What was the woman for whom a British monarch dispensed the crown looked like?

In 1936, King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom abdicated his throne to marry the woman he loved. Had it not been for this event, Elisabeth II would not have become queen, and the history of the British monarchy would have been very different. Eduardo’s act has drawn the whole world’s attention to his dear Bessie, so it’s hard to distinguish the truth from the cruel gossip that has been invented about her.

O awesome.club found this love story very interesting, so he decided to find out how it actually happened so he could share it with you.

Bessie Wallis Warfield was born in 1896 in the United States. Her mother was the daughter of a stockbroker and her father came from a family of traders. Sadly, he passed away 5 months after the child was born. Bessie spent her childhood in noble poverty: the family suffered from a catastrophic shortage of money, but her mother did not want to admit her economic situation, so she used to organize such lavish banquets that the expenses exceeded the earnings. Bessie’s uncle, Solomon Davies Warfield, was the one who helped them economically.

Bessie attended Oldfields School, the most expensive in Maryland, which her uncle paid for. Her friends were the daughters of politicians and businessmen, and they used to say about Wallis: “She was brilliant, more than all of us.” The girl didn’t like the name “Bessie” because it sounded rustic to her, so she decided it would just be Wallis.

The purpose of the school was to prepare young women for life, so after graduation, each of them considered getting married as their main mission. At the time, it seemed suspicious that a girl would spend 2 or 3 years showing up at high society events without receiving any marriage offers. Therefore, and adding to the family’s financial situation, it was imperative that Wallis find a husband.

Wallis first married at age 20, to a pilot who was 7 years her senior. After the wedding, she realized that her husband was an alcoholic to such an extent that he once decided to fly a drunk plane and head for the sea.

This man was cruel and tied her up while he was out of the house. Wallis had enough patience to put up with the situation for 5 years. They separated and reconciled, but eventually divorced. She didn’t make that decision before because she really hoped their relationship would bounce back, something it never did.

After the wedding, Wallis tried to write articles about fashion, but the idea failed. So, she got a job as a scaffold saleswoman. A year later, she married Ernest Simpson, the owner of a shipping business.

He took his wife to London, and his sister introduced “Mrs Simpson” to high society. Wallis had a new social circle so, in 1932, a friend introduced him to the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VIII. Ironically, that woman was Lady Furness, with whom the monarch had a particularly close relationship.

Edward (his family called him David, but the prince had 7 names) was an attractive blond man with blue eyes, very popular with women. When he first met Wallis, he had several very close female friends.

From an early age, the heir to the throne was prepared for political activities and, in addition, participated in the First World War. In the 1920s and 1930s, he traveled across the country, communicating with people and looking for ways to combat unemployment. When he was Prince of Wales, he enjoyed the same popularity as his grandfather Edward VII, or perhaps even more popular.

But the prince tried to distance himself from the official world: he had a house that his father had given him where he dedicated himself to gardening, which made him an expert in growing roses. His loneliness was diluted by the presence of friends.

In just one year of friendship with Eduardo, the Simpsons have become regular visitors to this refuge. In response, the couple invited the prince to their house, in the same way that he invited them to accompany him on his travels, but Mr Simpson used to reject their invitations due to his work. Thus, Wallis traveled accompanied by her aunt, who noticed the “love in the prince’s eyes” long before the rest of the people.

In his memoirs, Wallis recalled that, at some point, “they crossed the line that marked the limit between friendship and love”. The couple’s relationship quickly became public and found themselves surrounded by a great deal of gossip.

Eduardo was so obsessed with her that his friends called him “Mrs. Simpson”. He painted her nails while crouching and tied her shoes without feeling ashamed of the servants. He wrote her letters filled with adoration and trust, and presented her with jewels, some of which could be bestowed exclusively on the queen.

Biographers found that their relationship was similar to that of a mother and her child: “His letters to her were childish, they seemed like a request for love and protection. Her writings are intelligent and affectionate. Correspondence from her was more like a dialogue between a loving father and an unmarried son.”

