Edward VIII was King for less than one year before he abdicated the throne to marry American divorcee and socialite Wallis Simpson. In 1936, Edward was the only British monarch who had ever abandoned the crown.
Edward Abdicated The Throne After 326 Days
Edward’s reign was precisely 326 days long. He married Simpson in 1937, much to his family and the public’s disapproval. Edward’s unwavering devotion to Wallis was clear when an unidentified man hurled a brick through the window of Wallis’s home.
He even threw another brick at Wallis’s neighbor’s home as he was determined to hit his target. Rumors were rampant about Edward’s relationship with Wallis.
The public outcry was the main reason why Edward abdicated the throne. He chose Wallis over the Commonwealth and the royal family. His brother, George VI, became King.
A new book about Wallis Simpson, called “Her Lotus Year,” by Paul French, details the supposed “dirty secrets” about Wallis Simpson. “Her Lotus Years” delves into the controversial early period of Simpson’s life.
There were many rumors about Wallis and how she behaved behind closed doors. Her alleged bedroom prowess in Shanghai in the roaring 1920s, where she lived with her husband, Earl Winfield Spencer Jr., was heavily documented.
She was said to have had numerous affairs and posed for pornographic pictures. As Wallis grew close to Edward, who would later become King, rumors about her time in China started to spread.
The accusations were laid out in a document called the China Dossier. These stories are still associated with Simpson to this day.
After she and her first husband split, she allegedly traveled around China, learning various techniques to bolster her performance in the bedroom to help her win over the sexually inexperienced Prince of Wales.
Wallis’s Antics Were Highly Exaggerated
Wallis’s time in China was even discussed at the Cabinet level, and the whispering grew louder. Ministers wanted to find a way to separate Wallis from the newly minted King.
The only caveat is that the China Dossier was fake, and Wallis’s antics were highly exaggerated. It was rumored that she had a secret affair with Hitler’s ambassador to London, who was later executed for his part in the slaughter of innocent people.
The British despised Wallis so much that they were willing to come up with whatever story they felt they had to get Wallis away from King Edward.
The stories were designed using a carefully crafted pattern of expert exaggeration, taking kernels of truth and spinning a yarn of tall tales.
American brothels existed in Shanghai, but Wallis would never have participated in one. There were also stories that Wallis had an opium addiction and was an avid gambler. Author Paul French suggests that these claims were dreamed up after the plot of the popular play “The Shanghai Gesture.”
It was also rumored that she ruined marriages. It was also said that she had an affair with a Fascist dictator who was thought to be Mussolini’s predecessor.
French asserts that secret service agents would basically stalk Simpson, looking for dirt to take back to Edward and discredit her.
The author claims that Wallis Simpson is the victim of vicious gossip and wild speculation. Whether there is any truth to the rumors is anybody’s guess.
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