Read The Duchess Of Windsor Online
Authors: Greg King
The Duchess Of Windsor (62 page)
The Windsors were very fond of Grattidge, and he, in turn, found the Duke and Duchess thoughtful and polite. One day, when the Windsors were sitting on the sun deck reading, the captain approached with a question. David was so engrossed in his book that he did not see Grattidge. ” ‘Dear,‘ said the Duchess, touching him gently on the arm. ‘Dear . . .‘ That is typical of the Duchess of Windsor, as I found her. She never raises her voice, never intrudes her personality. Few women better convey the impression of a loyal and unobtrusive wife.”
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The Windsors’ closest American friends were Robert and Anita Young, whom they often visited at their Newport, Rhode Island, cottage, Fairholme, perched along the famous Cliff Walk on the edge of the Atlantic. As a favor to their friends, the Windsors were the guests of honor at the grand April 17, 1948 reopening of Young’s Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia; ironically, both the Duke and Duchess had stayed at the resort before, David during one of his tours of America as Prince of Wales and Wallis on her honeymoon with Win Spencer. When the Windsors arrived, they joined the Youngs and fellow guests Prince and Princess Hohenlohe; Lady Hartington, the former Kathleen Kennedy; the Anthony Biddle Dukes; the Winston Guests; Bing Crosby; and William Randolph Hearst.
20
The guests dined on turtle soup, stuffed lemon sole with Maine lobster, grilled filet mignon, and baked Alaska for dessert.
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The guests dined on turtle soup, stuffed lemon sole with Maine lobster, grilled filet mignon, and baked Alaska for dessert.
21
“They were always very gracious, very charming, and utterly themselves,” recalls a fellow guest. “I never saw anything other than love and affection between them, and they seemed genuinely in love. You can act all you want, but the little gestures—the look in his eye when she was across the room, the way she took his arm and led him to meet someone important—those things were natural. When they danced with the other guests, they were always looking around, making sure that the other was having a good time as well.”
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The Duke and Duchess enjoyed their time at the Greenbrier. Thereafter they would often come in the spring on their annual holiday, staying in the Presidential Suite, an immense wing which included a living room, study, library, office, dining room, service kitchen, seven bedrooms, and seven bathrooms. Wallis and David made a point of competing in the annual Anniversary Ball’s Viennese waltz contest, much to the delight of the other couples.
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Also that month, the Windsors accepted an invitation from Joseph E. Davies, the former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, and his wife, heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, to join them aboard their luxurious yacht for a Caribbean cruise. Wallis enthusiastically wrote that she and her husband “have never had such a thrilling invitation! I can’t think of anything the Duke and myself would rather do than have a trip with you and Mr. Davies on the
Sea Cloud
. Nassau, of course, would be charming, but we must be frank and say we are tempted by your suggestion of Cuba as we have never been there.”
24
Sea Cloud
. Nassau, of course, would be charming, but we must be frank and say we are tempted by your suggestion of Cuba as we have never been there.”
24
Wallis liked Marjorie Post; both were strong, stylish women with an eye for collecting beautiful antiques and decorating their lavish homes exquisitely. Once, in New York, the Duchess was having lunch at the Louis XVI Restaurant and spotted Marjorie Post at a table with her granddaughter, Marjorie Durant, who had recently been involved in something of a disgrace and had been taken out of her grandmother’s will. Wallis came over and joined the two for coffee. “She asks me a few questions,” recalled Durant, “and I start telling her about myself—about school, about swimming. When I go to the ladies’ room she tells my grandmother what a wonderful wholesome girl I am, how fresh and American, how she wished she had a young relative like me. I don’t know whether my grandmother had told her about the trouble I was giving then, but whether she did or not, she got back nothing but compliments for me. And do you know what? That coffee chat saved my god-damned neck. The Duchess turned my grandmother around. I was back in with Grandma, I was back in the will—everything.”
