with the leaders of the "Third Reich". Having reached the castle of Prince Philip of Hesse, Friedrichshof, Blunt was convinced that the estate was occupied by part of the Third Army of General Patton, and its owner was taken into custody as a prominent figure in the Nazi regime. The Americans moved the prince's family to a small house in a nearby village.

Blunt presented his documents to the American military commandant of the castle and demanded access to the personal papers of Philip of Hesse, claiming that they were the property of the British royal family (the landgraves of Hesse-Kassel were indeed related to the British monarchs - in particular, the last Russian empress belonged to this house , granddaughter of Queen Victoria Alexandra Feodorovna, nee Alice of Hesse). The American officer, however, was unwilling to delve into the intricacies of the royal genealogy and did not recognize Blunt's authority.
But the visitors were not satisfied with this. They went to the village and met with the mother of the arrested prince, who provided them with a letter to the servants instructing them to provide the British with required documents. Blunt and Morshed returned to the castle under the cover of night and entered it secretly. They quickly found the papers, put them in two boxes, and immediately left Friedrichshof, trying to get to the British occupation zone as soon as possible. A week later, the documents were delivered to Windsor Castle, after which they were never seen again. They do not appear, of course, among the recently declassified documents ...

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor remained in the Bahamas until the end of the war. Edward passed away in 1972. Wallis took part in the funeral ceremony and, at the invitation of the Queen, stayed at Buckingham Palace. Until her death in 1986 at the age of 86, she led a secluded life in Paris. She was buried next to her husband at Frogmore Royal Cemetery ...

“My story is simple: it is the story of an ordinary life that has become an extraordinary destiny.”
Wallis Simpson, "The Heart Has Its Rights" (flashback).

Duchess of Windsor: American Cinderella

Bessie Wallis Warfield, the future Mrs. Spencer, then Mrs. Simpson and, finally, was born on June 19, 1895 in Pennsylvania (USA).

Her childhood could not be called happy ...

A year earlier - on June 23 - on the other side of the ocean, in London, a boy was born. Prince Edward. And despite his origins, he wasn't happy either.

Wallis's father died of tuberculosis, and he and his mother had not a cent left. Yes, they were sheltered by relatives, but ... Someone else's house, someone else's rules. And more whipping - for any offense (here, in the South, it was in the order of things).

The girl, who in the distant future will become a trendsetter and friend of Pierre Cardin, now "flaunted" in other people's rags. Poverty, poverty and more poverty. It is not surprising that Wallis dreamed of a strong social position. What could be a chance for a happy life for a dowry like her? Of course, marriage. But Wallis made the wrong choice. Her first husband, Earl Spencer, had a romantic profession (naval aviation pilot), good looks and… disgusting character. Drunken alcoholic, jealous and brawler with sadistic tendencies. Having drunk, he crushed everything around, and his wife - away from sin! - locked all night in the bathroom, and even beat. In 1926, Wallis' patience came to an end, and the couple divorced.

She had neither money nor a profession. Positions in a society that did not particularly favor "divorced women" - too. Salvation came in the person of Ernest Simpson, a businessman. Unfortunately, he could not boast of appearance, intelligence or charm. But he was rich, and in London, Mr. Simpson was expected to be the manager of a shipping company. Needless to say, Wallis answered his marriage proposal with a confident (and hasty, very hasty!) “yes”?!

Prince of Wales: "I choose you"

… Every year, beauty contests are held everywhere. Often their names not only do not stand up to criticism, but are simply ridiculous, for example, "Miss Universe". The ideal of beauty is somehow averaged out, public tastes are somehow “compacted” - you look, and another supermiss is ready! But beauties rarely become fatal women, those same femme fatale. Rarely. Alas! Those who cause coups d'etat, grand scams, terrible scandals with far-reaching consequences, or the resignation of power - those women almost never meet the standard of fashion magazines. They can be desperately, defiantly ugly. And not even have a drop, well, not a drop of femininity!

That was Wallis Simpson. The famous photographer of high London society, Cecil Beaton, was horrified: “The figure is flat, angular. In addition, her voice is nasal. She is brash and noisy. Her bursts of laughter are like the cries of a parrot." Soon everyone understood - it’s better not to fall for the language of Mrs. Simpson! What an ulcer, so an ulcer! Perhaps the only thing that Wallis could be proud of was her refined, impeccable taste. "Wow! the ladies shrugged. - And fans - a dime a dozen!

Meeting the Prince of Wales She didn't take him seriously for a long time. She could break off in a conversation, at a meeting she patted on the shoulder, criticized his clothes. Well, unless you laughed out loud! His confession of tender feelings only amused Wallis. And, nevertheless, she became Edward's mistress. Why, you ask, did she need this shy bum? It's flattering, damn it! In the collection of her many lovers (Wallis was not faithful to her husbands), only the king was missing. Yes, and he looked after really like a king. Luxurious bouquets - every day. Windsor family jewels with rare stones. Everything, everything for her! Only for her!

