Duchess Of Windsor Jewellery

[qui mal y pense]

Didn't the Duke Retain his "Prince of Wales" estates in England and their income? I'm sure they also received hotel rooms etc. gratis from their well connected American friends.

[Elspeth]

Once he became king he no longer had access to the Duchy of Cornwall income, which is for the eldest son of the king, not the king himself. He did retain ownership of Sandringham and Balmoral, which were owned privately by George V and which he inherited, but he sold them to his brother George VI when he abdicated.

[BMOlivera]

Calvin Klein purchased the pearls worn by the Duchess in the first post for his then-wife, Kelly. Historic and exquisite pearls.

[Gita]

The Duchess of Windsor had many brilliant jewels. Thank you for posting the photographs. She had a lot more jewels than I knew about.

[Wallis]

Does anyone have a picture of the Duchess of Windsor's crucifix bracelet? It was my all time favorite. Who bought it at auction in Geneva? Although she was greatly flawed (Nazism, man-eater), I loved her sense of style and her desire to enjoy life.

[Trudie]

I thought the Windsors owned the villa in France. As for the jewels for such a small woman she certainly carried those huge baubles well. She always looked elegant.

[Avalon]

WALLIS GEMS FETCH £120K

TWO pieces of jewellery given to Wallis Simpson by King Edward VIII have gone under the hammer for nearly £120,000.

[constance]

The Windsor's legendary Canary Diamonds by Harry Winston.

Windsor Jewels - Wallis Simpson die Schätze der Herzogin von Windsor

Too Fabulous!!!

[auntie]

I must say, I am glad she never became the Queen, our Queen (and the Queen's mom to some extent) is much more ethical, hardworking etc. Wallis fans will probably slam me, but I don't think she would have had such loved Edward so much if he wasn't royal, she was a married woman whilst having first an affair with him, with all due respect, get divorced and then carry on with whomever you want.

[Saturn]

Originally Posted by Elspeth

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.

I read in another post that the present Prince of Wales tried to buy back the feathers brooch at action, but finally Elizabeth Taylor got it.

If I was Elizabeth Taylor I would leave the brooch to the Prince of Wales.

[Prince of Chota]

Originally Posted by auntie

I must say, I am glad she never became the Queen, our Queen (and the Queen's mom to some extent) is much more ethical, hardworking etc. Wallis fans will probably slam me, but I don't think she would have had such loved Edward so much if he wasn't royal, she was a married woman whilst having first an affair with him, with all due respect, get divorced and then carry on with whomever you want.

I agree. Even observers such as photographer Cecil Beaton made the observation that she "tried hard to love him but was certainly not in love with him"...he supposedly relied on her a great deal, though. It's her lifestyle (along with the Duke's) that I find inappropriate for royalty: too much of the jet-set, celebrity circuit for a former king and his wife. They didn't seem to have much of the work-ethic that the royal family has been so proud of over the last century.

[sirhon11234]

Originally Posted by Warren

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
.

I remember that The Queen Mother and The Prince and Princess of Wales were present at the funeral. Wallis wasn't buried under a royal standard like Princess Diana, The Queen Mother or Margaret or Alice.

[Elspeth]

No, she was an outcast to the end. Personally I'm glad she left her jewels to be auctioned on behalf of the Pasteur Institute rather than leaving them to the British royal family after the way she'd been treated by them all her married life. However, I do think she might have left Queen Mary's pearl necklace to the Queen. That one, unlike most of her jewels, had a genuine royal provenance.

[RubyPrincess168]

Some pieces of her jewelry I like. Some pieces I find way too gaudy. But I didn't know she was given any jewelry from Queen Mary, or that she left any jewelry to other members of the royal family. Any ideas what she left to the Duchess of Kent or Princess Alexandra? It'd be interesting if the pearl necklace given to Wallis by QM was given to Camilla by QEII.

[wymanda]

I think she gave a set of earings to Princess Michael as a wedding present but I think everything else, including QM's pearls, was auctioned.

[branchg]

Princess Michael received emerald earrings, a ruby brooch set with matching earrings and a diamond ring as gifts from The Duchess during a visit to Paris in 1976.

The Duchess left a few other pieces to Princess Alexandra, The Duchess of Kent and Princess Michael in her will. Everything else was auctioned off.

The Cartier pearl necklace was given to The Duke shortly before Queen Mary died, an indirect way of acknowledging his wife despite her adamant refusal to receive her. It is believed the necklace was created using old pearls sometime in the 1920's.

[Brooklyn]

The queen should grant Wallis, Duchess of Windsor the style of HRH as a way of finally putting the past behind once and for all.

[jcbcode99]

I disagree--Wallis Simpson caused a complete uproar in the British Monarchy. She was not in love with the Duke of Windsor--she was in love with the idea of becoming Queen and when she didn't get to achieve that goal, he was so utterly in love with her that he gave up his throne and what real option did she have after that? She had to marry him or she would have really lost all of her social standing (and to Wallis, that was what life was all about). I think she was deplorable, and that he was weak. So glad that he abdicated because King George VI and Queen Elizabeth really and truly proved themselves to be assets to England during WWII when they refused to leave London--as compared to the Duke and Duchess who were sent to the Bahamas because of their relationship with Hitler. I could go on and on, but this post is really just too long as it is and we're supposed to be talking about jewelry anyway.
That being said--LOVE the canary diamonds--truly stunning. As for the PoW feather brooch--I don't think that Charles bid on it. There are several at his disposal, and I think (maybe I'm wrong, can't find the info right now) that Edward had that made for Wallis so it really has no historical relevance to Prince Charles.
I do like the pieces which Princess Michael has in her possession. She has a lot of style and wears them beautifully.

[branchg]

Well, the King is the one who caused a complete uproar by insisting he must marry her even though everyone was opposed to it. Once it was clear the British public would not support marriage, Wallis wanted to move on with her life and keep him on the throne.

The issue of the HRH has been discussed many times, but she certainly had the right to carry her husband's titles and rank upon marriage.

[auntie]

Can you imagine how she would adorned herself if she would have been Queen? Gosh with the British Crown Jewels!