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{{Short description|Wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (1896–1986)}}
{{Redirect|Duchess of Windsor|the ducal title|Duke of Windsor}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| title        = [[Duke of Windsor|Duchess of Windsor]] {{noprint inline|([[#Titles and styles|more]])}}
| image        = Vincenzo Laviosa - Duke and Duchess of Windsor - Google Art Project (cropped).jpg
| caption      = Simpson, {{Circa|1934}}
| alt          = A photo of Wallis
| birth_name   = Bessie Wallis Warfield
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1896|6|19}}{{efn|name=birth|According to 1900 census returns, she was born in June 1895, which author [[Charles Higham (biographer)|Charles Higham]] asserted was before her parents' marriage (Higham, p. 4). Author [[Greg King (author)|Greg King]], wrote that, though Higham's "scandalous assertion of illegitimacy enlivens the telling of the Duchess's life", "the evidence to support it is slim indeed", and that it "strains credulity" (King, p. 11).}}
| birth_place  = [[Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1986|4|24|1896|6|19}}
| death_place  = Paris, France
| burial_date  = April 29, 1986
| burial_place = [[Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore]], Berkshire, England
| spouses      = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Earl Winfield Spencer Jr.]]|8 November 1916|10 December 1927|reason=div.}}
* {{marriage|[[Ernest Simpson]] |21 July 1928|3 May 1937|reason=div.}}
* {{marriage|[[Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor]] (former King Edward VIII)|3 June 1937|28 May 1972|end=died}}}}
| house        = [[House of Windsor|Windsor]] (by marriage)
| father       = Teackle Wallis Warfield
| mother       = Alice Montague
| signature    = Wallis Simpson signature 1963.svg
}}

'''Wallis, Duchess of Windsor''' (born '''Bessie Wallis Warfield''', later '''Spencer''' and then '''Simpson'''; June 19, 1896{{efn|name=birth}}&nbsp;– April 24, 1986) was an American socialite and the wife of [[Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor]] (former King Edward VIII). Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a [[constitutional crisis]] that led to [[Abdication of Edward VIII|Edward's abdication]].

Wallis grew up in [[Baltimore]], Maryland. Her father died shortly after her birth, and she and her widowed mother were partly supported by their wealthier relatives. Her first marriage, to [[United States Navy]] officer [[Win Spencer]], was punctuated by periods of separation and eventually ended in divorce. In 1931, while married to her second husband [[Ernest Simpson]], she met Edward, the [[Prince of Wales]]. Five years later, after Edward's accession as [[King of the United Kingdom]], Wallis divorced Ernest to marry Edward.

The King's desire to marry a woman who had two living ex-husbands threatened to cause a constitutional crisis in the United Kingdom and the [[Dominion]]s, ultimately leading to his abdication in December 1936 to marry "the woman I love".<ref name="Duke of Windsor, p. 413">Duke of Windsor, p. 413</ref> After abdicating, Edward was made [[Duke of Windsor]] by his brother and successor, [[George&nbsp;VI]]. Wallis married Edward six months later, after which she was formally known as the Duchess of Windsor, but was not allowed to share her husband's [[Style (form of address)|style]] of "[[Royal Highness]]".

Before, during, and after the [[Second World War]], Wallis and Edward were suspected by many in government and society of being [[Nazi sympathizer]]s. In 1937, without government approval, they [[1937 tour of Germany by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor|visited Germany]] and met [[Adolf Hitler]]. In 1940, Edward was appointed [[governor of the Bahamas]], and the couple moved to the islands until he relinquished the office in 1945. In the 1950s and 1960s, they shuttled between Europe and the United States, living a life of leisure as society celebrities. After [[Death and funeral of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor|Edward's death]] in 1972, Wallis lived in seclusion and was rarely seen in public. Her private life has been a source of much speculation, and she remains a controversial figure in British history.