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These new friendships helped replace the loss of others. In May 1949, Wallis’s closest friend, Katherine Rogers, died. A year later, Herman Rogers married Lucy Wann, widow of Air Vice Marshal Archie Wann. Their wedding took place at Cannes, and the Duke and Duchess acted as witnesses. Wallis was not particularly enamored of the new wife at first and missed her old friend. But when invited on the honeymoon yacht trip, she warmed to Lucy and chatted amiably with her.
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A year later, on May 29, 1950, Wallis’s first husband, Win Spencer, died in San Diego at the age of sixty-one. His career in the U.S. Navy had not progressed as far as he had wished, and he died a commander, retired. He left a fourth wife, Lillian Phillips Spencer, and a history of tangled, violent relationships.
At least one important friendship had resumed: that of the Duke and Duchess with the Metcalfes. Throughout the war, Wallis had continued to write to Lady Alexandra: “Our Men have fallen out but that doesn’t mean that we have to as well,” she said in one letter. But Lady Alexandra left her letters unanswered, uncertain what to do or say and more than a little angry at the way her husband had been treated in France by the Duke. The Duke himself had written during the war, and Fruity, according to his son David, “had wished to answer, but my mother felt rather strongly about it and put her foot down.” Then, one day, Walter Monckton, on the Duke’s behalf, asked Fruity Metcalfe to come to London; David was visiting his mother at Marlborough House and had expressed some regret to Monckton over the breach with Metcalfe, saying that he wished they could meet. When Fruity walked into the drawing room at Marlborough House, he found the Duke of Windsor standing there. David held out his arms and simply said, “Fruity!” and the two men embraced. Without any apology, the rift was over.
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The void in the lives of the Duke and Duchess became glaringly apparent with the end of the war. David might have stepped in and performed some useful function in England had his family relented in their campaign against him and the Duchess. But the years following the war proved just as damaging to the already fragile relations between the Windsors and the Royal Family.
The Windsors had spent the spring of 1947 in America; on May 10, however, they sailed back to Europe aboard the
Queen Elizabeth
so that the Duke would be able to attend his mother’s eightieth birthday celebrations on the twenty-sixth. When they arrived in London, however, David was deeply hurt to discover that neither he nor Wallis had been invited; when he rang to ask why, he was bluntly informed that neither he nor his wife would be welcome at the official functions. David paid a private visit to his mother at Marlborough House, but although both he and Wallis were still in London on Queen Mary’s birthday, no invitations to the Buckingham Palace luncheon were forthcoming.
Queen Elizabeth
so that the Duke would be able to attend his mother’s eightieth birthday celebrations on the twenty-sixth. When they arrived in London, however, David was deeply hurt to discover that neither he nor Wallis had been invited; when he rang to ask why, he was bluntly informed that neither he nor his wife would be welcome at the official functions. David paid a private visit to his mother at Marlborough House, but although both he and Wallis were still in London on Queen Mary’s birthday, no invitations to the Buckingham Palace luncheon were forthcoming.
On July 9, 1947, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Princess Elizabeth to Lt. Philip Mountbatten, son of Prince and Princess Andrew of Greece. The wedding was set for November. The Duke made it plain that he would not attend without the Duchess. “His attitude is proper, and will be shared by many people,” editorialized the
London Evening Standard
, “for any such discrimination against the Duchess would be outrageous. What has the Duchess done that she should be held up to ridicule in this way? As the wife of the bride’s uncle, if for no other reason, the Duchess should be accorded the dignity of an invitation to her niece’s marriage.”
28
In fact, there was never any question as to the Duke’s receiving an invitation. Queen Elizabeth flatly declared that she would not attend her own daughter’s wedding if he came.
29
On October 13, David’s secretary announced to the press that neither the Duke nor the Duchess had received any invitation to the forthcoming wedding.
London Evening Standard
, “for any such discrimination against the Duchess would be outrageous. What has the Duchess done that she should be held up to ridicule in this way? As the wife of the bride’s uncle, if for no other reason, the Duchess should be accorded the dignity of an invitation to her niece’s marriage.”
