Duke and Duchess of Windsor (1894-1972) and (1895-1986)

[Kronprinz]

I never understood Edward's insistence to marry Wallis.

A man of his status in the 1930s could perfectly have kept her as a mistress while being King.

[Denville]

He didn't want her as his mistress. He wanted her as his wife. And her husband might not have been too keen on a very long standing affair.. Surely you realise thtat Ed was obsessively in love with Wallis.. he was crazy about her, and would not give her up. Her husband might not have tolerated that....

[Osipi]

Originally Posted by Denville

He didn't want her as his mistress. He wanted her as his wife. And her husband might not have been too keen on a very long standing affair.. Surely you realise thtat Ed was obsessively in love with Wallis.. he was crazy about her, and would not give her up. Her husband might not have tolerated that....

He was obsessed with Wallis. This isn't something new either. If you read his biography, he had been overly obsessed with Freda Dudley Ward to extremes too for years. It was his nature that when he had a relationship with a woman, that woman became the have all and be all of his existence that he couldn't think, breathe or live without constant contact.

[O-H Anglophile]

Originally Posted by Furienna

Nevertheless though, I don't see where all the hatred towards them comes from. Yes, they had their flaws and made their mistakes. But I see no reason to hate them, so I won't.

You should read the book "Princes at War:The Bitter Battle Inside Britain's Royal Family in the Darkest Days of WWII" by Deborah Cadbury
It is very insightful about the Duke and Duchess's character flaws and why the King and Prime Minister sent David and Wallis to Bermuda during the war. In the historical perspective, the Abdication was the best thing to have happened. Bertie was a far better king for Britain than David could have been.

[Iluvbertie]

Originally Posted by Curryong

This is amazing stuff. isnt it, but everything to do with that brief reign, stamps, a few coins that escaped into circulation, even souvenirs made for a Coronation that never happened, are worth literally a king's ransom, nowadays. I really hope that this stamp doesn't go to a private collector, but into the Royal Collection or Australia Post. I suppose it depends to what heights the price above the reserve will go.

I have a coronation mug for Edward VVIII and it has been valued at about $100 Aus. There are literally 100,000s of them as they started coming out in the November, before the abdication was even being rumoured publicly let alone officially. My mug is in mint condition having been bought at the time by family and shipped to Australia where it was kept in its box until it was unwrapped in the late 1960s (the original intention had been to unwrap it on Coronation Day - they unwrapped George VI's instead. It went missing during the moves we made in the 1960s).

[Curryong]

A friend in England has a very ornate loving cup which was made to celebrate King Edward VIII's Coronation and a set of spoons of the same vintage, as well as a biscuit tin and model Coronation coach. Such things are highly collectible, even if not worth incredible amounts. I think the spoons are worth more than the loving cup. (She collects Royal memorabilia and has things from every reign since William and Mary.) Certainly stamps and coins are what are really valuable.

It must have been a blow to manufacturers who, after the Abdication in December, had to dispose of 'old' stock and start bringing out plates and mugs for the new King and his Queen. People probably bought them anyway as a souvenir of the Coronation that never was.

[Osipi]

Its not really the monetary value on things but having things that mean something to a person as a commemorative.

For me, I really wish I had gotten my hot little hands on those mugs that came out around Will and Kate's engagement that was a huge mistake. They got the names right, they got Kate right but what they got wrong was instead of William's picture, they used Harry. 50 some years down the line that will be something not a whole lot of people have.

[Kronprinz]

Originally Posted by Denville

He didn't want her as his mistress. He wanted her as his wife. And her husband might not have been too keen on a very long standing affair.. Surely you realise thtat Ed was obsessively in love with Wallis.. he was crazy about her, and would not give her up. Her husband might not have tolerated that....

Hard to understand. With the amount of residences he would have had as King, he could have kept her living in luxury and nobody would even blink.

Perhaps as time went on and after Queen Mary died, he could have gone public with her...certainly not marry her but in royal circles it would be OK.

[loonytick]

Originally Posted by Kronprinz

Hard to understand. With the amount of residences he would have had as King, he could have kept her living in luxury and nobody would even blink.

Perhaps as time went on and after Queen Mary died, he could have gone public with her...certainly not marry her but in royal circles it would be OK.

Do you really think the public would have been ok with him not marrying, not giving them a Queen, not having legitimate heirs? I think there would have been tremendous pressure on him to marry, had he remained on the throne. Not Wallis, but someone "suitable." And he only had eyes for her.

[Iluvbertie]

It wouldn't have remained quiet for long as the aristocracy were not supportive of him being with her.

