The Duchess Of Windsor (28 page)
Read The Duchess Of Windsor Online
Authors: Greg King
By the first week of July, Chips Channon reported, “The Simpson scandal is growing, and she, poor Wallis, looks unhappy The world is closing in around her, the flatterers, the sycophants, and the malice. It is a curious social juxtaposition that casts me in the role of Defender of the King. But I do, and very strongly in society, not for loyalty so much as for admiration and affection for Wallis, and in indignation against those who attack her.”
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Wallis was just beginning to learn that her private life had become the subject of great interest in the American press. She wrote to her cousin Corinne Murray: “Darling Rinny—Please don’t believe all you read. I am still the same nut you have always known—and it makes me pretty damn sick that it is my country and my countrymen and especially women who take the trouble to talk so shabbily about me—the English have been too kind and lovely to me....”
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On July 9 the King gave another controversial dinner party at York House, presided over and planned by Wallis. Several members of Parliament attended: Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine; David Margesson, Conservative chief whip; Sir Samuel Hoare, newly appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, and his wife, Maud Hoare; and Sir Philip Sassoon, undersecretary of state for air. The Duke and Duchess were also present. During the conversation after dinner, Churchill—one suspects with a certain amount of gleeful deliberation—introduced the topic of George IV’s mistress, Mrs. Maria Fitzherbert. Hearing this, the Duchess of York replied cautiously, “Well, that was a
long
time ago.”
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long
time ago.”
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Churchill did not notice the disapproving look on the Duchess’s face, for he next launched into a pointed conversation about the wars between the houses of Lancaster and York and the War of the Roses. The Duchess, with more determination in her voice, said strongly, “That was a very, very long time ago.”
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On July 16 the King participated in a military review at Hyde Park. Wallis sat in a special stand with Emerald and the Fitzgeralds; a royal box held Queen Mary and the two York princesses. As he reviewed the gathered members of the Guards regiments, he spoke movingly of the horrors of war and expressed his sincere sentiments that the world would never again engage in such devastating conflict. As the King, riding on his horse behind a contingent of guards, returned to Buckingham Palace, he passed Hyde Park Corner and beneath Wellington Arch. At just this moment, a man standing in the crowd raised a gun and aimed at the King. Before he could fire, however, a horse came between him and the King, and he threw the revolver; David saw what had happened and, keeping charge of his horse, yelled for the police to grab the would-be assassin. David, calm, continued his ride to the palace. There he learned that police had indeed apprehended the suspect, George McMahon, an Irishman living in Glasgow. After a trial, he was sentenced to twelve months in jail.
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On July 20, Wallis attended the Kemsleys’ ball at Chandos House; nearly all London society was present. Chips recorded that Wallis “was in a rage, as she had just received a letter from an MP signed by a well-known name, which she was clever enough not to reveal, in which he warned Mrs. Simpson against Lady Astor and her campaign. Wallis asked Honor [Chips’ wife] for her advice, and soon Honor had spilt the beans about Nancy Astor’s various attacks on me in regard to Wallis at the House of Commons. I fear that there may be a proper scandal and ‘bust up’ as Wallis will, and in fact, already has, told the King.”
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A week later, Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart noted: “Emerald told me ... that Lady Astor has been attacking Mrs. Simpson very violently—and by implication the King—in the House of Commons and elsewhere and that a Member of Parliament had written to Mrs. Simpson and Mrs. Simpson had shown the letter to the King.”
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The scandal was indeed growing and at times threatened to overwhelm society. As Michael Thornton points out, “By constantly appearing in public covered in costly jewels bought for her by the adoring King, Wallis Simpson proclaimed herself
maîtresse en titre
to society at large. It was on the grounds of vulgar display, rather than alleged immorality, that the criticism of her, and of him, was justified.”
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maîtresse en titre
to society at large. It was on the grounds of vulgar display, rather than alleged immorality, that the criticism of her, and of him, was justified.”
