King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson (Duke and Duchess of Windsor)

[Beautiful B.C]

Rani,

Thank you for posting the pictures of the Windsor Princes and Edward alone. I do so enjoy the pictures when posted. If you have more please post!

[Eric_Lowe]

I think Margot if you have something to say about me you can email to me privately. I am really flattered that I am important enough for your attention. Please let this thread to be about the Windsors (pro or against). Thank you. 

Sorry to be off topic. Rani does posted some interesting photos. I do appreciate his sharing them with us all.

Prince Edward did became important early in his life because of his position (Prince of Wales) and good looks. She later became known as a ladies man. I remember the BBC Production of "Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson" (Which Cynthia Harris & Robert Fox took the lead roles). The program started with the song "I dance with a man who dance with a girl who dance with the Prince of Wales." I wonder who sang that song ?

[grandduchessella]

The song was written in 1927 by Herbert Farjeon and the girl that inspired the song was Edna Deane, a ballroom dancing champion.

:I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales.

:It was simply grand, he said "Topping band" and she said "Delightful, Sir"

:Glory, Glory, Alleluia! I'm the luckiest of females

:For I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales.


:My word I've had a party, my word I've had a spree

:Believe me or believe me not, it's all the same to me!

:I'm wild with exultation, I'm dizzy with success

:For I've danced with a man, I've danced with a man-

:Who

:Well, you'll never guess


:I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales.

:I'm crazy with excitement, completely off the rails

:And when he said to me what she said to him -the Prince remarked to her

:It was simply grand, he said "Topping band" and she said "Delightful, Sir"

:Glory, Glory, Alleluia! I'm the luckiest of females;

:For I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales.

You can find the song over the credits of Edward & Mrs Simpson here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjogyfx-mFk

I found no info on imdb.com on who sang the song for the production or whether they grabbed an old recording.

[Robert_Hall]

 The Windsor  archives are  not "locked up". They are available to  recognised authors and researchers.  However from the bits  i  have seen, they are  fairly useless. As far as I know, the Duchess left nothing except "thank you notes".  She was not what we might call  a  prolific writer. And the Duke----- well , not the brightest  light on  the xmas tree, was he?

[Emperor of the Dominions]

I am lost for words! If 'tradition' was so important to Edward VIII I dare say he may have thought twice about abdicating wouldn't he?

Eric your arrogance leaves me cringing! How dare you use this forum to claim a better understanding of tradition, pomp and circumstances than another poster! I can not believe your audacity!

I hardly think living in a British Colony like Hong Kong or attending a British School gives you the right to claim to be able to comprehend what 'Edward lost.' Really Eric! I do wish you would stop writing such shallow nonsense! If you're not adding pointless inane polluting one liner such as 'Breathtaking,'... 'Indeed. I agree' and 'Very Elegant. Thank you'  type posts you come out with the above sort of post which is utterly contemptible, disgracefully rude and revoltingly conceited! If you have nothing of any serious or constructive kind to add to the threads why don't you just be quiet instead of posting ceaseless rubbish! By the way, you do realize that no matter how many posts you manage to send you will never graduate any further than Velikye Knyaz?

I can stay silent no longer and must add my support to Margot's analysis of Mr Lowe and his remarks. I am also counted a 'Newbie', although i've been a member since 2006 and have made 87 posts. Unlike Mr Lowe I am not a regular poster, as I refrain from adding benal comments such as 'I agree' or 'how interesting' etc. I 'read' posts, and for the most part find them eminentley interesting and informative. Hence I am still a 'newbie' and not a 'Velikye Knyaz'. Before anyone wishes to question my nationality, I am happy to confirm that I am British, born in London, where I remain.
I can remember being complimentary on the consistency of the present Queen's 'Italianesque' hair-style, to be informed by Mr Lowe that it was as a result of a "hair piece she always wore!". Of course, when questioned more closely Mr Lowe was unable to reference this 'fact' and remained quiet for a few posts; completely ignoring other posters requests for evidence of this 'fact'. After the 'heat' had died down, he switched subjects and started asserting 'facts' about some artwork he couldn't reference either!
I for one feel that this has gone for far too long, and Mr Lowe should either be banned or have his posts 'reviewed' before they appear. He detracts from the excellent posts of the Grandduchessella and those like her, who make this site and forum a pleasureable and informative destination.
So Mr Lowe, perhaps like 'the Windsors', you should be banished from the realm! OUT! OUT! OUT! I say - Be GONE!!!!

