The Curious Case of Wallis Simpson

Readers of this blog know I am a huge fan of the period of American history I refer to as "between the wars" -- roughly 1918 to 1946. So much that occurred in that time reverberates down the years and still affects our daily lives.

Apropos to nothing else, I want to offer a few thoughts on Wallis Simpson (pictured, in 1937) -- the American whose relationship with a prince (who later became king) changed the course of England.

I have read many many biographies and histories of this period -- some focusing on Simpson; others about the world of that time.

Recently, I watched the rather flaccid 2005 BBC adaptation "Wallis and Edward" which pales mightily in comparison to the far superior 1978 Thames Television production "Edward and Mrs. Simpson." (It is not only a better telling of the story, but a fantastic movie to boot, winning an Emmy and BAFTA as best mini series.) All this on the heels of finishing the massive 1979 history "The Windsor Story" written by two people who knew the Duke and Duchess well.

Synthesizing all of this information I have noticed my thoughts changing.

When I first encountered the story of the king who gave up his throne for the woman he loved, I thought "Those bastards, not letting him marry her." Now, all these years later, I think I have a better understanding of the people, the times, and the motivations behind the events.

Wallis Simpson: Roughly speaking, I think Simpson is far from the innocent victim she wanted people to believe her to be. She was a calculating woman who very much wanted everything one could get from being married to a king -- perhaps even so far as being queen (which she steadfastly denied). She turned a chance encounter with the prince into a parlay that failed -- or succeeded (depending on how you look at it).

Prince Edward, later king: Edward, for all his brilliance, was certainly led astray by love. I don't question love and its manifest powers; rather, there are times when love can blur one's consideration of fact. He genuinely wanted to marry Wallis. He genuinely thought she should be accorded all the respect of the other royal women. Did he threaten to abdicate to force the government to give him his way? Many think so; I think not. He knew what he wanted and thought it unfairly denied him. So he abdicated, married the woman he loved and suffered the remainder of his life unable to return to his home to live, unable to contribute to society, unable to be more than the bank that paid for all of Wallis' whims.

The British government: While I can understand their not wanting Wallis as queen, I think their stated reasons specious: she was twice divorced. Religious reasoning aside, I cannot quite see what difference that made. However, my thoughts are that they really did not want an American to be queen. Let's face it, it was 150 years later, but the English were still pissed at America for breaking away. They undoubtedly thought of us as a wayward backwater lumped in the same basket as the other "colonies" (India, parts of Africa, Australia, Canada, Portugal, etc.). I cannot imagine them wanting Wallis as queen any more than someone from India.

Wallis and Edward together: Their marriage lasted 35 years, besting the naysayers by quite a long time. One certainly hopes their love kept them warm because -- aside from a pretty sizeable fortune (his) -- they had nothing but each other. Wallis spent a great deal of money of jewelry, furnishings for the many houses, and fashions (not for nothing was she named one of the best dressed women in the world many times). When asked why, she said she wanted her husband to live the life denied him (of being royalty). Considering how badly she treated him in the later years, I wonder how true that really was.

Did Wallis plan this adventure from the start? Not likely. It was a whirlwind of activity that not even she could have expected; but she took the ball and ran with it -- all the way to immortality.

I find it most interesting that she has gone from villain (at the time) to poor innocent (the new BBC movie) in just 70 years.