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On July 21 the King hosted his first garden party at Buckingham Palace, which he also managed to make into a formal court presentation of debutantes. Formerly, George V had held four presentation courts in May and June, and they were generally regarded as the highlight of the season. This year, however, George V’s death had pushed the courts into July, the end of the six-month mourning period. As a result, six hundred debutantes waited for their formal presentations at court.
Lord Cromer, the Lord Chamberlain, suggested to the King that he expedite the situation by holding two massive garden parties at Buckingham Palace and using them as an opportunity for presentations. A special dais had been erected in the garden to make the occasion more impressive: The King sat beneath the huge red-and-gold Shamiana canopy, used by his parents at the 1911 Delhi durbar in India.
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The Yorks, the Kents, and several other members of the Royal Family sat beside him, waiting to greet the debutantes; Wallis occupied a discreet seat near the rear of the pavilion.
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The Yorks, the Kents, and several other members of the Royal Family sat beside him, waiting to greet the debutantes; Wallis occupied a discreet seat near the rear of the pavilion.
Three hundred girls, all dressed in their summer finery, stood waiting in a long line which stretched around the lawns and back into the palace. As the Lord Chamberlain called out a name, the debutante stepped forward, curtsied to the King, and moved on. Throughout the ceremony, David appeared bored, tugging nervously at his collar and occasionally glancing down the line to see how many more girls waited. Unfortunately, midway through this ceremony, London’s notorious weather struck, and the skies opened up, pelting everyone with a violent rainstorm. David, sitting in his covered pavilion, was safe, but the debutantes were rapidly becoming drenched and their dresses ruined. Eventually, the King summoned the Lord Chamberlain to his throne and said, “We can’t let this go on.” Cromer agreed, and the remaining presentations were canceled.
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The following afternoon, the second garden-party presentation took place, but those debutantes who had not been presented the previous day were not asked to return. The Lord Chamberlain issued a statement that was carried in the
Times
the following morning: “Those ladies summoned to the afternoon’s reception who, owing to the interruption of the ceremony by the weather, were unable to pass the King’s presence, would be considered as having been officially presented at Court.”
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Many of the debutantes and their families were angry, and court officials quickly pointed out the occasion as another example of David’s inability to cope with the burdens of the throne. Indeed, David himself later admitted that he had made a mistake and underestimated the importance of the presentation. In retrospect, he said, he should have walked down the line of remaining debutantes and wished each girl well. But it was too late; his distaste for the ceremony had led him to seek the easiest way out, and the damage had been done.
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Times
the following morning: “Those ladies summoned to the afternoon’s reception who, owing to the interruption of the ceremony by the weather, were unable to pass the King’s presence, would be considered as having been officially presented at Court.”
51
Many of the debutantes and their families were angry, and court officials quickly pointed out the occasion as another example of David’s inability to cope with the burdens of the throne. Indeed, David himself later admitted that he had made a mistake and underestimated the importance of the presentation. In retrospect, he said, he should have walked down the line of remaining debutantes and wished each girl well. But it was too late; his distaste for the ceremony had led him to seek the easiest way out, and the damage had been done.
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As the summer wore on, so did the preparations for the Simpson divorce. Although both Wallis and Ernest wished to divorce, according to British law such desire was not itself sufficient to dissolve a marriage. Nor was the wish of one party to marry another a circumstance which was regarded in divorce cases as collusion. The only circumstances in which divorces were ordinarily permitted were those where the petitioner—in this case Wallis—could show that the respondent had grievously damaged the marriage through improper conduct. In short, Ernest had to agree to accept total blame for the failure of the marriage and provide evidence sufficient to the court to prove his wife’s claim. Thus, Ernest agreed to go through a ludicrous charade in which he would theatrically flaunt his adultery with another woman in order to provide Wallis with a motive to seek a divorce.
On July 21 he booked himself into the Hotel de Paris at Bray under the name Ernest A. Simmons. He was accompanied by a lady who gave her name as “Buttercup” Kennedy. They took breakfast in bed together the following morning and were thus observed by the hotel staff. This was all the evidence needed for Wallis to begin proceedings, and she had in fact hired a detective to follow them. It cannot have been an accident that this was done, and one can only assume that she must have known what was to take place. Within a day, Wallis wrote a letter to Ernest informing him that she knew he had been at the hotel with a lady other than herself and that she was beginning proceedings to end their marriage.
