Duchess Of Windsor Jewellery - Page 2

branchg · #21 08-20-2005, 04:59 PM

Most of the jewels acquired by the Duchess over the years utilized precious gems and stones the Duke was given as Prince of Wales. He was given many beautiful and valuable gifts of stones by the Indian princes before becoming King, which were later set into pieces for Wallis by Cartier, Harry Winston and the like. Some of her jewelry was broken apart periodically and reset into new pieces when she tired of them.

The Duke and Duchess were never as rich as many people imagined, although they certainly were wealthy. The Duke left England with approximately $20 million (in today's dollars), which was invested wisely by American friends and British bankers. His income from the royal family was approximately $100,000 annually (in today's money), which wasn't much when you consider the huge staff they employed in Paris and their travel expenses. The Mill cost them a fortune to renovate and Wallis was constantly redecorating their house in Paris as well. It was a very expensive lifestyle.

They were able to maintain this style of living mainly because of their tax-free status in France, the token rent paid for the Paris house and the fact that many of their purchases were accompanied by a significant discount because of their celebrity. But, by the time the Duke died in 1973, it was said their fortune was severely depleted and the Duchess had about $3 million in cold hard cash.

It's true Madame Blum sold a significant amount of furnishings and objects after 1975 to provide cash for the ever-increasing cost of private medical care of the Duchess after her final stroke. None of her jewels were touched though. In 1980, the Queen contacted Blum and informed her she would assume all of the Household and medical expenses for the Duchess.

The Duchess left a couple of pieces of jewelry to Princess Michael, Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Kent in her will. A few other pieces were left to her close friends and the rest was auctioned off. It's true Queen Mary left her a beautiful strand of pearls when she died in 1952.

tiaraprin · #22 08-20-2005, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warren

The rent on the Paris house was "peppercorn" (token) rent.

The lifestyle of the Duke and Duchess is just another of the great mysteries of Royal wealth.

The Duke of Windsor was forever complaining about how hard up he was, especially to his brother George VI in unwelcome phone calls and letters, yet managed to come up with the readies over a longish period of time to buy fabulous jewels. Maybe they budgeted well on the groceries.
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The Duke of Windsor also lied to his brother, George VI about how much money he did have at the time of the abdication. After George VI bought Sandringham and Balmoral from the Duke of Windsor for millions of British pounds, he found out the Duke of Windsor had stashed away a significant amount of money. George VI had one of his famous "gnashes".

branchg · #23 08-20-2005, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiaraprin

The Duke of Windsor also lied to his brother, George VI about how much money he did have at the time of the abdication. After George VI bought Sandringham and Balmoral from the Duke of Windsor for millions of British pounds, he found out the Duke of Windsor had stashed away a significant amount of money. George VI had one of his famous "gnashes".

According to Philip Ziegler's biography of Edward VIII, the Duke lied about how much money he had tucked away over the years from his income from the Duchy of Cornwall. While it is certainly possible he didn't know himself exactly how much he had (remember he had equerries to worry about such things for him), it's clear he was dishonest about the matter.

George VI didn't "buy" Balmoral and Sandringham from the Duke with a lump-sum payment. An independent valuation of the two properties was established and an equivalent amount was invested in 3.5% War Loan Bonds to generate a tax-free income to the Duke, with an additional payment by the King to meet the 25,000 sterling he was promised before the Abdication.

Later, this amount was adjusted for inflation and eventually reached close to $100,000 annually by the time the Duke died in 1973. The Queen agreed to continue to pay half of this amount to the Duchess as a widow, but in 1980, she assumed all of her medical and household expenses as the Duchess was very ill and bedridden by then.

branchg · #24 08-20-2005, 07:01 PM

Correction on my part. The Duke died in 1972, not 1973.

iowabelle · #25 08-20-2005, 07:52 PM

You don't hear very much about the Queen's generosity in providing for members of the family, especially one who was so disliked by the senior members of the family (especially the Queen Mother).

branchg · #26 08-20-2005, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iowabelle

You don't hear very much about the Queen's generosity in providing for members of the family, especially one who was so disliked by the senior members of the family (especially the Queen Mother).

Many royal biographers have noted the Queen's financial generosity to her relatives and family. As the Sovereign, this is in the royal tradition, but the Queen has been very generous indeed even with her far-flung German relatives who later ran out of money after WW2.

The Duchess of Windsor and the Queen had no personal animosity between them. It would have been silly for the vendetta to go on forever and even the Queen Mother relented somewhat after the Duke died. It was reported after the Duchess died that the Queen Mother had sent her friendly letters and cards and she was later quoted as saying "I didn't hate her. In the end, I just felt sorry for her."

However, there is no question the Queen Mother was very bitter after George VI died and blamed the Duke and Duchess for forcing him to become King, which she insisted shortened his life (although the King actually died from heavy smoking, as did the Duke).

Princess BellyFlop · #27 08-20-2005, 11:34 PM

One of the most beautiful love story.

tiaraprin · #28 08-20-2005, 11:41 PM

The one thing I don't understand is that she financially supported Wallis but neglected her Bowes-Lyons cousins who were institutionalized by the state. You would think Her Majesty and the Queen Mum would privately have provided for them. They never caused any harm to anyone except being an embarrassment for their handicaps which they never should have been in the first place. How intolerable the world was and still is!

wymanda · #29 08-21-2005, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiaraprin

The one thing I don't understand is that she financially supported Wallis but neglected her Bowes-Lyons cousins who were institutionalized by the state. You would think Her Majesty and the Queen Mum would privately have provided for them. They never caused any harm to anyone except being an embarrassment for their handicaps which they never should have been in the first place. How intolerable the world was and still is!