28
In fact, there was never any question as to the Duke’s receiving an invitation. Queen Elizabeth flatly declared that she would not attend her own daughter’s wedding if he came.
29
On October 13, David’s secretary announced to the press that neither the Duke nor the Duchess had received any invitation to the forthcoming wedding.
Certain members of the Royal Family, however, felt that this ostracism was the last straw. In protest at the lack of an invitation for her brother and sister-in-law, Mary, the Princess Royal, deliberately stayed away from the ceremony. To the public, it was simply announced that she was ill; but privately her protest was made quite clear, although it failed to have any effect on Buckingham Palace’s continued war against the Windsors.
30
At least Wallis enjoyed a bittersweet triumph when, three weeks after the future Elizabeth II‘s wedding, Wallis was named the world’s best-dressed woman; neither Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, nor Princess Elizabeth had received enough votes to qualify.31
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At least Wallis enjoyed a bittersweet triumph when, three weeks after the future Elizabeth II‘s wedding, Wallis was named the world’s best-dressed woman; neither Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, nor Princess Elizabeth had received enough votes to qualify.31
In April 1949 the
London Evening Standard
declared that it was time for the Royal Family to receive Wallis. “Throughout the twelve years of her marriage to the Duke this American lady has behaved with dignity,” it declared. It argued that Wallis was the innocent party in both of her divorces and added that the palace ban on receiving and entertaining divorced persons, which had been used as a formal excuse against such a reconciliation, had recently been relaxed. The paper pointed out that the week before, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip had entertained Sir Laurence and Lady Olivier, although both had been named as co-respondents in divorces from their former partners. ”So it is hardly consistent that the Duchess of Windsor should be excluded from the courtesies extended to those who have been divorced,” the editors declared.
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London Evening Standard
declared that it was time for the Royal Family to receive Wallis. “Throughout the twelve years of her marriage to the Duke this American lady has behaved with dignity,” it declared. It argued that Wallis was the innocent party in both of her divorces and added that the palace ban on receiving and entertaining divorced persons, which had been used as a formal excuse against such a reconciliation, had recently been relaxed. The paper pointed out that the week before, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip had entertained Sir Laurence and Lady Olivier, although both had been named as co-respondents in divorces from their former partners. ”So it is hardly consistent that the Duchess of Windsor should be excluded from the courtesies extended to those who have been divorced,” the editors declared.
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Such public sentiments prompted David once again to raise the issue of granting to Wallis the style of Royal Highness. A decade earlier, the respected judicial authority Sir William Jowitt had studied the dilemma and advised the Duke that there was no legal justification for the continued withholding of the style of Royal Highness from the Duchess. Now Jowitt was the crown’s most senior legal adviser and the head of the English judiciary. But any hopes David had were dashed when he had a meeting with Jowitt in London in 1949. Jowitt did not deny that he believed in what he had said a decade before, but he now insisted that he was powerless to do anything to change it. As a part of the court establishment, he was loath to risk his career by supporting the Duke; instead, he declared that it was a political question for the King, prime minister, and the government.
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David waited some six months after his meeting with Jowitt to raise the issue with the King. George VI’s letter in reply was highly revealing. He declared that it had been ”a very great shock” to learn that his brother wished to marry Wallis and that everything which followed had been a great strain. David’s departure had left “a most ghastly void,” which he seemed unable to understand or appreciate, in both the Royal Family and in the country and empire. Somewhat presumptuously, George VI insisted that in abdicating David had in fact accepted the view that his wife was unfit to be queen; it therefore followed, Bertie said, that she was equally unfit to be both his wife now and a member of the Royal Family forever. If he reversed his decision to deny Wallis the style of Royal Highness, he declared, it “wouldn’t make sense of the past.”