==Early life and education==
[[File:Wallis Simpson as a six-month-old child in the arms of her mother, Alice Montague Warfield.jpg|thumb|upright|A six-month-old Wallis with her mother, Alice Warfield]]
An only child, Bessie Wallis (sometimes written "Bessiewallis") Warfield was born on June 19, 1896, in Square Cottage at Monterey Inn, a hotel directly across the road from the [[Monterey Country Club]], in [[Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="weir">Weir, p. 328</ref> A summer resort close to the Maryland–Pennsylvania border, Blue Ridge Summit was popular with Baltimoreans escaping the season's heat, and Monterey Inn, which had a central building, as well as individual wooden cottages, was the town's largest hotel.<ref>"Baltimore in Her Centennial Year", ''[[Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly]]'', Volume 43 (Frank Leslie Publishing House, 1897), p. 702</ref><ref>Blue Ridge Summit referred to as "a fashionable summer resort&nbsp;... then greatly patronized by Baltimoreans" in Francis F. Bierne (1984), ''The Amiable Baltimoreans'', Johns Hopkins University Press, p. 118</ref>

Wallis's father was Teackle Wallis Warfield (named after [[Severn Teackle Wallis]]),<ref>{{cite web|author=Corner, Thomas Cromwell|url=https://www.mdhistory.org/resources/severn-teackle-wallis/|title=Severn Teackle Wallis – Oil on canvas|work=[[Maryland Center for History and Culture]]|date=1896|access-date=June 29, 2024}}</ref> the fifth and youngest son of Henry Mactier Warfield<!--not the adjutant general, who was his son-->, a prominent merchant, described as "one of the best known and personally one of the most popular citizens of Baltimore", who ran for mayor in 1875.<ref>{{citation |first=David H. |last=Carroll |title=Men of Mark in Maryland, Volume 3 |publisher=B. F. Johnson Inc. |year=1911 |page=28 |url=https://archive.org/details/menofmarkinmaryl03stei_0/page/n63/mode/2up}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-death-of-henry-m-warfi/47733420/|title=Death of Henry M Warfield |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|date=January 19, 1885 |page=1}}</ref> Her mother was Alice Montague, a daughter of stockbroker William Latane Montague. Wallis was named in honor of her father (who was known as Wallis) and her mother's elder sister, Bessie (Mrs. D. Buchanan Merryman), and was called Bessie Wallis until, at some time in her youth, the name Bessie was dropped.<ref>King, p. 13</ref>

According to a wedding announcement published in ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' on November 20, 1895, Wallis's parents were married by C. Ernest Smith at Baltimore's Saint Michael and All Angels' Protestant Episcopal Church on November 19, 1895,<ref>{{citation |title=Montague–Warfield |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |date=November 20, 1895}}</ref> which suggests she was conceived out of wedlock. Wallis said that her parents were married in June 1895.<ref>Duchess of Windsor, p. 17; Sebba, p. 6</ref> Her father died of [[tuberculosis]] on November 15, 1896.<ref>Tombstone in [[Green Mount Cemetery]], Baltimore; King p. 13; Sebba, p. 9</ref> For her first few years, Wallis and her mother were dependent upon the charity of her father's wealthy bachelor brother [[Solomon Davies Warfield]], postmaster of Baltimore and later president of the Continental Trust Company and the [[Seaboard Air Line Railway]]. Initially, they lived with him at the four-story row house, 34 East Preston Street, that he shared with his mother.<ref>Carroll, vol. 3, pp. 24–43; King, pp. 14–15; Duchess of Windsor, p. 20</ref>

[[File:A ten-year-old Wallis Simpson as a schoolgirl with long hair and a hat on.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Wallis as a ten-year-old schoolgirl]]
In 1901, Wallis's aunt Bessie Merryman was widowed, and the following year Alice and Wallis moved into her four-bedroom house on West Chase Street, Baltimore, where they lived for at least a year until they settled in an apartment, and then a house, of their own. In 1908, Wallis's mother married her second husband, John Freeman Rasin, son of prominent Democratic party boss [[Isaac Freeman Rasin]].<ref>King, p. 24; Vickers, p. 252</ref>

On April 17, 1910, Wallis was confirmed at Christ Episcopal Church, Baltimore, and between 1912 and 1914 her uncle paid for her to attend [[Oldfields School]], the most expensive girls' school in Maryland.<ref>Higham, p. 4</ref> There she became a friend of heiress Renée du Pont, a daughter of Senator [[T. Coleman du Pont]] of the [[du Pont family]], and Mary Kirk, whose family founded [[Kirk Silverware]].<ref>King, p. 28</ref> A fellow pupil at one of Wallis's schools recalled, "She was bright, brighter than all of us. She made up her mind to go to the head of the class, and she ''did''."<ref>Higham, p. 7</ref> Wallis was always immaculately dressed and pushed herself hard to do well.<ref>King, pp. 21–22</ref> A later biographer wrote of her, "Though Wallis's jaw was too heavy for her to be counted beautiful, her fine violet-blue eyes and petite figure, quick wits, vitality, and capacity for total concentration on her interlocutor ensured that she had many admirers."<ref name="dnb"/>

