WALLIS Simpson and Kind Edward VIII’s love story is one that went down in British history.
The pair felt put their relationship before royal duties and he became the first-ever monarch to abdicate.
Who was Wallis Simpson?
Wallis Simpson was born in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, as Bessie Wallis on June 19, 1886.
The socialite’s dad was a wealthy flour merchant and died from tuberculosis when Wallis was a baby.
In 1901, her and mum Alice moved in with Wallis’ aunt in Baltimore before they got an apartment and Alice remarried.
Wallis went to Oldfields School which is the most expensive in Maryland – after her uncle paid for the tuiton.
A fellow student said: “She was bright, brighter than all of us. She made up her mind to go to the head of the class, and she did.”
How many times was Wallis Simpson married?
Wallis met her first husband Earl Winfield Spencer Jr, a US Navy aviator in Florida, while she was visiting her cousin in April 1916.
They tied the knot in November of that year in Baltimore and a year later, Spencer was posted to San Diego when the US entered WWI.
Wallis was away from her alcoholic husband for months at a time, so she travelled alone in China as the marriage started to break down.
The couple got divorced in 1927 and Wallis became involved with shipping executive Ernest Aldrich Simpson.
They got married in London after Simpson left his first wife on July 21, 1928.
Did Wallis Simpson have children?
Wallis didn’t have any children with any of her husbands.
Historians believe that a case of mumps in Edward’s youth rendered the Duke of Windsor infertile, and this was the reason they never conceived.
When did Wallis Simpson become King Edward’s mistress?
The relationship between Wallis and King Edward allegedly started in 1934, but Edward – who was then a prince – denied this to his dad King George V.
By 1935, Wallis had been presented in court to the outrage of the Royal Family, who were shocked by her marital history.
The pair spent time together in Europe and Edward lavished Wallis with money and jewels.
What was the King Edward VIII abdication crisis?
On January 20, 1936, George V died and Edward ascended the throne and became king.
Fears were beginning to grow that the new king planned to marry Wallis as the Church of England felt Edward could not marry a divorced woman with two living ex-husbands.
Brits were also reluctant to accept an American as a queen, which prompted Wallis to flee to France to avoid press coverage.
She filed for divorce from Spencer on the grounds he had committed adultery, and it was granted in October 1936.
Edward was told he could not keep the throne and marry Wallis, so he sent shockwaves across the world when he decided to abdicate two months later.
He was forced to abdicate in the December.
His stammering younger brother “Bertie”, the current Queen’s father, became George VI.
He made a BBC broadcast saying he could not do the job of the king “without the help and support of the woman I love”.
The pair tied the knot on June 3, 1937, at the Château de Candé but no members of Edward’s family attended.
They became Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Who played Wallis Simpson on Netflix’s The Crown?
Geraldine Chaplin played the American Socialite in the season three of The Crown.
She was nominated for a Golden Globe for playing Tonya in Doctor Zhivago (1965) and played her own grandmother Hannah Chaplin in the 1992 biopic Chaplin.
She is also known for her Spanish cinema work, but her recent English-language work has included Electric Dreams (as Irma) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (as Iris).
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What happened to Wallis Simpson?
Wallis became a widow in 1972 when Edward died after being diagnosed with throat cancer.
She developed dementia and lived the final years of her life as a recluse.
She was supported financially by both her husband’s estate and an allowance from the Queen.
In 1980, the Duchess lost the power of speech and she was bedridden and did not receive any visitors.
Where is Wallis Simpson buried?
Wallis died on April 24, 1986, at her home in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, at the age of 89.
She was buried next to her husband in the Royal Burial Ground near Windsor Castle.