A sweet, funny adventure - I thought so Wallis Simpson. A dream come true, the love of a lifetime - so thought Edward, Prince of Wales. And he did not want to hide from others, deciding for himself once and for all: Wallis should enter his life not from the black one - from the front door. And nothing else! He took her with him to receptions and dinner parties, took her on cruises. He put at her disposal Fort Belvedere, which he had once received as a gift from his father, King George V. He gave it to the sacred horror of the servants there, who shuddered at the mere name of “this American!”.

…Marry Wallis Simpson?! Is he out of his mind?! And the speech he decided to give on the radio? “I cannot continue to bear the burden of royal obligations if I do not strengthen my marital status. I am determined to marry the woman I love. Without her, I was a terribly lonely person.” Shame and more shame! No, Your Majesty, no speeches! Neither the Queen Mother, nor the Prime Minister, nor Parliament will agree to this. Freedom of speech does not apply to the king! Here renounce, then marry! On whom do you want!

No one expected what happened next. Weak and timid, Eduard unexpectedly proved capable of an Act. After the ultimatum presented to him, after much deliberation and hope for a miracle, he nevertheless renounced.

A grimace of fate: the table at which the renunciation of power and the crown was signed, after the death of the spouses, left the Sotheby's auction for $ 415,000. Memory is also sometimes sold.

On the day of his abdication, a couple of hours before his famous address to the nation, Edward called Wallis: "I have decided everything, I choose you." She started crying.

The 325 days of the reign of King Edward VIII are over. The rest of life loomed ahead. Uncertain life. And yet - a foreign land.

None of the members of the royal family appeared at the wedding, which took place on June 3, 1937 in France, at the Chateau de Cande.

A tacit decree from Buckingham Palace categorically forbade press coverage of the wedding. No articles! No photos! No, no and NO! But how could the press, the "fourth estate", miss such an unusual, downright scandalous event?! You can't put a ban on sensation. The British saw wedding photos his - now former - king. And not only the British - they were seen on both sides of the ocean, they were seen by the whole world.

... Death separated them on May 28, 1972. Women are stronger - the "Great Beloved" after the death of her husband lived for another fourteen years. She seemed to have everything: money, clothes, pleasant surroundings. Later, vanity was amuse by the incessant rumors and gossip around her. But Edward was no longer around, which means that none of this mattered. Absolutely no ... So, tinsel.

April 24, 1986, born Bessie Wallis Warfield, died. And, like the heroine of an old legend, she rested next to her chosen one.

The fairy tale story of Wallis Simpson, for which the king abdicated the throne, excited the minds of the public for many years. There is love in the world that sweeps away all barriers! But when private archives were opened after time, it turned out that the story of the king and the divorce, in the form in which it was presented to the public, differs from the love story and marriage of the abdicated King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.
According to the newly discovered facts from the life of Wallis, several books have already been published. One of them: Wallis in Love: The Untold True Passion Of The Duchess Of Windsor written by Andrew Morton.

The book tells about the life path of Wallis since her birth. Wallis (nee Warfield) was born into a wealthy family. Her grandfather, Henry Warfield, was a flour merchant and owner of nearly all of Baltimore's banking system. But when Wallis was five months old, her father died of tuberculosis. A young widow and her daughter came under the care of the brother of her deceased husband.
Wallis dreamed of a better life than the one she had. She wanted to control her own destiny and not depend on handouts from relatives. She was attracted to the very top of the social ladder.

Eventually, Wallis married her first husband, naval aviator Winfield Spencer, who turned out to be an alcoholic. But Wallis herself was not a poor sheep in this marriage. During her husband's absence, she had affairs. One of her lovers was the ambassador of Argentina to the United States. When Spencer was sent to the Far East, Wallis made a big trip to China. In Beijing, Wallis met Count Galeazzo Ciano (later Mussolini's son-in-law and foreign minister). They had a love affair and Wallis became pregnant. She had an abortion, but the abortion was unsuccessful and Wallis was left infertile. Returning home, the couple lived separately, and then divorced.
Wallis began looking for a husband again. There were candidates for husbands, they swore their love to her, but they did not offer their hand and heart. Finally, Wallis met a wealthy businessman, also a former officer, like her first husband, Ernest Simpson. Ernest married Wallis, divorcing his first wife, with whom they had a daughter together. Marriage came in very handy. Wallis' mother lost all her life savings during the Wall Street crash and died without leaving her daughter a penny.
Wallis' new husband was an Anglophile and they moved to England.

Mr and Mrs Simpson 1931

Ambitious Wallis began to establish contacts with the elite of British society. She befriended Viscountess Thelma Furness, who was the mistress of Edward, Prince of Wales.