==First marriage==
[[File:Spencers.jpg|thumb|upright|Wallis and her first husband, Earl W. Spencer, 1918]]
In April 1916, Wallis met [[Earl Winfield Spencer Jr.]], a [[US Navy]] aviator, in [[Pensacola, Florida]], while visiting her cousin [[Corinne Mustin]].<ref>King, p. 38; Sebba, pp. 20–21; Vickers, p. 257; Duchess of Windsor, pp. 59–60</ref> It was at this time that Wallis witnessed two airplane crashes about two weeks apart, resulting in a lifelong fear of flying.<ref>Higham, p. 20</ref> The couple married on November 8, 1916, at Christ Episcopal Church in [[Baltimore]], which had been Wallis's parish. Win, as her husband was known, was a heavy drinker. He drank even before flying and once crashed into the sea, but escaped almost unharmed.<ref>Duchess of Windsor, pp. 76–77</ref> After the United States entered the [[First World War]] in 1917, Spencer was posted to [[San Diego]] as the first commanding officer of a training base in [[Coronado, California|Coronado]], known as [[Naval Air Station North Island]]; they remained there until 1921.<ref>King, pp. 47–52; Vickers, pp. 258, 261; Duchess of Windsor, pp. 79–85</ref>

In 1920, [[Edward VIII|Edward, Prince of Wales]], visited San Diego, but he and Wallis did not meet.<ref>King, pp. 51–52; Sebba, p. 36; Vickers, p. 260; Duchess of Windsor, p. 85</ref> Later that year, Spencer left his wife for a period of four months, but in the spring of 1921 they were reunited in Washington, D.C., where Spencer had been posted. They soon separated again, and in 1922, when Spencer was posted to the Far East as commander of the {{USS|Pampanga|PG-39|6}}, Wallis remained behind, continuing an affair with an Argentine diplomat, Felipe de Espil.<ref name="dnb">[[Ziegler, Philip]] (2004) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/38277 "Windsor, (Bessie) Wallis, duchess of Windsor (1896–1986)"], ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', [[Oxford University Press]], {{doi|10.1093/ref:odnb/38277}}, retrieved May 2, 2010 (subscription required)</ref> In January 1924, she visited Paris with her recently widowed cousin Corinne Mustin,<ref>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', p. 22; King, p. 57; Sebba, pp. 41–43; Duchess of Windsor, pp. 100–101</ref> before sailing to the Far East aboard a troop carrier, {{USS|Chaumont|AP-5|6}}. The Spencers were briefly reunited until she fell ill, after which she returned to Hong Kong.<ref>King, p. 60; Duchess of Windsor, pp. 104–106</ref>

Wallis toured China, and while in Beijing stayed with Katherine and Herman Rogers, who were to remain her longterm friends.<ref>King, pp. 62–64; Sebba, pp. 45–53; Vickers, p. 263; Duchess of Windsor, pp. 112–113</ref> According to the wife of one of Win's fellow officers, Mrs. [[Milton E. Miles]],<ref>Higham, p. 50</ref> in Beijing Wallis met Count [[Galeazzo Ciano]], later [[Mussolini]]'s son-in-law and [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Italy)|foreign minister]], had an affair with him, and became pregnant, leading to a botched abortion that left her infertile.<ref>Higham, p. 50; King, p. 66; Sebba, pp. 55–56</ref> The rumor was later widespread but never substantiated and Ciano's wife, [[Edda Mussolini]], denied it.<ref>{{citation |author=Moseley, Ray |year=1999 |title=Mussolini's Shadow: The Double Life of Count Galeazzo Ciano |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=978-0-300-07917-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/mussolinisshadow00mose/page/9 9–10]}}</ref> The existence of an official "China dossier" (detailing the supposed sexual and criminal exploits of Wallis in China) is denied by historians and biographers.<ref>Higham, p. 119; King, p. 61; Vickers, p. 263; Ziegler, p. 224</ref> Wallis spent over a year in China, during which time—according to the socialite [[Madame Wellington Koo]]—she managed to master only one Chinese phrase: "Boy, pass me the champagne".<ref>{{citation |last=Koo |first=Madame Wellington |title=Hui-Lan Koo: An Autobiography as told to Mary van Rensselaer Thayer |location=New York |publisher=Dial Press |year=1943}}</ref><ref>{{citation |first=Catherine |last=Maher |title=Madame Wellington Koo's Life Story |journal=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 31, 1943 |page=BR7}}</ref> By September 1925, she and her husband were back in the United States, though living apart.<ref>King, p. 66</ref> Their divorce was finalized on December 10, 1927.<ref>Sebba, p. 60; Weir, p. 328</ref>