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The Death of the King
A
T THE BEGINNING OF
1951, Wallis fell ill. A number of malignant tumors were found in her uterus, and the doctors decided to perform a full hysterectomy.
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She entered the Harkness Pavilion in New York City on February 20, registering under the name of Mary Walters to throw off inquisitive news reporters, but inevitably word quickly spread and the hospital was surrounded by the press. The operation was performed by Dr. Henry Wisdom Cave, president of the American College of Surgeons, and a gynecologist, Dr. Benjamin P. Watson, a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinbugh. Both physicians, in a short statement to the press, declared that the Duchess had undergone “a minor operative procedure and her condition is satisfactory. ”
2
On this occasion, David received an inquiry from his mother, asking after Wallis’s health: “I feel so sorry for your great anxiety about your wife, and am thankful that so far you are able to send a fair account so we must hope the improvement will continue. Do write me a short account of what has really happened.”
3
T THE BEGINNING OF
1951, Wallis fell ill. A number of malignant tumors were found in her uterus, and the doctors decided to perform a full hysterectomy.
1
She entered the Harkness Pavilion in New York City on February 20, registering under the name of Mary Walters to throw off inquisitive news reporters, but inevitably word quickly spread and the hospital was surrounded by the press. The operation was performed by Dr. Henry Wisdom Cave, president of the American College of Surgeons, and a gynecologist, Dr. Benjamin P. Watson, a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinbugh. Both physicians, in a short statement to the press, declared that the Duchess had undergone “a minor operative procedure and her condition is satisfactory. ”
2
On this occasion, David received an inquiry from his mother, asking after Wallis’s health: “I feel so sorry for your great anxiety about your wife, and am thankful that so far you are able to send a fair account so we must hope the improvement will continue. Do write me a short account of what has really happened.”
3
The Windsors remained in New York to celebrate the publication of the Duke’s memoir,
A King’s Story
. It was not uncommon for exiled royals to write their memoirs, but from the very beginning, the Duke of Windsor’s book promised to be controversial. He would be writing not about long-dead relatives and distant cousins who peopled royal courts filled with celebrations but of those very much alive: his mother, his brother the King, Queen Elizabeth, and others. Nor would the centerpiece of the book—the abdication—be a subject any of the principals would be happy to dredge up once again. But David also saw the book as a chance to set out his version of the abdication crisis and also to present a sympathetic portrait of the woman who became his wife. Wallis, too, encouraged him in his endeavors; not only would she welcome a different view of both her and her role in the abdication, but perhaps more important, the writing of a book would help fill the Duke’s long, somewhat empty days.
A King’s Story
. It was not uncommon for exiled royals to write their memoirs, but from the very beginning, the Duke of Windsor’s book promised to be controversial. He would be writing not about long-dead relatives and distant cousins who peopled royal courts filled with celebrations but of those very much alive: his mother, his brother the King, Queen Elizabeth, and others. Nor would the centerpiece of the book—the abdication—be a subject any of the principals would be happy to dredge up once again. But David also saw the book as a chance to set out his version of the abdication crisis and also to present a sympathetic portrait of the woman who became his wife. Wallis, too, encouraged him in his endeavors; not only would she welcome a different view of both her and her role in the abdication, but perhaps more important, the writing of a book would help fill the Duke’s long, somewhat empty days.
To help him write his memoirs, David hired an accomplished journalist, Charles J. V. Murphy. Murphy, an editor for
Time-Life
and contributor to
Life
magazine, found working with the Duke nearly impossible. David often spoke for hours as Murphy took notes, then later changed his mind, believing that he had revealed too much. Some days, David was filled with enthusiasm for the project; on others, he seemed distant and uncooperative. Wallis, too, had little idea of what was involved in the production of a book and constantly interrupted her husband’s sessions with Murphy.
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Nor were the Windsors any more impressed with Murphy; after spending several months with the writer, both the Duke and Duchess found him arrogant, demanding, and inflexible. Under these strained circumstances, it is not surprising that Murphy and the Windsors barely managed to maintain a working relationship and produce the book at all.