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The Nahlin Cruise
I
N THE SUMMER OF
1936, King Edward VIII once again left England to take his holiday on the European continent. There was a great deal of criticism over this decision. For twenty-five years, his father, George V, had followed a careful schedule of summer engagements and migrations and had never felt the need to go abroad for the holidays. Yachting at Cowes on the Isle of Wight was followed by stays at Windsor Castle and Holyrood House in Edinburgh and then an extended vacation at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. To many members of the court, Edward VIII’s European holiday was clearly another example of his disregard for tradition and determination to do exactly as he pleased. They conveniently forgot that the King’s grandfather, Edward VII, as well as his great-grandmother Queen Victoria had both regularly taken holidays in Europe.
N THE SUMMER OF
1936, King Edward VIII once again left England to take his holiday on the European continent. There was a great deal of criticism over this decision. For twenty-five years, his father, George V, had followed a careful schedule of summer engagements and migrations and had never felt the need to go abroad for the holidays. Yachting at Cowes on the Isle of Wight was followed by stays at Windsor Castle and Holyrood House in Edinburgh and then an extended vacation at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. To many members of the court, Edward VIII’s European holiday was clearly another example of his disregard for tradition and determination to do exactly as he pleased. They conveniently forgot that the King’s grandfather, Edward VII, as well as his great-grandmother Queen Victoria had both regularly taken holidays in Europe.
Originally, David had wished to rent a villa in Cannes, but complications arose. In France, the Laval government had collapsed, and now the left-wing Léon Blum was premier; certain elements in the British government feared that if the King summered in France, radical left-wingers close to Blum might attempt an assassination of the monarch.
Instead, David decided to charter a yacht and cruise along the Dalmatian coast, through the Bosporus and the Greek Isles. He had wished to embark on the voyage from Venice; but this news sent members of the Foreign Office into a frenzy. Mussolini had recently invaded Abyssinia, and his intervention in the Spanish Civil War caused much unease among members of the British government. The Foreign Office eventually insisted that the King avoid Italy altogether, and reluctantly he agreed.
From Calais, Wallis and the King took a private car coupled to the Orient Express through Austria to Yugoslavia. Here they were met at the frontier by Prince Paul of Yugoslavia and took tea with him and his wife, Princess Olga, sister of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent.
A crowd of some twenty thousand people, dressed in their colorful native costumes, waited in the Dalmatian port of Sibenik to see the royal group off at the pier. Here, where there had been no news blackout over the King’s romance, there was great curiosity over Wallis. As she strolled down the pier, she felt the inquisitive eyes of the gathered thousands upon her.
The King had the old royal yacht
Victoria and Albert
at his disposal, but for this voyage he decided that a more modern ship was in order. He had chartered a 1,391-ton yacht called the
Nahlin
, a 250-foot-long shining white beauty crowned with two tall masts and a low white funnel. Large awnings sheltered the teak decks, which were scattered with wicker chairs and tables; below were eight main staterooms, each with its own bathroom.
1
Everywhere the yacht went, it was shadowed by an escort of two British destroyers, HMS
Grafton
and HMS
Glowworm,
whose presence ensured that the voyage would not remain a secret.
Victoria and Albert
at his disposal, but for this voyage he decided that a more modern ship was in order. He had chartered a 1,391-ton yacht called the
Nahlin
, a 250-foot-long shining white beauty crowned with two tall masts and a low white funnel. Large awnings sheltered the teak decks, which were scattered with wicker chairs and tables; below were eight main staterooms, each with its own bathroom.
1
Everywhere the yacht went, it was shadowed by an escort of two British destroyers, HMS
Grafton
and HMS
Glowworm,
whose presence ensured that the voyage would not remain a secret.
