The Duchess of Windsor: The Uncommon Life of Wallis Simpson

by Greg King

Overview

NOW UPDATED WITH NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE ROYAL FAMILY

Long before the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, came the first scene-stealing American divorcée to win the heart of a British royal—and forever change the House of Windsor and the lineage of future kings . . .

"A woman's life can really be a succession of lives, each revolving around some emotionally compelling situation or challenge, and each marked off by some intense experience."

It was the love story of the century—the king and the commoner. In December 1936, King Edward VII abdicated the throne to marry "the woman I love," Wallis Warfield Simpson, a twice-divorced American who quickly became one of the twentieth century's most famous personalities, a figure of intrigue and mystery, both admired and reviled.

"Never explain, never complain."

Wrongly blamed for the abdication crisis, Wallis suffered hostility from the Royal Family and much of the world. Yet interest in her story remains constant, resulting in a small library of biographies that convey a thinly veiled animosity toward their subject. The truth, however, is infinitely more fascinating . . .

"For a gallant spirit, there can never be defeat."

Using previously untapped sources, here is a complete and, for the first time, sympathetic portrait of the Duchess that reveals the woman behind the legend, from her birth in Pennsylvania during the Gilded Age to her death in Paris in 1986. King takes the reader through a world of privilege, palaces, and romance, politicians, dictators, and socialites—as well as feuds and lies—in a real-life fairy tale that bears striking similarities to the controversial decision by Prince Harry and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, to step back from their royal duties—in the name of love.

"A sympathetic and believable portrait." —Christian Science Monitor

"One of the most perennial stories ever told." —Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780806541235
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	08/25/2020
Pages:	608
Sales rank:	467,859
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

GREG KING, best known for his biographies of important historical figures, is the author of eighteen internationally published non-fiction books, including The Last Empress, The Resurrection of the Romanovs, The Court of the Last Tsar, and The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria. A frequent onscreen expert and commentator for historical documentaries, his work has appeared in numerous publications including The Washington Post, Majesty Magazine, and Royalty Magazine. He lives in Everett, Washington

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Prologue xvii

1 Romeo and Juliet in Baltimore 3

2 Childhood 14

3 Youth 26

4 Win 38

5 Marriage 46

6 China 58

7 Ernest 68

8 The Prince of Wales 79

9 A Fateful Weekend 97

10 "Wallis in Wonderland" 106

11 The Relationship Deepens 116

12 The Passing of the King 131

13 The New Reign 139

14 The King's Mistress 150

15 The Nahlin Cruise 164

16 The Divorce 173

17 Growing Troubles 181

18 "A Pretty Kettle of Fish" 193

19 The Morganatic Marriage Proposal 200

20 Flight to France 210

21 The Struggle for the Throne 219

22 Abdication 228

23 Rat Week 241

24 "The Whole World Is Against Us and Our Love" 251

25 At War With the Royal Family 258

26 The King's Wedding Present 264

27 The Wedding 276

28 The Visit to Germany 287

29 Exile in Paris 300

30 Two Houses 311

31 War 327

32 The Plot to Kidnap the Windsors 338

33 The Bahamas 351

34 The Visit to America 361

35 The Duchess's War Work 368

36 Shady Friendships, Murder, and Treachery 377

37 Postwar Wanderings 386

38 The Death of the King 396

39 The Last Two Houses 403

40 A Woman of Style 413

41 Life in Paris 423

42 American Adventures 434

43 The Windsors and the Royal Family 451

44 Declining Years 462

45 The Duke's Death 472

46 Wallis Alone 486

47 Last Years 497

Epilogue 505

Afterword (2003) 517

Update: Wallis and Meghan 521

Acknowledgments 529

Source Notes 533

Bibliography 559

Index 571

About the Author 579

Editorial Reviews

King does indeed present a sympathetic and believable portrait of Wallis Simpson....Wallis Simpson's life is indeed a fascinating one. As a biographical subject, her story has a great deal to offer.
— The Christian Science Monitor

Merle Rubin

This readable, thoroughly researched biography of the much maligned duchess convincingly lays to rest much of the negative gossip—including reports of her sexual eccentricities—that swirled around the duchess and her husband in the nearly 40 years they were married. King (The Last Empress, not reviewed, etc.) set out to write "a fair and favorable" biography of Wallis Warfield Simpson, the twice-divorced woman whose last husband, King Edward VIII of England, abdicated his throne in order to marry her. King has succeeded for the most part, illuminating details of Wallis's dramatic life from her birth near Baltimore in 1896 to her lonely death in Paris nearly 90 years later. Outlining a privileged, although not affluent, upbringing in Baltimore society, the author describes her subject's first marriage to a US Navy flier who was verbally and physically abusive; and her second marriage to Ernest Simpson, who brought her to live in London, where she met the then prince of Wales, soon to become king. Although Wallis was neither beautiful or brilliant, Edward (called David by intimates) "seemed bewitched," showering her with attention and jewels. Her appeal lay in her southern charm and ability to focus completely on the man she loved, asserts King. Once she was married, Wallis's commitment to decorating houses, visiting couturiers, and creating for her husband a life appropriate to the former king of England was relieved by the Windsors' service in the Bahamas during WWII. Wallis worked long and arduous days to improve health and education facilities for the poor of the Bahamas. Throughout the Windsors' marriage, the British royal family remained intransigent over extending anyrecognition to Wallis; the couple remained exiles from England, riding the social circuit between France and the US. It still seems a shallow and self-indulgent lifestyle, despite King's efforts to give it heft. Still, an intriguing slice of history with its centerpiece a royal romance nearly as riveting as the saga of Charles and Diana.

Kirkus Reviews