Thelma and the Prince of Wales

Ah, if you could know your fate, but Thelma did not know her and calmly introduced her friend to her lover.
Wallis Simpson was not burdened by morality, besides, she knew the approach to men. Her sharp, sometimes caustic remarks gave the men the impression that they were smart, independent woman. In addition, notoriety runs ahead of a person, but if it is a woman, then notoriety, often, only attracts men.
The meeting between Wallis and the Prince of Wales took place at a Guy Fawkes Day party.
When the fire engulfed the straw man, the Prince of Wales said to the owner of the house:
- I see you have Guy Fawkes.
- Oh no. This is Wallis Simpson. - Said the owner of the house (the husband of the prince's mistress), and then added with a laugh, - a single man needs more and more women, but marry her? Who wants it?
When they were introduced, Wallis embarrassed the prince with her harsh remarks, but this only fueled his interest in her. Very quickly they became lovers. Edward dismissed Thelma and became, according to the courtiers, "slavishly dependent" on Wallis Simpson.
The Simpsons lived in London on a grand scale, and Ernest began to have financial difficulties. But Wallis didn't care. The prince fulfilled all her desires, showered her with jewelry and took her on trips.
The prince's parents reacted negatively to their son's new mistress. The elderly queen in her chambers wringed her hands, yelling that the American predator was deceiving her beloved son. The father believed that a divorced lady was not worthy of being the mistress of a royal person. In addition, Wallis constantly got into the affairs of the prince, and the courtiers, who were not used to such behavior of the mistresses of the future king, were also unhappy with Wallis.

Parliament was also dissatisfied. The parliament began to consider the question of a possible abdication of the king from the throne.
But Edward was stubborn as a donkey. Had he listened to wise advice, including that of Winston Churchill, he could have avoided abdication by going through a coronation and then gradually introducing the woman he wanted to marry to the public. Edward did not want to listen to anyone's advice, he insisted that his beloved woman should stand next to him at the coronation. Dot.
But as it now turns out, Wallis was not the only reason for Edward's refusal to be crowned. Edward initially did not want to be king. He hated the king's work. He hated the whole system of royalty. He called royal duties "tricks" or "camouflage" and a successful event "good propaganda". To abdicate and live the life of an ordinary bourgeois who does not have to worry about money, and even with his beloved woman - what could be better?
Wallis herself dreamed of being queen. While still Ernest's wife, Wallis took part in the prince's royal events and even ordered Christmas gifts for his employees. Mentally, she tried on the royal crown.

But the world did not know this, and they only talked about the "novel of the century." The world did not know that Wallis was in love with a completely different man, but he was married, and the royal crown outweighed.
Edward wanted to speak with his father in advance about his desire to abdicate so that his brother, the Duke of York, could prepare for the succession. But at first the Silver Jubilee celebration prevented the conversation, then he and Walliss traveled around Europe, and upon his return he found his father already mortally ill, and did not dare to start a conversation.

Three weeks before his father's death, Edward invited Wallis' husband to dinner. He told him that he wanted to marry her.
- Are you sincere? Do you really want to marry Wallis? - The horned husband asked in amazement.
George jumped up from his chair and said:
"Do you really think I'll be crowned without Wallis?"
Ernest promised to give a divorce, provided that if the future king, after all, changes his mind about marrying her, let him take over all her financial expenses.
After this conversation, Ernest considered himself free from marital obligations and entered into a relationship with an old friend of his wife, Mary Raffrey. Wallis reacted to her husband's betrayal with complete indifference, and even allowed him to take his mistress with him when they went out. By and large, Wallis was not too eager to divorce Ernest. Ernest was good-natured, with good feeling humor, Wallis understood perfectly, and there were practically no quarrels between them. But the royal crown... it overshadowed the voice of reason.

In 1936, George V died quietly, surrounded by his relatives. Queen Mary kissed Edward's hand, made a deep bow and muttered "Your Majesty".
Wallis in the first months of Edward's reign enjoyed her position, and demonstrated her closeness to the king to anyone and everyone. First, she went to Paris to replenish her wardrobe for the spring season. When Edward called her at the hotel, and he did this four or five times a day, she deliberately left the doors open so that others could hear how she calmly answers passionate confessions the love of the king.

Wallis, in her love for the king, was indeed cold and prudent. She behaved with him like a hostess, like a mother who can scold, shout, read lectures. But in one thing, Edward was firm, if he was not allowed to marry Wallis, he would abdicate. Wallis began to understand that in pursuit of the ghostly crown, she could connect her life with a person who she absolutely did not need. In addition, she was tired of Edward's constant complaints about her inattention to him, his annoying calls and letters. He wanted her to be his alone. Intuitively, Wallis felt that she could connect her fate with a person who was not quite mentally healthy. Although she didn't know that Edward suffered from undiagnosable nervous ailments, her irascibility and emotionality disturbed her. In addition, he was infantile and seemed to be stuck in adolescence.
All these thoughts sent Wallis to bed with nervous stomach pains. When Wallis recovered a little, she made an attempt to break up with Edward. She said that they were making a mistake, that she wished him happiness, and it was her duty to return to her husband if he accepted her.
But Edward did not want to hear about the breakup. He threw himself on his knees in front of Wallis and said that he would shoot himself if she left him. Wallis had no choice but to agree.

But Edward was not allowed to marry before the coronation with a twice-divorced woman. Not only the church was against it, but also the parliament and the cabinet of ministers and even the dominions. The Australian government said that if Wallis married the king, Australia would secede from the empire.
In response to Edward's threat of abdication, the government of the Kingdom warned the king that if he insisted on marrying, the government would resign, a new government would be appointed, and a crisis would begin in the country.
On the same day, Edward went to the royal residence and announced to his relatives his desire to abdicate. Queen Mary and Edward's sister were shocked and did not believe that he was serious. The brothers were shocked and angry, and one of the brothers hit Edward in the face.