5
Time-Life
and contributor to
Life
magazine, found working with the Duke nearly impossible. David often spoke for hours as Murphy took notes, then later changed his mind, believing that he had revealed too much. Some days, David was filled with enthusiasm for the project; on others, he seemed distant and uncooperative. Wallis, too, had little idea of what was involved in the production of a book and constantly interrupted her husband’s sessions with Murphy.
4
Nor were the Windsors any more impressed with Murphy; after spending several months with the writer, both the Duke and Duchess found him arrogant, demanding, and inflexible. Under these strained circumstances, it is not surprising that Murphy and the Windsors barely managed to maintain a working relationship and produce the book at all.
5
In April 1951,
A King’s Story
was finally published. In a review in the
New Statesman
, the historian Noel Annan wrote that “reflections of inconceivable banality succeed descriptions of Court life so bizarre that the characters seem permanently to be playing charades. . . .”
6
But the book, in addition to presenting David’s point of view, also brought with it welcome royalty checks, and the extra money would prove useful to the Windsors in the next few years.
7
A King’s Story
was finally published. In a review in the
New Statesman
, the historian Noel Annan wrote that “reflections of inconceivable banality succeed descriptions of Court life so bizarre that the characters seem permanently to be playing charades. . . .”
6
But the book, in addition to presenting David’s point of view, also brought with it welcome royalty checks, and the extra money would prove useful to the Windsors in the next few years.
7
The writing of the book and the presentation of an alternative view of the abdication stirred up old and painful memories and made the Windsors acutely aware of their continued slights at the hands of the Royal Family. American journalist C. L. Sulzberger and his wife, Marina, dining with the Duke and Duchess one evening, were, in his words, “treated to an extraordinary conversation.” He wrote:
In essence, it comprised a tragic lament about the British Royal Family. The Duchess kept insisting she would never go back to England because “the Duke,” as she always calls her husband, had been treated so shabbily.... The Duke was furious over the following incident. He had prepared a lengthy speech designed to boost his book of memoirs. The thing was recorded for a publishers’ dinner but Buckingham Palace ordered it stopped on the grounds that it was no time to make such a speech because of the King’s illness. On the afternoon before the speech was to have been delivered, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret went to the races. Both the Duke and Duchess kept repeating that the two “nieces” had gone “to the races,” while at the same time, the speech was banned because of King George’s illness. The Duchess said: “Why don’t you play them your record?” The Duke protested: “Oh, no, no, I can’t.” Then we were escorted downstairs where they kept a long-playing phonograph. The Duke’s speech said he now “knew why Job said, ‘I wish my enemies had written a book.’ “It was a great honour for him because “it is the first time in fifteen years that I have spoken in England, which, in spite of everything, is my country and my home.” The speech continued: A lot of people had been nasty about the book, there had been criticism, but he didn’t see why, just because he is an ex-king, he wasn’t allowed to write. He brought in a lot of examples of English rulers who had written books—Charles II, Henry VIII, and Queen Victoria. The speech ends with the remark: “My book is not a novel, but it is a romance, and all I can say is that I hope it can end like most fairy tales—‘and they lived happily ever after.‘ ” The speech was very pleasant but we were told he had never been allowed to make it. The Duchess kept saying, “What nonsense! What hypocrisy! What jealousy! When I think that that very day, the girls went to the races and the Duke of Gloucester went to a dinner party!”
8
The Windsors’ bitterness was tempered somewhat by the illness of George VI. Beginning in 1947, Bertie’s health became increasingly fragile. Suffering from constant cramps in his legs, he sought medical advice, and doctors discovered arteriosclerosis; at one point, it was feared that his left leg might develop gangrene and have to be amputated.
