The Real Wallis Simpson: A New History of the American Divorcée Who Became the Duchess of Windsor
Page 35
Finally, but most important, this book could not have been written without the love, patience, kindness, generosity, wizardry and magnificent support of my husband, Andrew. To him I am the most grateful. A huge and wholehearted thank-you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anna Pasternak is the author of Princess in Love and Lara, which revealed the true story of the love affair behind her great-uncle Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago. Her work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, Tatler, and every major British newspaper. She lives in England.
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ALSO BY ANNA PASTERNAK
Lara: The Untold Love Story and the Inspiration for “Doctor Zhivago”
Princess in Love
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NOTES
PROLOGUE: THE HEART HAS ITS REASONS
1. Elsa Maxwell, I Married the World (London: William Heinemann, 1955), 243.
2. Diana Vreeland, DV, ed. George Plimpton and Christopher Hemphill (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984), 70.
3. Hugo Vickers, Behind Closed Doors: The Tragic Untold Story of the Duchess of Windsor (London: Hutchinson, 2011), 280.
4. Philip Ziegler, King Edward VIII: The Official Biography (Glasgow: William Collins and Sons, 1990), 74.
5. Duchess of Windsor, The Heart Has Its Reasons: The Memoirs of the Duchess of Windsor (London: Michael Joseph, 1956; London: Tandem, 1969), 305. Citations refer to the Tandem edition.
6. Caroline Blackwood, The Last of the Duchess: The Strange and Sinister Story of the Final Years of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor (New York: Vintage Books, 2012), 245.
7. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 215.
8. Ibid., 215–16.
9. Michael Bloch, ed., Wallis and Edward: Letters 1931–1937: The Intimate Correspondence of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (New York: Summit Books, 1986), 174.
10. Hugo Vickers, interview with author, London, November 2017.
11. Vreeland, DV, 68.
12. Henry Channon, Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon, ed. Robert Rhodes James (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1967), 51.
13. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 305.
14. Count Rudolf Graf von Schönburg, interview with author, Marbella, Spain, September 2017.
15. Ibid.
16. David Maude-Roxby, interview with author, Gstaad, Switzerland, March 2017.
17. Vreeland, DV, 73.
18. Vickers, interview.
19. Nicholas Haslam, interview with author, London, August 2017.
20. Ibid.
21. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 150.
22. Duchess of Windsor to Elsie Mendl, September 24, 1948, private collection of Nicholas Haslam.
23. Ibid.
24. Vickers, interview.
25. Duke and Duchess of Windsor, interview by Kenneth Harris, broadcast on the BBC, October 1970.
26. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 398.
1: THE PRINCE’S GIRL
1. Gloria Vanderbilt and Thelma Lady Furness, Double Exposure: A Twin Autobiography (London: Frederick Muller, 1959), 274.
2. Ibid.
3. Sara Wheeler, Too Close to the Sun: The Audacious Life and Times of Denys Finch Hatton (London: Jonathan Cape 2006), 215.
4. Siân Evans, Queen Bees: Six Brilliant and Extraordinary Society Hostesses Between the Wars (London: Two Roads, 2016), 197.
5. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 177.
6. Ibid., 178.
7. Ibid., 180.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid., 181.
10. Duke of Windsor, A King’s Story: The Memoirs of H.R.H. the Duke of Windsor (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1947; London: Cassell, 1951, 256). Citations refer to the Cassell edition.
11. Ibid.
12. Diana Mosley, The Duchess of Windsor: A Memoir (London: Gibson Square Books, 2012), 89.
13. Sebba, Anne, That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2011), 64.
14. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 130.
15. Mosley, Duchess of Windsor, 12.
16. Haslam, interview.
17. Channon, Chips, 51.
18. Mosley, Duchess of Windsor, 27.
19. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 8.
20. Ibid., 160.
21. Ibid., 56.
22. Ibid., 27.
23. Ibid., 160.
24. Ibid., 8.
25. Ibid., 13.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid., 14.
28. Ibid., 45.
29. Ibid., 50.
30. Ibid.
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid., 52.
34. Ibid., 7.
35. Fleur Cowles, “The Duchess of Windsor Talk’s Clothes with Fleur Cowles, Harper’s Bazaar, May 1966.
36. Suzy Menkes, “The Duchess of Windsor’s Royal Style,” Harper’s Bazaar, October 15, 2010, www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a592/duchess-of-windsor-style-1010.
37. Maxwell, I Married, 249.
38. Vreeland, DV, 69.
39. Maxwell, I Married, 249.
40. Haslam, interview.
41. Nicholas Haslam, Redeeming Features (New York: Vintage, 2010), 192.
42. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 178.
43. Sebba, That Woman, 88.
44. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 51.
45. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 186.
46. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 257.
47. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 187.
48. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 258.
49. Ibid.
50. Ibid., 4.
51. James Pope-Hennessy, The Quest for Queen Mary, ed. Hugo Vickers (London: Zuleika, 2018), 182.
52. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 27.
53. Ibid., 8.
54. Ibid., 43.
55. Ibid., 52.
56. Pope-Hennessy, Quest for Queen Mary, 96.
57. Ibid., 115.
58. Blackwood, Last of the Duchess, 267–68.
59. Michael Turner, Osborne House (Bristol, UK: English Heritage, 2016), 51.
60. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 28.
61. Ibid., 41.
62. Ibid., 74.
63. Piers Brendon, Edward VIII: The Uncrowned King (London: Allen Lane, 2016), 11.
64. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 95.
65. Ibid.
66. New York Times, June 1, 1913, cited in L. W. B. Brockliss, The University of Oxford: A History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), 458.
67. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 84.
68. John Julius Norwich, interview in documentary Wallis Simpson: The Secret Letters, Channel 4, August 2011.
69. Maude-Roxby, interview.
70. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 98–99.
71. Schönburg, interview.
72. John Julius Norwich, interview with author, London, October 2017.
73. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 97.
74. Mosley, Duchess of Windsor, 63.
75. Pope-Hennessy, Quest for Queen Mary, 144.
76. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 78.
77. Channon, Chips, 51.
78. Ibid., 50.
79. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 111.
>
80. Brendon, Edward VIII, 15.
81. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 119.
82. Ibid., 120.
83. Brendon, Edward VIII, 17.
84. Ibid., 25.
85. Ibid., 32.
86. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 222.
87. Ibid., 163.
88. Vickers, Behind Closed Doors, 276.
89. Cited in Chartwell Bulletin, Winston Churchill Centre, retrieved September 21, 2015.
90. Haslam, interview.
91. Norwich, interview.
92. Channon, Chips, 23.
93. Pope-Hennessy, Quest for Queen Mary, 200.
94. Blackwood, Last of the Duchess, 265.
95. Vickers, Behind Closed Doors, 277.
96. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 59.
97. Ibid., 68.
98. Mosley, Duchess of Windsor, 24.
99. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 91.
100. Mosley, Duchess of Windsor, 27.
101. John Julius Norwich, ed., The Duff Cooper Diaries (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005), 403.
102. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 398.
103. Sebba, That Woman, 27–28.
104. Mosley, Duchess of Windsor, 27.
105. Maxwell, I Married, 259.
106. Sebba, That Woman, 35.
107. Ibid.
108. Vickers, Behind Closed Doors, 310.
109. Haslam, interview.
110. Norwich, interview.
111. Martin Gilbert and Randolph Churchill, Winston S. Churchill: The Official Biography, Vol. 5 (Heinemann, 1976), 810.
112. Susan Williams, “The Vilification of Wallis Simpson,” BBC History Magazine, December 2006.
113. Evans, Queen Bees, 198.
114. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 21.
115. Ibid., 145.
116. Ibid.
117. Alex Kerr-Smiley, interview in Wallis Simpson: The Secret Letters.
118. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 145.
2: ICH DIEN
1. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 151.
2. Ibid., 161.
3. Ibid., 168.
4. Edwina H. Wilson, Her Name Was Wallis Warfield (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1935), 17.
5. Ruth Franklin, quoting Elsie de Wolfe in New Yorker magazine, September 27, 2004.
6. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 257.
7. Maxwell, I Married, 249.
8. James Reginato, “The Raj Duet,” Vanity Fair online, October 2013.
9. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 202.
10. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 67–68.
11. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 238.
12. Diana Cooper, Autobiography: The Rainbow Comes and Goes, The Light of Common Day, Trumpets from the Steep (London: Faber and Faber, 2008), 397–98.
13. Vanderbilt and Furness, Double Exposure, 269.
14. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 239.
15. Ibid., 188.
16. Cooper, Autobiography, 397.
17. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 192.
18. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 27.
19. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 195.
20. Ibid., 196.
21. Ibid., 199.
22. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 76.
23. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 216.
24. Daily Sketch, January 30, 1929.
25. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 256.
26. Vickers, interview.
27. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 199.
28. Pope-Hennessy, Quest for Queen Mary, 199.
29. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 199.
30. Vickers, Behind Closed Doors, 281.
31. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 199.
32. Pope-Hennessy, Quest for Queen Mary, 171.
33. Duke and Duchess of Windsor, interview by Harris.
34. Dr. Charles Spicer, interview with author; Charles Spicer, “Ambulant Amateurs: The Rise and Fade of the Anglo-German Fellowship” (PhD thesis).