On December 3, 1936, Wallis's photograph appeared on all the covers of magazines and newspapers. All publications wrote about the role of the femme fatale in the possible abdication of the king from the throne. To protect his beloved from gossip, Edward invited her to leave the country. Wallis readily agreed. This was her fatal mistake. She had to stay in England and, having such power over the king, convince him not to take actions that went against her personal desires. The blackmail by abdication ended with the abdication itself, which Wallis did not expect. But instead of taking control of the situation, Wallis traveled to the south of France to live with her longtime friends Catherine and Herman Rogers. As it turned out later, Herman Rogers was " real love her whole life."

Wallis standing between Herman Rogers and his wife Katherine

Wallis of France tried to influence the king's decision. She wrote him a 15-page letter begging him to postpone the decision until spring. She called him on the phone, but the connection was like with another planet. In the short periods between screeching, echoing, and disconnected communications, Wallis had little time to say anything. She told Edward that his renunciation would destroy him and destroy her, he reassured her that everything would be fine. But it was a losing battle. And Wallis decided to leave again. She felt that Edward was losing to Parliament.
When Edward's courtier informed her that the King was after all about to abdicate, Wallis, on the advice of Herman, issued a public statement saying: "Mrs. would harm His Majesty or the Throne. Today, her attitude has not changed, but she agrees, if such a solution solves the problem, immediately get out of this situation ... "
London newspapers took this statement as a way out of the crisis. But Edward, although he was shocked, was not going to change his mind. When he called Wallis to announce his final decision to recant, Wallis yelled into the phone, "You damned fool!"
At the most critical moment when they should have acted together, they lied to each other. Edward lied about persuading Parliament, when in fact he was determined to resign, and Wallis lied about his plans for the future. In essence, Wallis was fooled by Edward, who convinced her that she could indeed become queen. But Wallis did not tell Edward that she did not love him as much as his crown.

Wallis has one last ace up his sleeve. She decided to withdraw her request for a divorce. Then Edward could not marry her, because she was a woman who had a husband. Wallis called her lawyer and informed Edward. But this ace also turned out to be beaten. The king handed the phone to his lawyer, who informed Wallis that the abdication case was already underway. Wallis was trapped. The King of England made a romantic gesture for her, and she could not help but accept it. This decision of the king was now forever associated with her name. Now she did not have a single chance to leave him: their lives were henceforth connected. As Wallis herself later said: He didn’t even ask me to marry him, he just made a decision.

On the day that Edward VIII read his historic abdication speech, which was partly written by Churchill, Wallis lay on the couch with tears streaming from her eyes. For the next few weeks, Edward was filled with joy. He looked forward to a happy life with his beloved woman. His bride at this time seethed with rage and disappointment. The prize, which was almost in her hands, went to the plump Duchess of York, a woman whom Wallis hated. This gaudily dressed goose will now wear a crown on her head. All that's left for Wallis when the king is demoted to a mere duke, a fall down the social ladder, exile, obscurity. Although the Duchess of Windsor did not languish in later obscurity, it was not the same as being a queen.

Out of desperation and anger, Wallis decided to make one last desperate attempt to take over the one she loved more than anything in the world. If Edward knew about this, the world would collapse for him, but he went to the grave without knowing about the betrayal of Wallis before their wedding.
Herman, indeed, was the closest friend of Wallis. In fact, it was he who performed the functions of her husband: he protected her (when the crazy Australian declared his determination to kill the "fatal woman", Herman spent the night next to Wallis's room with a gun), gave advice, comforted her. Even at her wedding, Herman played the role of her dead father, symbolically giving the bride to her husband. There was only one thing he didn't do: he didn't sleep with her. Wallis herself said bitterly that she could not get past this wall.
Before the wedding, Wallis and Edward vacationed at the castle with Herman and Katherine Rogers. Two days before the wedding, Edward and Katherine went shopping for the last of the celebration. It never occurred to Edward to be afraid of leaving his fiancee alone with a man. He was also her friend.
Toward evening, Wallis went up to Herman's room and from the threshold said that she loved him. She invited him to go to bed with her. The wedding was only two days away, she said, and whoever's child was born would be in the duke's name.
All this could be mistaken for gossip if this story did not come from the lips of one of the main characters, Herman himself. In an interview with biographer Wallis, Herman told the story briefly. Of course, he did not reveal whether he had sex with the future Duchess of Windsor two days before her wedding, no one will ever know. But it was no surprise to Herman's relatives that Wallis was breathing unevenly towards Herman. Many years after marrying Edward, Wallis confessed to Herman's second wife, Lucy, that Herman was the only man she truly loved.

