#Duke of Windsor

[newyorkthegoldenage]

The Duke of Windsor was staying at the Waldorf Astoria on February 6, 1952, when word came that his brother, King George VI, had died. The hotel lowered the American and British flags to half-staff in the late king's honor.

Photo: Anthony Camerano for the AP

[darlinggeorgiedear]

King Edward Vii, George V, Edward Viii, and George Vi matching in Scotland.

[petermorwood]

That aged less than well.

I picked up a few common-subject books (The 1936 Abdication of Edward VIII, and what came after) from the library a couple of weeks back, and after reading several non-fictions, started on the single example of fiction.

It's "To Catch A King", a thriller by Jack "The Eagle Has Landed" Higgins, and Hoo-Boy, the opening made me roll my eyes:

The Higgins novel was first published in 1979.

The non-fiction books all came out much later.

"Much later" meant post-Charles / Diana / Camilla / Andy / Fergie / Harry / Meghan etc, and thus also meant "Much Less Deferential".

They used research material unavailable* when Higgins wrote his novel.

* That said, every single non-fiction writer commented about how many documents were Not Yet Available, or Lost, or Withheld, or Heavily Redacted, etcetera, etcetera.

Even without that excuse there's an unsavoury brown-nosing feel about the novel which seems very un-Higgins.

IMO, of course, and YMMV.

By contrast, one of the non-fiction books - this one by Andrew Lownie - was entitled "Traitor King". Make of that what you will.

Considering what came from the documents which WERE available, and wondering what might be in the ones kept out of reach - also WHY they're so out of reach - leaves me thinking there's a lot of "no smoke without fire" about the Duke of Windsor's doings before and during WW2.

And terms like "credit", "gallant", "honourable", even "gentleman" may be at best less than accurate, at worst completely false.

The show will, no doubt, go on.

Right now I'm turning attention to some novels from my TBR pile - including at long last a few "Redwall" titles - because after that other lot, fiction has a less dodgy flavour...

[catherinetheprincessofwales]

The Prince and Princess of Wales wearing blazers with the ‘Prince of Wales Check’ pattern, September 2023.

Originally called the Glenurquhart check, it was used by the Countess of Seafield to fit out her gamekeepers. It was popularised in the 1920s when it was worn by the then Prince of Wales (later the Duke of Windsor).

[queenalexandraofdenmark]

❤ Queen Alexandra with her grandchildren ❤

Edit made by me using CapCut!

[voxsart]

The Infamous Windsors.

1937.

[davbertieloml]

King George V and The Prince of Wales, 13 March 1914

On this day in 1936, King George V died at Sandringham House aged 70.

His eldest son, Edward, then ascended the throne to become Edward VIII and reigned for 326 days, making him the shortest reigning British Monarch to date. He abdicated on 10 December of the same year and was succeeded by his younger brother Prince Albert, Duke of York, who took the reign name George VI.

[ladygoehnio]

Prince Edward of Wales and his father, King George V taken in Buckingham Palace, 1914.

[collarsncrowns]

The Duke of York (later King George V) with his first child, Prince Edward (later King Edward VIII).

Photographs ranging from 1894-1898

[thesixthduke]

[royal-confessions]

“Really shocking when you realise that Mary of teck lost 3 children AND her husband. And even more shocking when you realise The Duke of Windsor was the oldest and last remaining child, outliving all of his siblings.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[spiritundaunted]

“It is terrifying to think how little I learned at Oxford. I suppose because I never wanted to go there – my heart was in travel. I was no longer hankering for the Navy, but had this desire for travel. My next brother, now King George VI, was in the Navy and by that time he had gone to sea and was making trips around the world. That irritated me very much because I wanted to be traveling too. I couldn’t think why he should be so lucky to do these things and not me.”

- The Duke of Windsor, reflecting on his time at Oxford.

- from Once a King: the Lost Memoir of Edward VIII, by Jane Marguerite Tippett

[darlinggeorgiedear]

[grandmaster-anne]

1913  The Royal Family at Buckingham Palace: King George V, Princess Mary, Prince Edward, and Queen Mary by John Lavery © National Portrait Gallery, London

[catherinetheprincessofwales]

When Charles met the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in Paris.

“I drove up with no small degree of anticipation as to what I would find in the Bois de Boulogne and upon entering the house I found footmen and pages wearing identical scarlet and black uniforms to the ones ours wear at home. It was rather pathetic seeing that.”

“The Duchess appeared from among a host of the most dreadful American guests I have ever seen. The look of incredulity on their faces was a study and most of them were thoroughly tight.”

The Duke was on “very good form, although rather bent and using a stick.” Wallis “kept flitting to and fro like a strange bat. Wallis obviously has her face lifted every day and therefore can't really speak without clenching her teeth all the time.”

“Uncle David then talked about how difficult my family had made it for him for the past 33 years... I asked him frankly if he would like to return to England for the last years of his life, and he hesitated to ask Wallis if he should give me "the works".”

“It sounded as though he would have liked to return, but he felt no one would recognise him.”

“I assured him that would not be the case. On the other hand most of his contemporary friends are dead and there may be very little point to coming back.”

“The whole thing seemed so tragic - the existence, the people and the atmosphere - that I was relieved to escape it after 45 minutes and drive round Paris by night.”

October 1970 diary entries of Prince Charles.

[queenalexandraofdenmark]

Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna giving Prince David(Edward VIII) a piggyback ride 🥺🫶