R.I.

[Margot]

Gosh Emperor.....I wouldn't like to tread on your tail! Goodness it's the quiet ones that one has to watch out for! Anyway thank you so much for your beautifully worded post!

I think we had better get back 'on topic' otherwise we may get reprimanded. Just to be 'open' though, I have pm'd Eric Lowe as he suggested!

Now then where were we....oh yes I remember the Windsors......

I read somewhere but can not for the life of me remember where, that it was believed that Wallis gave or willed pieces of jewelry to the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Princess Alexandra as well as Prince and Princess Michael! Does anyone know if this was just a rumour or a fact!  

[grandduchessella]

At the risk of adding just a 'thank you', I still must do so and thank Emperor of the Dominions for his kind words. It is the kindness of people on this Forum like himself and so many others that I've 'met' over the years that have made this Forum such a joy to come to day after day for so many years. So thank you very much. : )

As to Margot's query about the Windsor jewels and Princess Michael, I found this:

From Vanity Fair: "Tomorrow, Christie's in London (the King Street location, not the South Kensington one) will hold a much publicized auction that includes jewelry belonging to Princess Michael of Kent. Our favorite lot is a gorgeous pair of emerald-adorned Cartier earrings in the shape of growling leopards, which were gifted in 1978 to the Princess by the Duchess of Windsor on the occasion of the Princess's wedding. They are estimated at more than $80,000."

theroyalforums.com notes  Princess Michael wearing the "Cartier "Cherries" brooch given to her by the Duchess of Windsor as a wedding gift whilst the Princess honeymooned in Paris with her husband in July 1978.The brooch compromises numerous cabochon rubies; uncut emeralds and brilliant diamonds and was worn by the Duchess of Windsor in the 1950's and 60's as a pendant on a large gold chain. Princess Michael recieved other pieces from the Duchess on the same visit including huge cabochon emerald earrings (below) due to the close relationship Prince Michael established with the Windsors in the 1960's."

Greg King's book on Wallis notes that the hope that some pieces would be left to Charles was sabotaged by Lord Mountbatten's aggressiveness in campaigning for various pieces of jewelry and objects d'art had left Wallis bitter. “In these last years, Lord Mountbatten became a frequent – if not altogether welcome – visitor to the Windsor Villa in the Bois de Boulogne. Wallis had never particularly cared for him, and even David by now was angry at the way he seemed to inspect the house, examining papers and souvenirs. ‘Who are you going to leave that to?’ he would ask the Duke, pointing at some object. ‘I think that should go to Charles.’ ‘How dare he!’ David declared after one such visit. ‘He even tells me what he wants left to him.’” King notes that many Kents were left pieces--Princess Alexandra, the Duchess of Kent and Princess Michael.

King's book also notes Charles pre-visit attitude towards Wallis: "“When Prince Charles was asked about his great aunt the Duchess of Windsor – whom he had never met – he declared, ‘She’s a dreadful woman.’ He was asked why he said this. His chilling reply left no doubt about the source of his animosity: ‘I know because my grandmother says she was.’”"

Suzy Menkes notes that “Flattered and charmed by the attentions of the vibrant new Princess, the Duchess of Windsor gave to Marie-Christine [Princess Michael] some prized pieces of her jewellery as a wedding gift. This was, understandably, never made public, but caused a frisson within her circle.”  She also noted in an article that the jewels the Duchess of Windsor gave Princess Michael included: “a gold sunburst suite set with pearls and a pair of emerald panther earrings.” In “The Royal Jewels” there are two photos – one of the Duchess of Windsor in 1948 wearing a pair of distinctive panther earrings – designed by Cartier – consisting of two cabochon emeralds of 54.04 and 50.42 carats; the other picture is of Princess Michael of Kent wearing what appear to be the exact same earrings in 1985, the year before the Duchess of Windsor’s death. As the panther earrings were not among the Duchess’ jewels auctioned off in 1987 or 1997, it seems entirely plausible that the earrings Princess Michael has worn did indeed belong to the Duchess of Windsor. As it turned out, the Kent family fared well with the Duchess of Windsor as, evidently, Princess Alexandra of Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Kent also received gifts of jewelry from the Duchess. Suzy Menkes noted that this was probably due to an appeal by Lady Monckton who “promised the Duchess that she would escort her body to the royal mausoleum at Frogmore, on the Windsor estate. In return, she suggested a fair distribution of the jewels among the younger members of the royal family.” As far as is known, however, no other members of the royal family received any of the Duchess’ jewels by bequest, so perhaps her early friendly associations with Prince George, Duke of Kent, had played a role in her few select legacies."