==Second marriage==
By the time her marriage to Spencer was dissolved, Wallis had become involved with [[Ernest Aldrich Simpson]], an Anglo-American shipping executive and former officer in the [[Coldstream Guards]].<ref>King, pp. 68–70; Sebba, pp. 62–64; Vickers, pp. 267–269; Duchess of Windsor, pp. 125, 131</ref> He divorced his first wife, Dorothea (by whom he had a daughter, Audrey), to marry Wallis on July 21, 1928, at the [[Register Office]] in [[Chelsea, London]].<ref>Sebba, pp. 62–67; Weir, p. 328</ref> Wallis had telegraphed her acceptance of his proposal from [[Cannes]], where she was staying with her friends, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers.<ref>Higham, p. 58</ref>

The Simpsons temporarily set up home in a furnished house with four servants in [[Mayfair]].<ref>Duchess of Windsor, p. 140</ref> In 1929, Wallis sailed back to the United States to visit her sick mother, who had married legal clerk Charles Gordon Allen after the death of Rasin. During the trip, Wallis's investments were wiped out in the [[Wall Street Crash]], and her mother died penniless on November 2, 1929. Wallis returned to England and with the shipping business still buoyant,<!--Pun intended!--> the Simpsons moved into a large flat with a staff of servants.<ref>Higham, p. 67</ref>

Through a friend, Consuelo Thaw, Wallis met Consuelo's sister [[Thelma, Viscountess Furness]], at the time the mistress of Edward, Prince of Wales.<ref>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', p. 33; Sebba, p. 84; Vickers, p. 272</ref> On January 10, 1931, Lady Furness introduced Wallis to Edward at [[Burrough Court]], near [[Melton Mowbray]].<ref>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', p. 37; King, p. 98; Vickers, p. 272</ref> Edward was the eldest son of [[King George&nbsp;V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]], and [[heir apparent]] to the British throne. Between 1931 and 1934, he met the Simpsons at various house parties, and Wallis was presented at court. Ernest was beginning to encounter financial difficulties, as the Simpsons were living beyond their means, and they had to fire a succession of staff.<ref>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', pp. 37–41</ref>

==Relationship with Edward, Prince of Wales==
[[File:Wallis Simpson and Prince 1935.jpg|thumb|left|The Prince of Wales and Wallis in [[Kitzbühel]], Austria, February 1935]]

In January 1934, while Lady Furness was away in New York City, Wallis allegedly became Edward's mistress.<ref>Edward sued one author, Geoffrey Dennis, who said that Wallis and Edward were lovers before their marriage, and won (King, p. 119).</ref> Edward denied this to his father, despite his staff seeing them in bed together as well as "evidence of a physical sexual act".<ref>Diary of [[Clive Wigram, 1st Baron Wigram]] quoted in Bradford, pp. 145–147</ref> Wallis soon ousted Furness, and Edward distanced himself from a former lover and confidante, the Anglo-American textile heiress [[Freda Dudley Ward]].<ref>Sebba, p. 98; Vickers, p. 287; Ziegler, pp. 227–228</ref>