About the later life of Wallis, one of her friends said briefly but succinctly: "Can you imagine a worse fate than to publicly support the legend of love that you do not experience?"
Now that the archives have been opened, there are bundles of letters that Wallis wrote to her ex-husband, Ernest. At a time when the whole world was discussing the tale of the great love of the king and the divorcee, this same divorcee, bursting into tears, wrote to her ex-husband: “Sometimes I wake up at night and think that my place is only where you are. I should sit in an armchair , listening to your footsteps, and waiting for your return. I just see how you come in with an eternal newspaper in your hands ... I can’t believe that all this happened to us. We belong to each other. "

In the thirties of the last century, thousands of girls around the world could only guess what the Duke of Windsor and former King Edward VIII of Great Britain found in a girl endowed with enough non-standard appearance, but not a beauty and not at all a charismatic person.

Wallis Simpson had a sharp mind and magical charm, was a good conversationalist and could carry on almost any conversation. The wife is still one of the style icons of the twentieth century. Wallis Simpson herself bluntly stated:

I am not the most attractive of women, but I have the ability to dress better than the rest.

For whom did the king abdicate?

The arrogant American who "stole" King Edward VIII from Great Britain was born in June 1986 in Pennsylvania, USA. From an early age, the girl was haunted by the stigma of being illegitimate, because the parents of the future duchess did not marry, but, of course, they once loved each other. Then it was, if not a disaster, then a significant problem for sure.

Tekl Wallis Warfield - Wallis's father - was the son of the owner of almost the entire financial system of Baltimore and a successful American businessman Henry McTeer Warfield. The girl lost her father when she was only five months old. He died of tuberculosis. True, unofficial sources contain information that he fled, leaving Alice Wardild with an illegitimate baby in her arms.

From childhood, the American clearly understood that her husband must be chosen wisely and approached with all responsibility, and most importantly, every relationship should be recorded officially. It was Wallis Simpson's passion for marriage that later played a decisive role in the fate of King Edward VIII of Great Britain.

Novels with influential people

At thirty, Wallis married an American aviator, Winfield Spencer. He turned out to be an alcoholic, so she divorced a year later. Shortly before that, she visited China, where she went to heal spiritual wounds. During the active search for a new husband, the woman was able to charm one American businessman. Some sources say that they met in China.

Ernest Simpson was divorced. WITH new wife he moved to London in 1928, where the couple met Thelma Furnis, mistress of Edward VIII. Wallis Simpson (a photo of this mysterious woman can be seen in the article) managed to organize her own secular salon in the capital of Great Britain and become famous throughout the city. Such popularity led to a fatal meeting for the monarchy.

The woman organized dinner parties. She prepared for each event for several weeks. Wallis bought dishes in the same color before every dinner, because she preferred monochrome. Treats were selected in the tone of the meeting. On pink plates, for example, were watermelons, red crayfish, tomatoes, and other foods that matched in color.

Wallis Simpson was not a beauty. But she was smart, quick-witted, able to keep up the conversation. The men gave her everything Wallis could want. She skillfully manipulated her lovers. Many sources indicate that the woman did this with special techniques she learned in Chinese brothels.

In Hong Kong, Wallis' first husband (the same pilot who was addicted to alcohol) began to roam the brothels. Over time, he began to bring his wife there. In her memoirs, she indirectly pointed to participation in group and role-playing relationships, masochistic games. So she learned to solve "male" problems in intimate relationships, causing a real dependence on the opposite sex.

According to some reports, Wallis Simpson, even during her marriage to Winfield, was in a secret relationship with the Italian Count Galeazzo Ciano, who later became Mussolini's foreign minister. She even had but lost a child after another beating by Winfield. Wallis Simpson could no longer have children, so she enjoyed the freedom of intimate relationships.

heir to the british crown

Edward VIII (second main character this romantic and somewhat mysterious story) was the male grandson of Queen Victoria. At baptism, he received seven names, but in the family he was most often called the last - David. After the death of his grandfather in 1910, fifteen-year-old Edward became heir to the throne, receiving the title of Prince of Wales.

The prince was not very sociable, he preferred the society of books to the society of relatives and friends. With age, his isolation only progressed. There were few friends and Edward, he usually avoided women. The situation seemed critical. But at twenty-four, the prince met a woman who was sixteen years older than him, and completely changed.

Determined and self-confident Frida Dudley Ward, the wife of one of the members of the House of Lords, was witty and knew how to keep the conversation going. Frida's husband was sympathetic to his wife's relationship with the heir to the throne. The novel lasted ten years, ending quite unexpectedly. The Prince of Wales proposed to Frieda. A serious scandal was brewing.

Frida Dudley Ward immediately left for her husband's estate, and the young heir to the throne was left in a deplorable state. The royal family then breathed a sigh of relief. What were the chances for a lady in years to give birth to a healthy child to the future king of Great Britain? But it turned out that much more trouble awaited Parliament and the entire monarchy a few years later, when Edward fell head over heels in love with a woman of extremely dubious reputation.

The scandalous story of Wallis Simpson

The Crown Prince of Great Britain was thirty-seven, Wallis was thirty-five. They could control their feelings, but three years after a casual acquaintance between the heir to the throne and an American, a passionate romance ensued. Her husband took this incident quite tolerantly, as once Lord Dudley Ward.