A number of friends joined David and Wallis on the cruise. This group included Herman and Katherine Rogers; Duff and Lady Diana Cooper, Lord Sefton; Mrs. Josephine Gwynne (an American friend of Wallis’s); Helen Fitzgerald; Colin and Gladys Buist; the Duke of Kent’s equerry, Humphrey Butler, and his wife; the King’s favorite golf partner, Archie Compston; John Aird, the King’s equerry; and the King’s two assistant private secretaries, Godfrey Thomas and Tommy Lascelles.
2
Lady Cunard and Lord and Lady Brownlow later joined the yachting party as well.
2
Lady Cunard and Lord and Lady Brownlow later joined the yachting party as well.
For a month, the yacht cruised up and down the coast; occasionally, it steamed into a deserted cove, and David, Wallis, and others would take a launch or paddle boat ashore, where they would swim and picnic on the beaches. There were also frequent visits ashore to small coastal towns where Wallis and David dined in sidewalk cafes and haunted the local shops for souvenirs.
Lady Diana Cooper recalled one of these visits on shore: “The King walks a little ahead talking to the Consul or Mayor, and we follow, adoring it. He waves his hand half-saluting. He is utterly himself and unselfconscious. That I think is the reason why he does some things (that he likes) superlatively well. He does not
act.
In the middle of the procession he stopped for a good two minutes to tie his shoes. There was a knot and it took time. We were all left staring at his behind. You or I would have risen above the lace, wouldn’t we, until the procession was over? But it did not occur to him to wait, and so the people said: ‘Isn’t he human! Isn’t he natural! He stopped to do up his shoe like any of us!’ “
3
act.
In the middle of the procession he stopped for a good two minutes to tie his shoes. There was a knot and it took time. We were all left staring at his behind. You or I would have risen above the lace, wouldn’t we, until the procession was over? But it did not occur to him to wait, and so the people said: ‘Isn’t he human! Isn’t he natural! He stopped to do up his shoe like any of us!’ “
3
In Corfu, Wallis and David dined with King George II of the Hellenes, only recently restored to the Greek throne after a forced exile. Also present was the King’s mistress, Mrs. Britten-Jones, an Englishwoman who had just been divorced from her husband. This peculiar situation, with the two cousins who reigned over their respective countries sitting side by side with their respective mistresses, did not go unreported, and news of the luncheon caused a riot of gossip among London society.
The group spent a day visiting different sights on Corfu. The group toured Mon Repos, the royal villa which Queen Olga had copied from one where she had spent her summers in Russia at the imperial estate of Alexandra, Peterhof. There was also a visit to the empty white marble palace originally built by Empress Elizabeth of Austria and last inhabited by Kaiser Wilhelm II. They found the iron gates locked, and David happily climbed atop them and broke the lock so that his group could explore the gardens.
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4
They returned to the yacht at the end of a long day. Lady Diana Cooper, who was unwell and suffering from a violent bout of flu, recalled that a chair was accidentally placed atop the hem of Wallis’s gown, ripping it. David got down on his hands and knees to pull it clear, but Wallis seemed more irritated at the loss of the dress than pleased at the display of gallantry. She had not particularly enjoyed her day and began to complain of the way in which David had treated Mrs. Britten-Jones, perhaps overly sensitive about her paramour’s behavior toward another royal mistress.
5
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By this point, Diana was rapidly becoming disenchanted with both her own ill health and the trip itself. Something of her disillusion is reflected in the cutting comments she made about the King’s mistress. She reported: “Wallis is wearing very, very badly. Her commonness and Becky Sharpishness irritate.... The truth is she’s bored stiff by him, and her picking on him and her coldness towards him, far from policy, are irritation and boredom.”
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Many years later, when asked to reflect on the cruise, Diana declared: “I have constantly been asked if I thought they went to bed together on the
Nahlin
and so on. I tell them all, ‘I haven’t the least idea. How should I know?’ Though I’m perfectly sure they did.”
7
Nahlin
and so on. I tell them all, ‘I haven’t the least idea. How should I know?’ Though I’m perfectly sure they did.”
