The Real Wallis Simpson

Truth is said to be stranger than fiction, and that is certainly true of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Wallis Simpson is reviled as the woman who seduced/bewitched/charmed the king of England into marrying her so she could be queen. Nothing could be further from the truth, according to author Anna Pasternak in her new book The Real Wallis Simpson.

Wallis believed she was Edward’s flavor of the month. He would soon find someone else and leave her behind. In the meantime, she enjoyed his attention and her fling in high society. Then she would be content to return to a quiet life with her husband, Ernest Simpson.

Edward was captivated by the direct way she spoke to him, and the genuine interest she showed in his life as Prince of Wales. When he insisted on marrying her, and abdicating if that was the only way, she urged him not to. She didn’t want to marry him, but he was determined.

Edward was self-absorbed, immature, and reckless. The British establishment had doubts about him being king. Even his father felt his second son, Bertie, had better prospects. Yet when Edward abdicated, they attacked Wallis, a twice-divorced American. She certainly didn’t deserve their cruelty.

She wasn’t guiltless, though. She was a married woman who had no business fooling around with the king. Her husband was supposed to be okay with it, proud as any husband would be that his wife was singled out by the Prince of Wales. And Wallis divorced Ernest, clearing the way for Edward to marry her. She should have left England.

Edward believed their exile would be short-lived. Within a year, they’d be back in England, living as genteel aristocracy living a leisurely life of house parties and shooting parties. He would take his place alongside his brothers, supporting Bertie as King George VI and performing royal duties. His wife, naturally, would be made Her Royal Highness.

It didn’t happen.

The establishment―the government, the church, and the royal family―didn’t want him back. Always popular with the people, he would outshine the shy, stuttering king. The king’s wife, Queen Elizabeth, was especially hostile to Wallis. She and her mother-in-law, Queen Mary, bordered on hysteria in their objection to Edward’s wife.

The Windsors faced a nomadic life in France, never really settling down because they wanted to return to England. They always lived in fabulous homes where they loved to entertain. Wallis was known as a witty, charming woman, elegantly dressed, who hosted elegant parties. She tried to replicate Edward’s familiar royal surroundings, going so far as dressing the footmen as though they were at Buckingham Palace.

Their lives in exile lacked purpose. Had Edward known how useless he’d become, would he have abdicated? His devotion to Wallis never failed. She grew to love him and sought to make him happy. After reading of all their foibles, one word comes to mind: pitiful.

Terri Wangard writes novels that entertain and enlighten. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) has won and been a finalist in various writing contests. When not writing, she’s likely to be reading. Learn more at www.terriwangard.com.