OT I know but I do wonder if HM actually knew that these cousins were still alive. Remember that the Queen Mum was the second youngest of a large family, many of whom were grown up & married while she was still a child. These two cousins were written out of Burkes Peerage many years before. It was the media who unearthed there continued existance.

paloma · #30 08-21-2005, 12:48 AM

The beautiful strand of pearls with the large pearl drop is now owned by Kelly Klein, estranged wife of designer Calvin Klein. He bought them at auction for her.

iowabelle · #31 08-22-2005, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by branchg

Many royal biographers have noted the Queen's financial generosity to her relatives and family. As the Sovereign, this is in the royal tradition, but the Queen has been very generous indeed even with her far-flung German relatives who later ran out of money after WW2.

The Duchess of Windsor and the Queen had no personal animosity between them. It would have been silly for the vendetta to go on forever and even the Queen Mother relented somewhat after the Duke died. It was reported after the Duchess died that the Queen Mother had sent her friendly letters and cards and she was later quoted as saying "I didn't hate her. In the end, I just felt sorry for her."

However, there is no question the Queen Mother was very bitter after George VI died and blamed the Duke and Duchess for forcing him to become King, which she insisted shortened his life (although the King actually died from heavy smoking, as did the Duke).

I remember the Queen's visit to the Windsors shortly before the Duke's death. It's a shame that they were estranged for so long, because he seems to have been a favorite with the York girls when they were young.

branchg · #32 08-22-2005, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iowabelle

I remember the Queen's visit to the Windsors shortly before the Duke's death. It's a shame that they were estranged for so long, because he seems to have been a favorite with the York girls when they were young.

According to many royal biographers, the Queen was not really estranged from the Duke, especially after his visit to London in 1965 for an eye operation. Once there, she paid a personal visit to him and the Duchess at the Clinic and again at their hotel. Privately, she also invited the Duke for tea at Buckingham Palace and they walked in the gardens together for hours, getting to know each other better.

After this visit, the Queen approved the Duke's request that he and Wallis be allowed funeral services at St. George's Chapel with burial at Frogmore. She also planned the ceremony honoring Queen Mary at Marlborough House in 1967 to ensure the Duke and Duchess could attend, which marked the first time they publicly joined the rest of the royal family for a royal event.

Unfortunately, the Queen did not accept advice from Adeane and other members of the Household to issue letters patent granting the dignity of Royal Highness to Wallis before the 1967 ceremony as a final act of reconciliation. The opposition of the Queen Mother was strong and she felt it had to remain as is.

Panther2000 · #33 08-28-2005, 12:26 AM

? is Walllis buried with the Duke?

Just wanted to know. Did she get a royal Funeral & Bruial?

wymanda · #34 08-28-2005, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Panther2000

? is Walllis buried with the Duke?
Just wanted to know. & Did she get a royal Funeral & Bruial?

Yes, the Duke & Duchess are buried together at Frogmore. The Duchess's funeral was held at St Georges Chapel. It was quite low key but the Queen & the rest of the immediate family did attend.

**Warren** · #35 08-28-2005, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Panther2000

Is Walllis buried with the Duke?
Did she get a Royal Funeral & Buriall?

Yes, she is buried next to the Duke in the Royal Family's private grounds at Frogmore, Windsor.
The funeral:
The Lord Chamberlain flew to Paris to escort her body home and the Duke of Gloucester met them at the airport for the journey to Windsor. At Windsor the castle was closed to the public and a guard of honour saluted.

There was a private service in St George's Chapel attended by 175 people including most of the Royal Family, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, the American Ambassador, and Princess Ann-Mari von Bismarck. The coffin was flanked by the Military Knights of Windsor in scarlet and gold uniforms. The coffin lay in the same position and place of honour as King George V, King George VI, Queen Mary and the Duke of Windsor. At the end of the service the coffin was taken in full procession to where she was buried beside the Duke.

source: Wallis, Secret Lives of the Duchess of Windsor by Charles Higham 1988
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lashinka2002 · #36 08-31-2005, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lalla Meriem

She also left jewels to Marie-Christine. I didn't know she had left anything else to any of the other royal ladies but I know Marie-Christine was told never to wear the jewels HG left her in front of EIIR or QM.

Do you know who told Marie-christine not to wear the jewls that the duchess left her and why? As a gift she should be able to do as she pleases with them and that includes wearing them. Do you think maybe we'll see them on Lady Gabriella one day?

**Warren** · #37 08-31-2005, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lashinka2002

Do you know who told Marie-Christine not to wear the jewls that the Duchess left her and why?

I believe this advice was whispered to Prince Michael. No doubt to protect the Queen Mother's sensibilities. Apparently Princess Michael has only worn the Duchess's jewels while visiting the United States and France.
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**Elspeth** · #38 08-31-2005, 01:53 PM

I think there was some talk about the Duchess giving the Prince of Wales Feathers brooch (the one bought by Elizabeth Taylor at auction) to Princess Michael as a wedding present, and the Princess being told that it wouldn't ever be appropriate for her to wear it, so it wasn't accepted.

Wish I could remember where I read some of these things.