Mr. Simpson believed that his wife would quickly get tired of King Edward, and Wallis Simpson also did not really count on a long relationship, although all this romantic story with the heir to the throne, of course, flattered her. But the shy Edward thought about the wedding.

The Prince's father died in 1936. Then the future king of Great Britain hastened to inform his beloved that a change in his position would not affect their relationship in any way. At forty-two, Edward VIII came to the throne, but declared that he was ready to marry his married mistress. The London court then immediately began the divorce proceedings of Mrs. Simpson.

The royal family and government were in disarray. The most unflattering rumors spread. What they didn’t say then about Wallis Simpson and Edward. Photos of the couple appeared in all the newspapers. By that time, the woman had already managed to fall in love with the king with all her heart, and he was forbidden to marry a person who had previously been married.

Members of the royal family considered the chosen one of Edward VIII vulgar and completely unsuitable. The courtiers whispered that Wallis worked in Chinese brothels, where she learned sexual techniques to captivate any man. Everyone was embarrassed that Simpson was still not divorced, and her past was not ideal. English subjects simply did not want to see an American woman on the throne.

Wallis Simpson received insulting letters daily, and residents of the capital marched outside the royal residence with posters that clearly indicated the direction in which the American upstart needed to go. Everyone seemed to consider it their duty to pour a bucket of dirt on Wallis.

One of the ministers decided to have an audience with the new king. He admitted that neither the officials nor the relatives of Edward VIII would allow this wedding. But the usually insecure king then showed iron firmness. Edward renounced the crown without waiting for the coronation. He reigned for ten months. Edward VIII made a speech on the radio:

I have found it impossible to bear the heavy burden of responsibility and fulfill the duties of a king without the help and support of the woman I love.

Why Edward refused the crown

Was the love story between Edward and Wallis Simpson the sole reason for abdicating? There are several almost opposite opinions on this matter. The English monarch's desire to marry a twice-divorced American was undesirable, but not so much as to lead to an abdication. Love in this story was the lesser evil.

Edward VIII himself did not need permission to marry. The monarch has the right to marry the woman whom he considered necessary. But the main thing is that she belongs to the Roman Catholic Church, because the King of Great Britain himself is the head of the Anglican Church. Nobody has the right to control the monarch himself, but he himself can influence the choice of a spouse by any member of the royal family.

The monarch has the right to do whatever he pleases, as long as it does not become public knowledge. Edward VIII seemed to specifically initiate members of the government into all the subtleties of his love story. Winston Churchill (the king's confidant) did not understand the meaning of the abdication and said that in fact there was no conflict between parliament and the monarch. Even at the most serious trial, the issue could be resolved in favor of Edward.

The story of Wallis Simpson was seen by some as the wish of a greedy and prudent American woman to claim the crown. When her plan failed, the woman could break up with Edward. She treated him warmly, but perhaps it was a cold calculation.

Throughout the novel, Wallis never once used the word "love" in her letters to Edward. In her 359-page memoirs, only one small paragraph is devoted to the wedding with her lover. And the feelings of the king were like an obsession. He could neglect for the sake of his beloved affairs of national importance.

Other Possible Reasons for Renunciation

Mrs. Simpson herself then seemed suspicious to many. The American was considered a spy who charmed the prince in order to gain access to Britain's most important political secrets. King Edward and Wallis Simpson were too strange a couple for everyone to believe in their perfect love.

After the marriage, the couple found themselves at the center of a new political scandal. They met Adolf Hitler, who would not mind having a king as a puppet in the UK. It is not known whether the American colluded with the Nazi regime, but Edward was then quickly called to public service to the Bahamas.

The king was quite a charismatic and intelligent person. He was loved by many (both in the UK and abroad). But Edward VIII hated restrictions. He was an excellent gardener and took great pleasure tending the English garden in a house in France.

Did he have any other reason to abdicate the British throne other than his burning love for Wallis? Much remains unexplored to this day. Most of the facts that could shed light on this story are classified as "top secret".

Evidence of the love of the Duke of Windrose

The story of Wallis Simpson and Edward was called by the media of the twentieth century greatest love. Back in 1935, the monarch presented his beloved with a diamond brooch in the shape of petals. It was a symbol of the Prince of Wales, a declaration of sincere love and an invitation to become queen.

By the way, this brooch was coveted by Elizabeth Taylor. even asked Edward himself for permission to make a copy for Elizabeth. The dream-passion of the American actress came true in 1987, when she bought the same brooch at an auction that was held after the death of the Duchess of Windsor.

Wallis' wedding gift to his husband was a gold cigarette case, on which a map of trips was laid out with stones. married couple across North America and Europe. Edward's gift was a bracelet with ten crosses made of precious stones. Each cross is engraved with memorable dates for the couple.

The Duchess of Windsor was considered the best-dressed lady in the world, which is not surprising at all. Wallis bought clothes from the best designers of her time. Edward felt guilty before his beloved that he did not make her a queen, so he gave the woman jewelry twice a week. He ordered jewelry from the best craftsmen. The design was created specifically for the Duchess. She became the owner of one of the largest collections in the world, numbering about a thousand items.