We can understand the prince. The education of monarchs consisted in ensuring that they were fully prepared for their future reign. There were probably more prohibitions and rules in the family than love and understanding. The emotional and attentive American replaced what was missing in Eduardo.

Edward treated Wallis differently than the previous ladies of his heart. He probably wanted to discuss the situation with his father, but George V died, and on his shoulders fell the responsibility of governing Britain, Ireland and the British dominions abroad.

Wallis filed for divorce, and the British government was seriously concerned by this news, as everyone understood that the King intended to marry the woman. But as a representative of the Church of England, he had no right to marry a divorced woman, even less if she had already been married on 2 occasions.

The prime minister, Stanley Baldwin, persuaded the king to end their relationship, but he refused. The only politician who neither condemned nor supported Edward was Winston Churchill.

In 1936, the press was filled with articles about the constitutional crisis that was about to begin, and Mrs. Simpson stated that she was willing to leave the country if it would help solve the problem.

The women of England were not indifferent to the situation. In the photo, you can see the participation of a protest with banners: “Hands off our king! Abdication means revolution.”

In 1936, King Edward VIII received an official letter indicating that Parliament would not support his marriage to Wallis Simpson. Negotiations and attempts to find a solution did not yield any results.

Wallis, upon learning of this, was impressed. She said that she needed to leave the country immediately, and that this was the only alternative. However, the same Edward manifested that no one could force him to leave it, and that if the country did not accept his choice, it would reject the crown. This made Wallis cry. “He insisted that he needed me, and I, like any woman in love, was willing to cross rivers of pain, a sea of ​​despair and oceans of agony for him.”

On December 11, 1936, Edward VIII became the first King of England in 800 years to voluntarily relinquish the throne. “It has proved impossible for me to bear the heavy burden of responsibility and perform more functions as a king in the way I would have liked to, without the help and support of the woman I love,” declared the monarch.

George VI, who ascended the throne, bestowed upon his brother Edward the title of Duke of Windsor, which had not been given to anyone before. After the abdication, Edward went to Austria, and 8 months later, when Wallis’ divorce papers were ready, they were married in France. The bride wore a gown in a heavenly shade, a color that was called “Wallis blue” for some time.

At the beginning of World War II, Churchill became prime minister. The Duke then expressed his willingness to serve anywhere abroad, and in 1940 he received the government of the Bahamas. After 1945, the couple went to Paris. They returned to England only for the funeral of George VI (1952), and that of Edward’s mother, Queen Mary (1953).

The Duke and Duchess were only invited in 1967 to an official public ceremony attended by other members of the royal family, in honor of the unveiling act of the commemorative plaque dedicated to Queen Mary.

Pictured, Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Windsor in Paris, 1972. Had it not been for Wallis’ relationship with Edward VIII, Elizabeth II would never have become queen: her father, George VI, ascended the throne after his abdication from Edward.

On the 25th anniversary of their marriage, the Duchess declared that she gave her husband every ounce of her affection, explaining her words this way: “It means doing things that help a person to have more confidence, create an atmosphere of warmth and interest, and distract her from worries”. The Duke and Duchess never had children, but they had many animals in their household.

The couple had a peculiar history related to dogs. At the beginning of the novel, Wallis took on the prince’s pets, which moved him and spurred him to present his wife with a Cairn terrier. They called him Slipper (“Slipper”), which became something of a symbol of their relationship.

This couple lived a long life and traveled extensively, having been the object of worldwide attention both in life and after their death: Wallis’ love letters, jewelry, and personal effects were sold at auction for tens of millions of dollars. dollars.

The Duke died in 1972, without being reconciled to his family. The Duchess died in 1986 and, according to her last will, was buried with her husband in the royal tomb at Frogmore, not far from Windsor Castle. Currently, this place is the residence of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

What do you think of Wallis and the king’s decision to relinquish the throne for his beloved? Tell us in the comments section!