For the next few years, Bertie’s health fluctuated wildly, his recurrent circulatory problems exacerbated by his incessant smoking. In March 1949 a portion of his right lung had to be removed. In August 1951, while at Balmoral, the King developed a chill and sore throat. In September, at the insistence of his doctors, he traveled to London for a detailed examination; on September 15, a bronchoscopy was performed at Buckingham Palace to remove tissue from his lungs. Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that he had a malignant growth which necessitated the removal of his entire left lung. Bertie was only informed of the need for the operation but not the cause of his ailment. Queen Elizabeth, however, knew the truth: Bertie had cancer. On September 23, the left lung was removed, along with certain nerves in his larynx which prevented the King from speaking above a loud whisper.
The Queen was told that the King had little more than a year to live. The removal of the lung might increase his chances, but the cancer was already spreading throughout his body. In December he underwent a second bronchoscopy, which left him greatly weakened and unable to make a scheduled tour of Africa; in his place, he sent his eldest daughter, Princess Elizabeth, and her husband, Prince Philip. On January 31, 1952, George VI, looking gaunt and frail, stood bareheaded beside the Queen and Princess Margaret on the tarmac at Heathrow Airport, watching as Elizabeth and Philip boarded an airplane and left for Africa in his place. Six days later, in the early-morning hours of February 6, George VI died in his sleep at Sandringham House in Norfolk.
Queen Elizabeth had always been a firm, unforgiving enemy of the Duchess of Windsor; the premature death of her husband cemented a near-hysterical hatred against Wallis which nothing has erased. “It is quite simple, the Queen Mother believes that Mrs. Simpson shortened her husband’s life and she has never been able to forgive her,” said one friend of the Royal Family. “The interesting thing is that she never openly blames her brother-in-law the Duke of Windsor. ”
9
This conviction—absolute, unwavering—would cloud any future hope the Windsors might have had of gaining the acceptance of the Royal Family. That the King’s death had been brought on by his heavy smoking seemed not to matter at all; to Queen Elizabeth, Wallis had killed her husband, and she would refuse to listen to any contrary point of view.
9
This conviction—absolute, unwavering—would cloud any future hope the Windsors might have had of gaining the acceptance of the Royal Family. That the King’s death had been brought on by his heavy smoking seemed not to matter at all; to Queen Elizabeth, Wallis had killed her husband, and she would refuse to listen to any contrary point of view.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor were in New York, staying in their suite at the Waldorf Towers, when they learned of the King’s death. David immediately made plans to return to London. Before he even had a chance to ask, he was told that Wallis would not be welcome to attend the funeral; none of the three queens—David’s mother, Queen Mary, his sister-in-law, Queen Elizabeth; his niece, Queen Elizabeth II—would receive the Duchess of Windsor. On the evening of the following day, February 7, they held a press conference in the Verandah Grill on the sun deck of the Cunard liner
Queen Mary
. The surrounding circus murals, according to one reporter, made for “the most macabre setting in which British Royalty can ever have appeared. For audience, there was a crowd of gum-chewing reporters, photographers and film cameramen.”
10
Queen Mary
. The surrounding circus murals, according to one reporter, made for “the most macabre setting in which British Royalty can ever have appeared. For audience, there was a crowd of gum-chewing reporters, photographers and film cameramen.”
10
David, who wore a black armband, read from a prepared statement: “This voyage, upon which I am embarking aboard the
Queen Mary
tonight is indeed sad—and it is all the sadder for me because I am undertaking it alone. The Duchess is remaining here to await my return. I am sailing for Great Britain for the funeral of a dear brother, and to comfort Her Majesty, my mother, in the overwhelming sorrow which has overtaken my family and the Commonwealth of British Nations.... the late King and I were very close.... King George VI steadily maintained the highest standards of constitutional monarchy. And these same attributes will, I am sure, descend to his daughter, the new Queen.”
11
The Duchess, wearing a black sealskin bolero over a black costume, with a black fur cap perched on the side of her head, stood in silence behind the grand piano. Journalist Kenneth Hord noted that she “repeatedly ... glanced at [the Duke] in compassion.”
