Wallis Simpson: the American socialite who rocked the British royal family

Edward VIII was heir to the throne and became King upon George V’s death. His Kingship lasted less than a year as he abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson. She was a divorced woman and, as King, the marriage was forbidden.

But who was this woman who brought such controversy, despair and heartbreak to the royal family and what happened to her when her husband died? Her story is, unfortunately, not a happy one.

Wallis Simpson, already once divorced, was invited to an aristocratic party last minute as others on the guest list suddenly fell ill. This was the twist of fate that would change her and Prince Edward’s lives forever.

Wallis’ husband at the time, Mr Ernest Simpson, was a British citizen due to his life in service and they lived in England. However, as The History Press tells us, she still maintained her ‘American ways and opinions’ and, likely on purpose, never lost her Baltimore accent.

She was well dressed and witty, but there was no immediate connection between her and the future King - until she invited him to dine in her house a year later. Then, the relationship ‘imperceptibly but swiftly passed from an acquaintanceship to a friendship’, as reported by The History Press.

That would come to be an understatement as many historians and publications state the Prince of Wales was infatuated. There was a time many suspected they were lovers but the royal family were not pleased with the match.

In her own memoir she wrote: “He was the open sesame to a new and glittering world that excited me as nothing in my life had ever done before … it seemed unbelievable that I, Wallis Warfield of Baltimore, Maryland, could be part of this enchanted world.” Was she attracted to him for being the future King of England?

For two years the pair tried to persuade the royal family to allow them to marry. They were given an ultimatum: give up the throne or give up each other. Edward chose the former and abdicated with a strong statement to the public.

On December 11, 1936, Edward stepped down from the throne and said, "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love."

This was the first abdication in British history and Wallis found herself the centre of media attention. She even made the front cover of Time magazine, being the first woman to receive that honour.

Wallis was given the title Duchess of Windsor on her marriage to Edward, who had the Dukedom bestowed on him after his abdication. They denied any wrong-doing or secret affair while Wallis was a married woman. In fact, Edward had successfully sued those who called her his ‘mistress’.

Either way, their ‘friendship’ had caused a scandal and they uprooted to France, marrying in a (very) quiet ceremony. As the Germans invaded France, they moved to Spain but their peaceful lives came to an end after the King appointed Edward to Governor of the Bahamas.

Wallis Simpson was thought to have been a Nazi sympathiser, which was confirmed in a book by historian Andrew Lownie. He wrote that during their time in France and the Bahamas, Wallis was in ‘constant contact’ with the Nazi foreign minister and even had a signed photo of him on her wall.

As The List states, they returned to France after the war where they lived out the rest of their lives, funded by the crown and Edwards attractive allowance. However, their ‘fairytale love story’ may have been short lived and things were not quite right under the surface.

Andrew Lownie, who is also the author of the book ‘Traitor King’, said in an interview with Vanity Fair that Edward was “constantly looking for a mother figure which Wallis provided.”

“She was the dominant person in the relationship. She took his jewels and loved the access he gave her to all sorts of interesting people, but I don’t think she ever loved him,” Lownie continued.

“None of this mess ... is of my own making," she wrote, as reported by The Independent. "It is the new Peter Pan plan," she added, using her private nickname for the former king, describing a boy who never grew up. Was Wallis Simpson to spend the next 30 years living in luxurious exile? Was she in a relationships she ultimately didn’t want to be in?

The List confirms that the Duke was enamoured with Wallis, reporting "Nothing else in his life gave him any sense of achievement other than his marriage to Wallis… For her, the slavish devotion was at times claustrophobic and she was not afraid to show it ... Few who knew them well described what they shared as love."

CTV News also reported that Simpson had a cruel streak. While she remained deferential to her husband in public, "once those lights were out, or those doors were closed, she was very different. He would often say to her, 'Am I going to go to bed in tears again tonight?'"

"She became rude, odious, and strange," said acquaintance Lady Gladwyn according to The List. "She spent all her time with effeminate young men, staying in nightclubs until dawn and sending the Duke home early: 'Buzz off, mosquito.'"

According to the Independent's review of Anne Sebba's 2011 biography "That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor," the later lives of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were "aimless" and the two drank a lot. Evidence was mounting to show that this wasn’t the happy ever after fairytale they were after.

Then, tragedy struck. According to the BBC, Edward was diagnosed with throat cancer and died in Paris on May 28, 1972. He was buried near Windsor, and Wallis attended his funeral, walking behind Queen Elizabeth II... and glared at by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

Wallis was suffering from Arteriosclerosis, lived in fear of coming into contact with Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and became reclusive and unwell, as the Radio Times reports. The Duchess was suffering from dementia and never opened her doors to anyone.

The Duchess had handed over power of attorney to her lawyer, Suzanne Blum who, according to historian Hugo Vickers for the Daily Mail, sold the duchesses possessions and took full advantage of her power.

The historian, Vickers, wrote "Without the Duke, however, age, frailty and grief would take their toll… the 76-year-old Duchess had broken her hip. After surgery, she recovered, and was eventually able to walk without a stick." She still kept her doors closed.

By 1978 "the Duchess ceased speaking. She had almost ceased to exist as a person. Wallis could hardly move without assistance, being turned to the right and left, moved from her bed to a couch, and then back again,” Vickers stated for the Daily Mail.

Wallis died on April 24 1986. Her cause of death finally was bronchial pneumonia. She made it to two months before her 90th birthday.

Her obituary in the UK newspaper, The Guardian said: "Her end followed a long twilight of strokes, mental derangement and grief at the loss of her husband 14 years ago. Her fingers had reportedly become too arthritic to support her wedding ring.” A sorrowful end to a melancholy tale.