The Duke and Duchess of Windsor meeting Adolf Hitler in Germany, 1937
I. Views concerning Mrs. Simpson (1930s):
"Reactions to her differed markedly. King George had had strong views about Mrs Simpson and was furious when David [1] introduced her at Buckingham Palace. Chips Channon, upon meeting her at Emerald Cunard's in the January before the King died, wrote 'she is a nice, quiet, well-bred mouse of a woman with large startled eyes and a huge mole. I think she is surprised and rather conscience-stricken by her present position and the limelight which consequently falls upon her.' Cecil Beaton's first impressions were less flattering. Writing in November, 1936, when Mrs Simpson was the talk of the town, he recalled 'the great brawny cow or bullock in sapphic blue velvet' whom he had first met at the beginning of the decade: 'To hear her speak was enough. Her voice was raucous and appalling. I thought her awful, common, vulgar, strident, a second-rate American with no charm.'"
[1] Edward, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and the Duke of Windsor following his abdication), was called David by his family.
Emerald Cunard, nee Maude Alice Burke (1872-1948), American-born, British-naturalized grand society hostess (according to The Times, "the most lavish in her day"), wife of Sir Bache Cunard, founder of the Cunard Shipping Lines, mother of writer and muse Nancy Cunard, and supporter of Mrs. Simpson, it was Lady Cunard's great hope to be appointed as Mistress of the Robes, the Senior Lady in the British Royal Household in the event Mrs. Simpson became Queen to Edward VIII.
Sir Henry "Chips" Channon (1897-1958), American-born, naturalized British citizen and politician, friend and supporter of King Edward VIII. Regarding the expurgated version of his diaries (the unredacted manuscripts are held in the British Museum and their contents cannot be published until after 2018), Malcolm Muggeridge wrote in The Observer: "Grovellingly sycophantic and snobbish as only a well-heeled American nesting among the English upper classes can be, with a commonness that positively hurts at times. And yet – how sharp an eye! What neat malice! How, in their own fashion, well written and truthful and honest they are! … What a relief to turn to him after Sir Winston's windy rhetoric, and all those leaden narratives by field-marshals, air-marshals and admirals!" Nancy Mitford observed: "You can't think how vile & spiteful & silly it is. One always thought Chips was rather a dear, but he was black inside; how sinister!"
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (1904-80), English fashion and portrait photographer, interior designer and stage and costume designer for theater and film.
II. Behavior of Edward, the Prince of Wales, upon the death of his youngest brother, Prince John of the United Kingdom (1905-19), following an attack of epilepsy.
"For both parents [1], the death was 'the greatest mercy possible', yet May was hurt by her older son's cold attitude toward his brother and his death. When he heard how he had hurt her, David did write to apologise, explaining, 'no one can realise more than you how little poor Johnnie meant to me who hardly knew him.' At least the poor child had one brother who cared about him." [2]
[1] King George V and Queen Mary (known to her family as May).
[2] This refers to Prince George (later the Duke of Kent).
Prince John of the United Kingdom (1904-19) photographed in 1913.
The Duke of Windsor reviewing SS troops, Germany, 1937.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor being entertained at the White House, Washington, D.C., 1970, with President Richard M. Nixon.
Reader Note: Text in I and II above excerpted from: Sophia Watson, Marina: The Story of a Princess. London, Weidenfield & Nicholson, 1994.
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