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

[Carolath Habsburg]

Young Wallis

[Constantinople]

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed a slight resemblance of teh younger Walliis to earlier pictures of Rasputin?

[Adagietto]

I see what you mean, there is a faint resemblance, I wonder if it would survive if the shrubbery were cleared.

[royal_netherlands]

The Prince of Wales with the Royal Family of Belgium (1923) from left to right: Princess Marie-Jose of Belgium, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, the Prince of Wales, King Albert of Belgium and standing behind Crownprince Leopold and his brother Prince Carl of Belgium

[Constantinople]

One time when I went to the Guards Museum in London.  One of the proctors showed me a uniform of the Duke of Windsor and it was amazing how tiny he actually was, like an adolescent child.

[Carolath Habsburg]

Yes!! i wonder from who he inheredit the short size!.

[Kalafrana]

'Yes!! i wonder from who he inheredit the short size!'

Most of the British royal family at that time were distinctly short. I suspect this was inherited from Queen Victoria who was under 5ft tall. George V was no more than 5ft 6 (in photographs he is clearly shorter than Nicholas II, who was 5ft 7 and much shorter than the Kaiser, who was 5ft 9). I don't know how tall Queen Mary was - can anybody help?

Ann

[Carolath Habsburg]

She looks very tall!, at least taller than George.


 Well...i knew that George V was short as his cousin Nicholas but i never found petite Alexandra or Bertie, that s why i wondered why. But know that you said that QV was a petite lady, i understand where that comes from, Thanks you!

[Kalafrana]

I don't think Edward VII was all that tall. It's not easy to tell, as in group photos he tends to be with ladies or is sitting down.

George VI was taller than the Duke of Windsor, but I have read somewhere that the Duke of Gloucester was the tallest of George V's sons.

Ann

[Eddie_uk]

This made me laugh. In 1945 the Duke went to visit his mother, later Queen Mary wrote "Very nice he was, quite like old times; very well informed...but still persisting about receiving his wife when he promised he'd never mention the subjct...his lasts words when going away - "Well goodbye" -and don't forget: I am a married man now."  Don't forget indeed; as if one ever could!"  !!!!!

[Eddie_uk]

He and the Duchess were able to enjoy leisure and luxury for the rest of their lives.

Quite the opposite.  George reneged on the financial settlement. In 1938 he granted Edward 25,000 pounds per year, pension, for life, at the point the Duke was so desperate for funds he agreed to any terms at all.

In 1972, the year he died, Edward was receiving the equivalent of the salary of a retail store manager in the USA.  If the French Government hadn't given them a place to live, free, I don't know what the Duke would have done.  As it was, he had to spend a great deal of time pandering to rich friends.

You see, the story they tell is not the story he tells.  And you can see from his agonized eyes, that he is telling HIS TRUTH.

Sadly the Duke felt the need to lie about his finances. This hurt his brother very much....

[Constantinople]

As a former King, he probably had more right to being financially supported than some of the more distant royal cousins did.

[mcdnab]

Traditionally Princes of Wales did not receive any financial support from the state because they automatically receive the revenues from the Duchy of Cornwall (the traditional title of the heir to the throne).
On his death George V left large cash bequests to each of his children but not to his heir - specifically because Edward VIII as Prince of Wales should and had built up large cash assets since he came of age.
The financial agreements made between David and Bertie at the abdication were rushed and were based on David's lie that he had no cash assets (It later emerged that he had around a million in cash some of which he'd already settled on his future wife - that lie was one thing that hardened the attitude of the Palace).
David sold his brother Balmoral and Sandringham (with the payment spread over a number of years) which were his personal property inherited from his father. And Bertie agreed to a set figure each year which if not included in the new civil list he would guarantee to pay David himself.
One of the reasons that the Duke remained in France for much of his life was the favourable tax status he'd been granted there - in all his discussions about a role after the war (he was keen to live in America) was a desire to be in some kind of official diplomatic role in order to gain tax advantages.

[Constantinople]

thanks for the well researched clarification.

[Eddie_uk]

Mrs Simpson's jewels are up for sale again!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1296909/For-sale--Wallis-Simpson-jewels-charted-romance-King-Edward-VIII.html