12
Queen Mary
tonight is indeed sad—and it is all the sadder for me because I am undertaking it alone. The Duchess is remaining here to await my return. I am sailing for Great Britain for the funeral of a dear brother, and to comfort Her Majesty, my mother, in the overwhelming sorrow which has overtaken my family and the Commonwealth of British Nations.... the late King and I were very close.... King George VI steadily maintained the highest standards of constitutional monarchy. And these same attributes will, I am sure, descend to his daughter, the new Queen.”
11
The Duchess, wearing a black sealskin bolero over a black costume, with a black fur cap perched on the side of her head, stood in silence behind the grand piano. Journalist Kenneth Hord noted that she “repeatedly ... glanced at [the Duke] in compassion.”
12
David stayed at Marlborough House. At the funeral, he walked behind his brother’s coffin, next to the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Kent, and the Duke of Gloucester. It has often been said that Wallis used the occasion to try to force concessions from her husband’s family at their weakest moment; in fact, Wallis, fully aware that David was returning to a volatile situation, was worried that he would take advantage of his presence to press that she be granted the style of Royal Highness. She wrote: “Now that the door has been opened a crack try and get your foot in, in the hope of making it open even wider in the future because that is the best for WE.... I should also say how difficult things have been for us and that also we have gone out of our way to keep our way of life dignified which has not been easy due to the expense of running a correct house in keeping with your position as a brother of the King of England. And leave it there.
Do not mention or ask for anything regarding recognition of me
. I am sure you can win her over to a more friendly attitude.”
13
Do not mention or ask for anything regarding recognition of me
. I am sure you can win her over to a more friendly attitude.”
13
Nevertheless, on February 26, Chips Channon was asked to host a luncheon party at which the Duke of Windsor, Queen Elizabeth II, and the Duke of Edinburgh would be present. The meeting, requested by David himself, against the advice of Wallis, was to discuss the possibility of a proper job for himself, formal recognition of his wife and the official granting of the style of Royal Highness, and his financial settlement with his late brother. On the first request, the Queen was polite but evasive; the Duke asked about a potential ambassadorship or perhaps another colonial post. It says much for the boredom which had consumed his life that David, having lived through four years of misery in the Bahamas, was once again willing to accept a post not likely to be more impressive because it brought with it responsibilities and authority. Elizabeth II consulted with Winston Churchill on this issue, and the prime minister apparently informed her that he thought it inadvisable to grant the Duke such a position.
On the second issue—that of receiving Wallis and granting her the style of Royal Highness—there was no hesitation on the Queen’s part in providing a negative answer. Elizabeth II had been raised largely in an environment surrounded by prejudices against the Duchess; by the time she came to the throne, it is scarcely surprising, therefore, that she had inherited most of her mother’s and grandmother’s virulent views toward Wallis. It has often been said that the Queen made such decisions out of respect for her grandmother and mother and that while Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were still alive, she would not force them into an uncomfortable situation; this is true, but perhaps the most important factor was the Queen’s belief that by doing what her father had so strenuously refused to do, she would dishonor his memory. Her devotion to George VI would ensure that Wallis would never be granted the style of Royal Highness.
The Duke’s financial settlement also proved a tricky question. He had, since 1938, received some £21,000 a year, a sum granted to him only after much family tension. At first, Elizabeth II informed her uncle that his agreement with the Crown had only been with her father; when George VI died, the obligations to pay had also come to a stop. The Duke was on his own. David immediately protested this decision. He asked George Allen, his London solicitor, to intervene; Allen met with the Queen’s legal representative and eventually managed to convince the new sovereign that the agreement should be continued. But the payment of the annual £21,000, for all intents, remained contingent on the Duke’s continued absence from England. When he inquired about moving back to Fort Belvedere, he was told that doing so would mean that his payments from the Crown would automatically fall under the category of taxable income.
14
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