[Margot]

Ella you are an absolute angel! Many many thanks

I forgot I have a picture of MC's cartier leopard earrings from the auction catalogue from last year! They failed to reach there reserve if my memory serves me right! I wonder if those earrings were from Wallis! The ones MC was trying to flog...I mean? They were not really that attractive IMHO! Also I think on the first page of this thread there is a photograph of the raspberry/strawberry fruity pendant thingy!?!

[grandduchessella]

You're very welcome, Margot. Make sure to re-read the post as I added a bunch more information while you were typing your post.    You were just too quick for me.

[Robert_Hall]

Thank you, GDElla.  I was not all sure about the jewels,  but sure thought Charles had visited the Duke, at least, towards the end of his life. I can see his animosity towards the Duchess, however.

[Vecchiolarry]

Dear Emperor of the Dominions,

I like you!!  I really like you...
You have summed up 'Mr. Lowe' very succinctly - he's a dolt...

He's also a post totaller, which means he likes to run up his number(s) on the board with inane drivell...

EotD - Please post more;  you will be kindly read and appreciated!!!

Larry

[Eddie_uk]

I second that Larry!! Remember when Eric implied that poor Thora was a lesbian with no friends and no tiara, which was of course disproved! And then Ducky was forced ino her fist marriage by QV etc etc. There have been many many other incidents such as this. So much that Eric comes out with really is nauseous to say the least.

[Kalafrana]

The best that can be said of Mr Lowe is that some of his postings can be quite amusing.

Back to the Duke of Windsor. Yes, he could have got involved in charitable work, both before and after his abdication. After the abdication, it might have had to be behind the scenes for a time, but he could have done it (and he was hardly short of money, which he could have used for something more constructive than decking the Duchess out with jewels). In fact, it was George VI who took a practical interest in the working classes. The Duke of York's camps might seem a bit quaint now, and were a fairly small-scale operation, but they were quite forward-thinking at the time.

Ann

[Eric_Lowe]

First of all. I want to apologize to all who felt I was attacking them through the newbie comment. I was a newbi too, so I have no qurarel against the status. My disagreement is only with Margot. If any other people felt this comment had hurt them, I want to make sure that it was not intended.

Secondly why I would not appologize to Margot is because I felt he insulted my background, when I was trying to make a point about what I personally felt about the pomp and circumstances in Edward's situation. It is very personally and heart felt. I guess Margot has no idea how hurt that stung. I was the Queen's subject for more than 2 decades and proud of it. I would not post no more on this thread.

[grandduchessella]

"Back to the Duke of Windsor. Yes, he could have got involved in charitable work, both before and after his abdication. After the abdication, it might have had to be behind the scenes for a time, but he could have done it (and he was hardly short of money, which he could have used for something more constructive than decking the Duchess out with jewels). In fact, it was George VI who took a practical interest in the working classes. The Duke of York's camps might seem a bit quaint now, and were a fairly small-scale operation, but they were quite forward-thinking at the time. "


I don't think they seem they quaint--rather a combination of today's Boy Scouts (which obviously still exists) and the more modern Boys and Girls Clubs--which are popular here in the States as a way to keep kids off the streets and engaged in more wholesome activities such as sports, crafts, gaming, etc... They ran from 1921-1939, obviously WW2 brought them to an end. Does anyone know why they didn't pick back up under perhaps one of the junior Dukes?

Princess Mary was active in the UK version of the Girl Scouts (was it called that?) as were the Duke of Connaught and the Prince of Wales