7
One memorable evening, as the
Nahlin
lay anchored off the small fishing village of Cetinje, Wallis and David stood on deck, watching the sun set. Suddenly, hundreds of people appeared along the shore and climbed down the winding hillside paths leading to the beach, all carrying flaming torches. As they stood silhouetted against the night sky, they sang folk songs to the distant yacht, the sounds of their voices floating over the quiet waters. David assured Wallis, “It’s all for you—because these simple people believe a King is in love with you.”
8
Nahlin
lay anchored off the small fishing village of Cetinje, Wallis and David stood on deck, watching the sun set. Suddenly, hundreds of people appeared along the shore and climbed down the winding hillside paths leading to the beach, all carrying flaming torches. As they stood silhouetted against the night sky, they sang folk songs to the distant yacht, the sounds of their voices floating over the quiet waters. David assured Wallis, “It’s all for you—because these simple people believe a King is in love with you.”
8
At the request of the Foreign Office in London, the royal party made its way to Istanbul. Britain had recently concluded a commercial trade agreement with Turkey, and the government was anxious to reinforce its willingness to forge stronger ties with the dictator there, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Atatürk treated Wallis as if she were a queen, seating her beside David during a celebratory parade and, later, at a magnificent state dinner. As evening fell, Atatürk ordered hundreds of small boats, covered with flickering lights which sparkled as they bobbed in the waters, into the harbor.
The royal party returned by train through Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and on to Vienna. Here they visited old friends, stayed at their favorite hotel, the Bristol, attended a performance of Wagner’s
Götterdämmerung
in the company of Winifred Wagner, the composer’s daughter-in-law, and dined at the famous Three Hussars Restaurant. Society hostess Elsa Maxwell happened to be in the lobby of the Bristol when the royal party arrived. She recalled: “The clicking of heels by the manager and his staff sounded like castanets and a crew of porters scurried through the door with mountains of luggage. Then the King’s entourage entered, led by a small, beautifully dressed woman. Her sullen expression and the purposeful way she walked gave me the impression that she would brush aside anyone who had the temerity to get in her path. I took a second, startled look at her when I saw the King following a few paces behind. I had never seen Mrs. Simpson, but from pictures of her it was no feat of deduction to guess her identity.”
9
Götterdämmerung
in the company of Winifred Wagner, the composer’s daughter-in-law, and dined at the famous Three Hussars Restaurant. Society hostess Elsa Maxwell happened to be in the lobby of the Bristol when the royal party arrived. She recalled: “The clicking of heels by the manager and his staff sounded like castanets and a crew of porters scurried through the door with mountains of luggage. Then the King’s entourage entered, led by a small, beautifully dressed woman. Her sullen expression and the purposeful way she walked gave me the impression that she would brush aside anyone who had the temerity to get in her path. I took a second, startled look at her when I saw the King following a few paces behind. I had never seen Mrs. Simpson, but from pictures of her it was no feat of deduction to guess her identity.”
9
After a short visit to Zurich, the King returned to London; Wallis went on to Paris to spend a few days alone. It was then that she began to learn just how much controversy her recent holiday with David had caused. This should scarcely have come as a surprise, given the very public manner in which David and Wallis had conducted themselves; they seemed oblivious of the crowds of curious onlookers and hordes of photographers that followed them around from place to place. Naively, they assumed that they would be left alone. Now no one could seemingly hear enough about this extraordinary voyage, which Michael Thornton has called “the most bizarre royal odyssey since the Prince Regent’s wife, Caroline of Brunswick, cavorted through Europe with her Italian chamberlain, Bartolomeo Bergami.”
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The reaction in English society was decidedly unfavorable. Osbert Sitwell, a typical aristocrat with strong anti-American views, wrote disparagingly of those who had accompanied the King on the cruise: “They were, for the most part, a wise-cracking team of smartish, middle-aged, semi-millionaire Americans, with the usual interchangeable names and over-life-size faces, customarily to be seen in bars and in hotels in Paris and the South of France—the rootless spawn of New York, Cracow, Antwerp, and the Mile End Road, with loud voices, never a doubt except of their own position and continual loud laughs bottled in alcohol and always on tap.”