Wallis loved bow blouses, tailored dresses, round glasses, fancy hats, pencil skirts, and low-heeled shoes. She practically did not wear rings, because she did not want to draw attention to her fingers. But the woman adored clip-on earrings and a necklace. One of the trademarks of the Duchess of Windsor was a hairstyle with a parting. To keep her hair perfectly styled, Wallis had a dedicated hairdresser three times a day.

Mrs. Simpson was disciplined in her diet. She retained an excellent figure until her old age. She was the first to put cardans in her wardrobe, and in fact only men wore this part of the wardrobe.

Duke and Duchess of Windsor

Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII left Britain after their abdication. The monarch said goodbye to his brother, who (thanks to the reckless actions of the monarch) became the new king, the father of the current Queen of England, Elizabeth II. With a small retinue, he went into exile.

The Duke of Widnsor and Wallis Simpson were married at the Château de Cande in France on June 3, 1937. The newly-made wife of the former king also received the title. Wallis became the Duchess of Windsor, but under pressure from Parliament, the new monarch refused her daughter-in-law the prefix to the name "Her Royal Highness".

For some time, the former king lived with his new wife in France, then (after that very acquaintance with Hitler) he was sent to public service in the Bahamas. In those years, the couple had their own small state (Edward was the governor of the island), which was not touched by the hardships of the war.

After the end of the war, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor moved to the States. They led a measured existence. Wallis forbade her husband to drink, allowed herself sharp phrases about the former monarch, but she cooked well and refused to party, and also encouraged Edward's passion for gardening. Wallis did not pursue money, fame and titles. It seemed that the prudent American had finally found what she had been looking for all her life - calm family happiness.

The last years of the wife of the British monarch

After the death of the former king of Great Britain in 1972, rumors about the morality of Wallis Simpson again spread. It was rumored that she had several affairs with married men during the life of the Duke of Windsor. Wallis remained faithful to Edward not only until his death, but also after it. In 1986, she was buried next to her lover in the royal tomb at Windsor. She still got into the palace.

Mentions of an American woman in culture

The story of Wallis Simpson (there is a photo of the Duchess of Windsor in the article) attracted the attention of contemporaries and remains interesting to this day. The writer and historian Arina Polyakova dedicated the book “How to Steal the King. The Wallis Simpson Story. The writer explains in an accessible and fascinating way why the real Duchess of Windsor is fundamentally different from the one that everyone knows.

Wallis herself published an autobiography in 1956 under the title You Can't Command Your Heart. Wallis Simpson also became the heroine of the 1988 film The Woman He Loved, The King's Speech (2010), WE. We believe in love "(2011)," Wallis and Edward "(2005). The Duchess of Windsor is mentioned in an episode of the television series Up and Down Stairs, as well as in the novel Debutantes by June Singer. But films about Wallis Simpson, of course, do not always accurately reflect all the events of a woman's life.

One of the most famous English monarchs, Edward VIII (1894 - 1972) was the first and only king in the history of England to voluntarily abdicate. The reason for everything was a passionate love for an American.

With parents

Avoiding ceremony since childhood, the young heir avoided the royal court. He traveled a lot, visited Canada, America, India and Africa, was fond of sports, had affairs with women, but did not think about marriage. The royal family watched the behavior of the careless and windy prince with chagrin, seriously worrying that he was hardly capable of deep feelings and strong relationships in marriage. However, the relatives, as it turned out, were greatly mistaken.

With great-grandfather

When the heir was thirty-six years old, he met Mrs. Wallis Simpson (1896 - 1986), née Warfield, who was destined to turn his life and the course of English history. She lived at the time in London with her husband, wealthy businessman Ernest Simpson.

Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Aldrich Simpson

The meeting of the future lovers took place in early November 1930, when Wallis was invited to a dinner party and informed that the Prince of Wales would also arrive there. The woman was seriously excited, but her doubts and fears were completely in vain. Edward turned out to be easy to talk to, liked to joke and did not attach any importance to titles and ceremonies. The evening in the company of mutual friends passed naturally and cheerfully.

Simpson recalled that Edward had blond, slightly golden hair, a snub nose, and his eyes expressed depth and sadness. The English prince was fascinated. And although Wallis was not beautiful and, according to the stories of her contemporaries, she did not stand out in anything special, she had an amazing charm that attracted men to her.

After that meeting, the heir repeatedly tried to meet with a new acquaintance, but she did not agree for a long time, fearing that their relationship would develop into something more. Finally, she gave in.

They met for the second time, and the prince confessed his love to Wallis. The woman, in turn, reciprocated and did not hide the fact that for several years she had been collecting newspapers where Edward was mentioned in any way. The lovers did not even think to hide their passionate romance. They appeared together on the streets of the capital, the heir took his girlfriend to the most expensive restaurants, theaters and often appeared with her in society. The royal family, hoping that the prince's unexpected love affair would only passing infatuation preferred to wait. But time passed, and the Prince of Wales did not seem to think of parting with dear Wallis.

