Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Elizabeth Wallis WARFIELD
Duchess of Windsor; born on June 19, 1896, in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, as Bessie Wallis Warfield. Although she was the offspring of two of America’s most prominent families, she grew up virtually penniless with her mother, Alice Warfield (nee Montague), after her father, Teackle Wallis Warfield, died of tuberculosis. The small family lived with Teackle’s conservative mother, and Bessie depended on the charity of her uncle "Sol" Warfield, president of the Seaboard Air Line Railway, for everything from her clothing to her education. When she went off to boarding school in 1912, she dropped the "Bessie" from her name, claiming that "so many cows are named Bessie". As a schoolgirl, she had already begun to develop her signature image-consciousness.
Warfield attracted many suitors, despite her lack of money, and on November 8, 1916, she married Lt. Earl Winfield Spencer, a dashing young aviator. However, the honeymoon was barely over when she discovered that her new husband was an alcoholic, who became so jealous that he would tie her to the bed when he left the house. In 1921, Warfield separated from Spencer and moved to Washington, D.C., to start a new life. She embarked on a string of love affairs and spent a year living the high life in Peking, China, before returning to the United States to finalize her divorce in 1927.
In 1928, Warfield was again in trouble financially, when she met Ernest Aldrich Simpson - a respectable and dependable man who worked for his father’s shipping brokerage. The two promptly married and moved to London, where the new Mrs. Simpson rapidly worked her way into the center of its lively social scene. She hosted many parties and was said to have, "the charm of a controlled, sophisticated woman, quick to sympathize and quick to understand the problems of others."
In June of 1931, Wallis Simpson was presented at court. She and Mr. Simpson first met Prince Edward of Wales at a party later that evening, and by 1932, they were regular guests at Fort Belvedere, his weekend retreat. Mrs. Simpson immediately forged a strong friendship with the Prince, known to his friends as "David," and spent almost every evening in his company. She eventually became the unofficial mistress of Fort Belvedere - redecorating the house, planning the daily dinner menus, and looking after David’s pets. Simpson claimed that her relationship with the Prince was strictly platonic during her marriage; however, they most likely became lovers sometime in 1934.
The Prince and Wallis Simpson’s relationship seemed mutually beneficial: Simpson reveled in her newfound social status, and the Prince felt freed from Buckingham’s repressive atmosphere in the presence of his energetic and forthright American companion. However, many acquaintances disapproved of the pair, claiming that Simpson was a dominatrix who had taken the weak-willed prince under her spell. Their decision to marry in 1935 met several major obstacles, namely the Church of England’s opposition to divorce and the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which forbade members of the royal family to marry without the consent of Parliament and the current monarch. Fewer obstacles presented themselves on Simpson’s side; Ernest would grant a divorce if the Prince promised to marry and remain faithful to her.
On January 20, 1936, King George V died, and David became King Edward VIII—bringing his relationship with Simpson to a whole new level of scrutiny and criticism. Although he immediately gained popularity with the working public, those who worked closely with him were shocked by his casual attitude toward his office, shirking important duties to spend more time with Simpson. Edward still insisted on marrying Simpson despite the monarchy’s growing distaste for her. The royal family finally issued a warning that if Edward VIII married the American divorcee without their consent, he would be forced to abdicate the throne.
On December 11, 1936, Edward VIII officially abdicated the throne of the King of Wales, proclaiming to the people of Britain, "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love." Edward and Simpson had to remain apart until her divorce was legal, and on June 3, 1937, they were finally married just outside of Tours, France, in a small, quiet ceremony devoid of a single member of the royal family.
After the marriage, the British royal family bestowed the now estranged Edward with the title, His Royal Highness, Duke of Windsor, but to further emphasize their bitter disapproval of Wallis, they withheld the title of "Royal Highness" from his duchess. Freed from any serious political agenda, the Windsors entertained themselves with frequent shopping and endless partying. They made a home in Paris, but also kept a grand and elaborate mansion, later known as the Windsor Villa, in the Bois de Bologne. The Duchess took housekeeping seriously and at one time had a staff of eighteen servants. She also took great pride in her clothing, jewelry, and overall appearance. Wearing dresses by the top European designers and having her hair coifed several times a day, she quickly proved that she did not need the title "Royal Highness" in order to play the part and live the life.
For the most part, the lustrous couple basked in the rays of privilege and stayed out of the political spotlight. They did, however, make a trip to Nazi Germany in October 1937, which gave them an unfavorable reputation as supporters of Hitler. The former King’s reputation further diminished when he requested a “real” war job at the outbreak of World War II, then shortly after relinquished his post to take up residence with Wallis in Cannes. While taking refuge from Nazi forces in Lisbon in 1940, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor received word that the King had appointed Edward to be Governor and Commander of Chief of the Bahama Islands. Although the post was considered a relatively unimportant job for a member of the royal family, Edward and Wallis were pleased.
Although there were rumors that the two did not enjoy the life in their lonely outpost, divorced from their swinging social set, the former Duke and Duchess contested. One reporter wrote after an interview with Wallis in her Bahamas home, "completely well-gowned, completely gracious, completely composed..At dinner she talks well and constantly..Her most ardent admirers say she is so honest she will say first what she thinks, even if on second thought she has to regret it." Wallis never gained acceptance by the royal family until after the Duke’s death in 1972, when Queen Elizabeth II invited her to stay at Buckingham Palace. She spent the next fourteen years living alone in Paris in poor health until her death on April 24, 1986. Although she was called in 1936, "the most romantic figure of all times," she later confessed to a friend, "You have no idea how hard it is to live out a great romance."
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