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Sitwell, however—in common with a great many like-minded critics—seemed to have conveniently ignored the fact that more than half of the guests were, like himself, members of the English aristocracy.
11
Sitwell, however—in common with a great many like-minded critics—seemed to have conveniently ignored the fact that more than half of the guests were, like himself, members of the English aristocracy.
The only mention made in the British press came in the London weekly magazine
Cavalcade,
which printed a front-page picture of the King, with Wallis, and captioned it: “The Duke of Lancaster and a Guest.”
12
All American magazines and newspapers shipped to Britain had any references snipped by censors. But now, in Paris, Wallis read for the first time mail forwarded from her friends and family in the United States which informed her of the press she and the cruise were receiving in American newspapers. She was shocked; when she informed David, however, he assured her that the British press had agreed to maintain their silence.
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Cavalcade,
which printed a front-page picture of the King, with Wallis, and captioned it: “The Duke of Lancaster and a Guest.”
12
All American magazines and newspapers shipped to Britain had any references snipped by censors. But now, in Paris, Wallis read for the first time mail forwarded from her friends and family in the United States which informed her of the press she and the cruise were receiving in American newspapers. She was shocked; when she informed David, however, he assured her that the British press had agreed to maintain their silence.
13
The
Nahlin
cruise, which Wallis had hoped would be a time for private romance, had instead turned into something of a string of strained appearances, culminating in the barrage of press attention around the world. Although her memoirs do not mention the fact, Wallis—weary of living her life in the public eye and fearful that she was damaging David’s position on the throne—now tried to sever her relationship with David. Ernest was living with Mary Kirk, and divorce proceedings had begun, but she believed that if she told him that the only way in which to save the monarchy was to return to her, he would comply and agree. With this thought in mind, she awoke from the dream into which she had happily allowed herself to sink and faced what could only be the unpleasant reality of her situation. Now she only wanted to escape her royal entanglement.
Nahlin
cruise, which Wallis had hoped would be a time for private romance, had instead turned into something of a string of strained appearances, culminating in the barrage of press attention around the world. Although her memoirs do not mention the fact, Wallis—weary of living her life in the public eye and fearful that she was damaging David’s position on the throne—now tried to sever her relationship with David. Ernest was living with Mary Kirk, and divorce proceedings had begun, but she believed that if she told him that the only way in which to save the monarchy was to return to her, he would comply and agree. With this thought in mind, she awoke from the dream into which she had happily allowed herself to sink and faced what could only be the unpleasant reality of her situation. Now she only wanted to escape her royal entanglement.
From the Hotel Meurice in Paris, she wrote what was intended to be a farewell letter to David: “I must really return to Ernest.... We are so awfully congenial and understand getting on together
very
well.... I know Ernest and have the deepest affection and respect for him. I feel I am better with him than with you—and so you must understand. I am sure dear David that in a few months your life will run again as it did before and without my nagging.... I am sure you and I would only create disaster together. I shall always read all about you ... and you will know I want you to be happy. I feel sure I can’t make you so and I honestly don’t think you can me.”
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very
well.... I know Ernest and have the deepest affection and respect for him. I feel I am better with him than with you—and so you must understand. I am sure dear David that in a few months your life will run again as it did before and without my nagging.... I am sure you and I would only create disaster together. I shall always read all about you ... and you will know I want you to be happy. I feel sure I can’t make you so and I honestly don’t think you can me.”
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But David refused to listen to Wallis. He pleaded with her, begged her not to give him up. She was too fond of him to hurt him by pressing her case. Things were moving too quickly for her, and she found herself dazzled by rapidly moving circumstances. Years later, she would tell author Gore Vidal: “I never wanted to get married. This was all
his
idea. They act as if I were some sort of idiot, not knowing the rules about who can be queen and who can’t. But he insisted.”
15
his
idea. They act as if I were some sort of idiot, not knowing the rules about who can be queen and who can’t. But he insisted.”
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