Six years after their meeting, in January 1936, the English King George V died, and his heir, Edward, took the throne. On that terrible night when the prince lost his father, he called his beloved and promised that he would never leave her and did not see any reason that something could separate them. Then Mrs. Simpson hardly believed her lover. However, when a few days later Edward went to her husband and said that he wanted the one he had loved for many years to be present at his coronation, Wallis finally believed in the seriousness of the prince's feelings. She agreed to her presence at the coronation, and Mr. Simpson, tired of his wife's long love affair, said that he would not interfere with their union and would leave his wife as soon as she asked for it. She, without hesitation, with the consent of her husband, filed for divorce.

After the official dissolution of the marriage of the spouses of the Simpsons in the royal family, the question arose about the legal union of Edward with an American. Such an unequal marriage could only be morganatic, as sometimes happened with monarchs from other countries, but neither the royal family nor the English parliament were willing to agree to such a union. Parliament strongly advised the king to break off the scandalous relationship with an American, moreover, twice divorced and a special, far from impeccable reputation.

Nevertheless, the king was so blinded by love that neither the past life nor the rumors around his beloved interested him at all. Relatives for a long time tried to hush up the romance of the reigning monarch with Wallis Simpson, however, a few months later, they put Edward before a choice: either the throne or an American. His choice without hesitation fell on his beloved, and the price for love was the abdication of the English throne.

On December 10, 1936, Edward VIII delivered a speech to his people that forever separated him from the royal family: “You all know the circumstances that forced me to abdicate the throne. But I want you to understand that in making this decision, I did not forget about my country and empire, which I, as Prince of Wales, and later as King, faithfully served for twenty-five years ... But you must also believe that it is impossible for me to fulfill my duty as a king as I would like it, without the help and support of the woman I love ... ”He then signed fifteen papers, thereby depriving himself of royal power forever.

Mrs. Simpson, who was out of the country at the time, took the unexpected news ambiguously. On the one hand, she was glad to connect life with her loved one, on the other hand, knowing what consequences Edward’s abdication from the throne would lead to, she burst into tears, calling him a “real fool”. And he, having finally received freedom, according to the stories of witnesses, that evening sang songs for a long time and was in a particularly high spirits until he sailed from England.

Edward's brother George became the new English king, and the former monarch went to France, where on June 3, 1937, he married his beloved Wallis. The wedding took place in a small church in the presence of several witnesses: the young people did not want to arrange magnificent celebrations. Edward was happy and never regretted his decision.

The former English king was given the title of Duke of Windsor, however, contrary to tradition, Wallis was deprived of the right to be called a duchess. Under pressure from the parliament, George VI signed the relevant papers, according to which neither the wife nor the children of Edward could be given a high title, which greatly offended his brother.

A few years later, World War II began. Edward and his wife sympathized with Hitler. However, when the German troops entered France, the Duke of Windsor began to prepare to leave. Having reached the French border, he left the country with Wallis and headed through Spain to New York. The couple lived there until the victory in the spring of 1945. Throughout the war, Edward was governor of the Bahamas. After the war loving spouses returned to France again and settled in the former palace of Charles de Gaulle.

With Hitler

In the winter of 1952, King George VI of England died. Edward went to England alone, without his beloved wife. However, after the funeral of the duke's brother, another unpleasant news awaited. Elizabeth II, having become queen, forbade Edward and his wife to appear at Windsor Castle and tried to do everything possible so that the scandalous story was forgotten at home as quickly as possible.

Elizabeth

The couple lived amicably and happily: they traveled a lot, the duke went in for sports, wrote memoirs, Wallis provided home comfort, and in the mid-1950s her book with the romantic title "The Heart Has Its Rights" was published. Their family idyll lasted for several years, until Edward fell ill with cancer. He died on May 28, 1972.

Wallis for a long time could not believe that her beloved was no more. Together with the body of her husband, she arrived in London. Elizabeth II invited her to settle in the royal residence, where Wallis was treated with the utmost respect and courtesy. She behaved proudly and with dignity, and in the most tragic days for her, she kept her composure. On the day of the funeral ceremony, not a single tear was seen on the face of Edward's widow. She only categorically refused to see the face of her late husband, explaining to everyone that she wanted to remember him alive. By a strange coincidence, June 3rd, when the Duke of Windsor was buried, was the day of their wedding anniversary - thirty-five years ago, Edward and Wallis were called husband and wife.

Wallis and the Queen Mother at Edward's funeral

Two years earlier, at an official reception at the White House, when the duke and his wife visited the United States, Edward unexpectedly admitted: “I was very lucky that an amazing American woman agreed to marry me, and for thirty years she was my loving, devoted and caring companion” .

With Nixon

Wallis survived her husband by fourteen years. In the last few years before her death, the widow of the Duke of Windsor was paralyzed and could not get out of bed. All this time, Elizabeth II helped Wallis, and when she died, the Queen of England came to her funeral and burst into tears.

Elizabeth

The former king of England and his wife bequeathed their entire fortune to the Paris Pasteur Institute, since they had neither children nor close people to whom the spouses would like to leave an inheritance.

Text by Anna Sardaryan