In addition the government wanted him gone and she was simply the excuse he gave them to force him out. One way or another he was going to be forced to abdicate or worse ... the government weren't even sending him the most sensitive documents by the end of the summer as they knew that what was in them was ending up in Germany or Italy or other potential enemies. He was seen as a security risk and had to go.

[JR76]

Originally Posted by Kronprinz

Hard to understand. With the amount of residences he would have had as King, he could have kept her living in luxury and nobody would even blink.

Perhaps as time went on and after Queen Mary died, he could have gone public with her...certainly not marry her but in royal circles it would be OK.

I dont find it hard to understand why Edward wanted to marry the woman he loved.

[Denville]

I'd say rater the woman he was obsessed with.

[Furienna]

Originally Posted by O-H Anglophile

You should read the book "Princes at War:The Bitter Battle Inside Britain's Royal Family in the Darkest Days of WWII" by Deborah Cadbury
It is very insightful about the Duke and Duchess's character flaws and why the King and Prime Minister sent David and Wallis to Bermuda during the war. In the historical perspective, the Abdication was the best thing to have happened. Bertie was a far better king for Britain than David could have been.

I'm sorry, but I doubt that I could get my hands on that book here in Sweden.

Originally Posted by Iluvbertie

It wouldn't have remained quiet for long as the aristocracy were not supportive of him being with her.

In addition the government wanted him gone and she was simply the excuse he gave them to force him out. One way or another he was going to be forced to abdicate or worse ... the government weren't even sending him the most sensitive documents by the end of the summer as they knew that what was in them was ending up in Germany or Italy or other potential enemies. He was seen as a security risk and had to go.

They were that afraid that he would betray his country? Wow...

Originally Posted by Denville

I'd say rater the woman he was obsessed with.

So you don't even believe that it really was love?

[JR76]

Originally Posted by Furienna

I'm sorry, but I doubt that I could get my hands on that book here in Sweden.

You should try amazon. Ive had several books delivered to Sweden from there.

[O-H Anglophile]

Originally Posted by Furienna

I'm sorry, but I doubt that I could get my hands on that book here in Sweden.

It was originally published in the UK in 2015 and just came out in paperback last year. It is available at Amazon.co.uk.

Originally Posted by Furienna

They were that afraid that he would betray his country? Wow...

He was susceptible to flattery and socialized with Germans and pro Franco Spaniards while in Spain in 1940 after fleeing France. There is information that he had been told that "when" Germany won the war he (David) would be King again and he was willing to be friendly with the Nazis for that to occur.

[Osipi]

Originally Posted by JR76

You should try amazon. Ive had several books delivered to Sweden from there.

An even cheaper way to go is abebooks.com. Its a clearing house website for used books from all over and most books are available for a song and a dance just about. I pay on the average $3 USD for books I order. The site has a built in currency converter so I'm relatively secure in stating that they ship internationally. I checked and the book being discussed is listed there with several copies available.

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sea...WWII&kn=&isbn=

[Curryong]

Originally Posted by Furienna

So you don't even believe that it really was love?

I do think that David was in love with Wallis, self absorbed though he was. (I also think Wallis was a self-centred person.) He was in fact very much in love with her.
However, the other earlier longterm relationship in David's adult life, with Freda Dudley Ward, set a pattern. Love, quickly followed with copious needy letters full of baby talk and a total obsessive affection. It was Freda who pulled away from that romance and David settled for a close friendship. In Wallis's case however, David was no longer in his twenties, and he wanted a domestic life. That meant a wife.

[Osipi]

I think that David's love for Wallis was more of a self serving love than anything else. He had an emotional obsession with Mrs. Simpson that he just could not let go of. Wallis enjoyed every minute of it in the beginning as she was also self serving and whatever raised her in society suited her just fine. They suited each other so well as they both benefited from the relationship.

Their marriage, when it did happen, suited them both. Frick and Frack and two peas in a pod without a care in the world except for if it affected them and their lifestyles. A superficial life isn't rewarding for most people but was the perfect setting for David and Wallis.

[Lady Nimue]

This interview has already been posted on this thread but I offer it again here because Lady Diana Mosley talks particularly regarding how besotted David was with Wallis, and how Wallis pretty much sacrificed herself to live with him. Lady Mosley is clear that it was he who loved, not Wallis. That's sad. When one looks at the wedding picture from that day, Wallis is not a radiant, triumphant bride.

Looking at the whole story I have come to an unexpected understanding of Wallis and her predicament. She was a woman of her time with very few options. Sad story. And her end was grim as documented here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvGZmLyTXAg

[Pranter]

Most of the biography info I've seen indicate the same....he was mad for her (almost pitifully) and she was not head over heels for him.


LaRae