35. Sebba, That Woman, 183.
36. Evans, Queen Bees, 197.
37. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 200.
38. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 65.
39. Sebba, That Woman, 93.
40. Ibid., 93–94.
41. Vanderbilt and Furness, Double Exposure, 279.
42. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 82–83.
43. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 201.
44. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 91.
45. Ibid., 93.
46. Kerr-Smiley, interview in Wallis Simpson: The Secret Letters.
47. Sebba, That Woman, 98.
48. Norwich, interview.
49. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 203.
50. Ibid., 200.
51. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 200.
52. Ibid., 201.
53. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 258.
54. Ibid., 257–58.
55. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 96.
56. William Shawcross, ed., Counting One’s Blessings: The Selected Letters of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (Macmillan, 2012), 198–99.
57. Ibid., 198.
58. Michael Thornton, Royal Feud: The Queen Mother and the Duchess of Windsor (London: Michael Joseph, 1985), 74.
59. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 108.
60. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 204.
61. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 110.
62. Ibid., 114.
63. Ibid., 110.
64. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 205.
65. Ibid., 258–59.
66. Ibid., 206.
67. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 116.
68. Ibid., 117.
69. Ibid., 120.
70. Ibid.
71. Vanderbilt and Furness, Double Exposure, 236.
72. Ibid., 297–98.
73. Ibid.
74. Ibid.
75. Ibid.
76. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 119.
77. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 207.
78. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 122.
79. Ibid., 120.
80. Sebba, That Woman, 98.
3: ONE AND ONLY
1. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 207.
2. Ibid.
3. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 230.
4. Ibid.
5. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 209.
6. Ibid.
7. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 230.
8. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 210.
9. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 231.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid., 214–15.
12. Mosley, Duchess of Windsor, 79.
13. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 120–30.
14. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 218.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid., 219.
17. Thornton, Royal Feud, 73.
18. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 219.
19. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 134.
20. Thornton, Royal Feud, 73.
21. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 231.
22. Ibid.
23. Thornton, Royal Feud, 74.
24. Major Colin Burgess with Paul Carter, Behind Palace Doors: My Service as the Queen Mother’s Equerry (London: John Blake, 2006), 78.
25. Vickers, interview.
26. Ibid.
27. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 220.
28. Ibid.
29. Ibid., 256.
30. Duke and Duchess of Windsor, interview by Harris.
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid.
33. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 132–33.
34. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 238.
35. “How His Majesty’s Secret Service Spied on His Majesty.” Sunday Telegraph, April 2, 2017.
&n
bsp; 36. Ibid.
37. Haslam, inteveiw.
38. Norwich, interview.
39. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 134.
40. Mosley, Duchess of Windsor, 78.
41. Diary entry: autumn 1935, Richard Buckle, ed., Self-Portrait with Friends: The Selected Diaries of Cecil Beaton 1926–74 (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1979), 47.
42. Evans, Queen Bees, 199.
43. Mosley, Duchess of Windsor, 78.
44. Channon, Chips, 23.
45. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 215.
46. Ibid., 223.
47. Ibid.
48. Ibid., 225.
49. Ibid.
50. Ibid., 226.
51. Ibid.
52. Ibid.
53. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 232.
54. Ibid.
55. Ibid.
56. Ibid., 233.
57. Ibid.
58. Ibid.
59. Wallis Simpson: The Secret Letters.
60. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 231.
61. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 147.
62. Ibid., 149–50.
63. Channon, Chips, 45.
64. Ibid.
65. Duchess of Windsor, Heart Has Its Reasons, 233.
66. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 151.
67. Ibid.
68. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 259.
69. Channon, Chips, 33.
70. Cooper, Autobiography, 397–98.
71. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 153–54.
72. Evans, Queen Bees, 208–9.
73. Channon, Chips, 48.
74. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 158.
75. Maureen Emerson, Riviera Dreaming: Love and War on the Côte d’Azur (London: I. B. Tauris, 2018), 94.
76. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 160.
77. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 234.
78. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 162–63.
79. Vickers, interview.
80. Williams, “Vilification of Wallis Simpson.”
81. Brendon, Edward VIII, 47.
82. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 260.
83. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 170–71.
84. Ibid.
4: GOD BLESS WE
1. James Pope-Hennessy, Queen Mary, 1867–1953 (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1959), 556.
2. Ziegler, Edward VIII, 199.
3. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 261.
4. Ibid., 262.
5. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 177–78.
6. Norwich, Duff Cooper Diaries, 225.
7. Bloch, Wallis and Edward: Letters, 181.
8. Channon, Chips, 70.
9. Duke of Windsor, King’s Story, 264.
10. Pope-Hennessy, Queen Mary, 558.