By the end of 1934, Edward was irretrievably besotted with Wallis, finding her domineering manner and abrasive irreverence toward his position appealing; in the words of his official biographer, he became "slavishly dependent" on her.<ref name="dnb" /> According to Wallis, it was during a cruise on [[Lord Moyne]]'s private yacht [[MY Rosaura|''Rosaura'']] in August 1934 that she fell in love with Edward.<ref>King, p. 113; Duchess of Windsor, pp. 195–197, 200</ref> At an evening party in [[Buckingham Palace]], he introduced her to his mother; his father was outraged,<ref>Ziegler, p. 231</ref> primarily on account of her marital history, as divorced people were generally excluded from court.<ref>{{citation |last=Beaverbrook |first=Lord |author-link=Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook |title=The Abdication of King Edward VIII |editor=A. J. P. Taylor |editor-link=A. J. P. Taylor |publisher=Hamish Hamilton |location=London |year=1966 |page=111}}</ref> Edward showered Wallis with money and jewels,<ref>King, pp. 126, 155; Sebba, pp. 103–104; Ziegler, p. 238</ref> and in February 1935, and again later in the year, he holidayed with her in Europe.<ref>King, pp. 117, 134</ref> His courtiers became increasingly alarmed as the affair began to interfere with his official duties.<ref>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', pp. 58 and 71</ref>

In 1935, the head of the [[Metropolitan Police Special Branch]] told the [[Metropolitan Police Commissioner]] that Wallis was also having an affair with Guy Marcus Trundle, who was "said to be employed by the [[Ford Motor Company]]".<ref>Report from Superintendent A. Canning to Sir [[Philip Game]], July 3, 1935, [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|National Archives]], PRO MEPO 10/35, quoted in Williams, p. 75</ref> Rumors of an affair were doubted, however, by Captain Val Bailey, who knew Trundle well and whose mother had an affair with Trundle for nearly two decades,<ref name="fox">{{citation |first=James |last=Fox |title=The Oddest Couple |journal=[[Vanity Fair magazine|Vanity Fair]] |issue=517 |pages=276–291 |date=September 1, 2003 |issn=0733-8899}}</ref> and by [[Susan Williams (historian)|historian Susan Williams]].<ref>Williams, p. 75</ref>

==Abdication crisis==
{{Main|Abdication of Edward VIII}}
[[File:King Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson on holiday in Yugoslavia, 1936.jpg|thumb|Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson on holiday in Yugoslavia, 1936]]

On January 20, 1936, [[Death and state funeral of George V|George&nbsp;V died]] at [[Sandringham House|Sandringham]] and Edward ascended the throne as Edward{{nbsp}}VIII. The next day, he broke royal protocol by watching the proclamation of his accession from a window of [[St James's Palace]], in the company of the still-married Wallis.<ref>Sebba, p. 119; Duke of Windsor, p. 265</ref> It was becoming apparent to court and government circles that the new [[king]] meant to marry her.<ref>Ziegler, pp. 277–278</ref> Edward's behaviour and his relationship with Wallis made him unpopular with the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]-led [[National Government (United Kingdom)|British government]], as well as distressing his mother and his brother the [[George VI|Duke of York]].<ref>Ziegler, pp. 289–292</ref> The British media remained deferential to the monarchy, and no stories of the affair were reported in the domestic press, but foreign media widely reported their relationship.<ref>King, p. 173; Sebba, pp. 136, 141; Duchess of Windsor, pp. 237, 242</ref> After the death of George{{nbsp}}V, before her divorce from her second husband, Wallis reportedly said, "Soon I shall be Queen of England."<ref>{{citation |first=Lucy |last=Moore |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/mar/31/queenmother.monarchy3 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=March 31, 2002 |title=A wicked twinkle and a streak of steel |access-date=January 3, 2019}}</ref>

The monarch of the United Kingdom is [[Supreme Governor of the Church of England]]. At the time of the proposed marriage (and until 2002), the [[Church of England]] disapproved of, and would not perform, the remarriage of divorced people if their former spouse was still alive.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.churchofengland.org/media/37453/mcad1.doc |title=Marriage in Church After a Divorce |publisher=Church of England |access-date=March 9, 2013 |format=doc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915022305/http://www.churchofengland.org/media/37453/mcad1.doc |archive-date=September 15, 2012}}</ref> Constitutionally, the King was required to be in communion with the Church of England, but his proposed marriage conflicted with the Church's teachings.<ref>Beaverbrook, pp. 39–44, 122</ref> Additionally, at the time both the Church and English law only recognized adultery as a legitimate ground for divorce. Since she had divorced her first husband on grounds of "mutual incompatibility", there was a possibility that her second marriage, as well as her prospective marriage to Edward, would be considered [[bigamous]] if her first divorce had been challenged in court.<ref>Bradford, p. 241.</ref>

The British and Dominion governments believed that a twice-divorced woman was politically, socially, and morally unsuitable as a prospective consort.<ref name="ziegler">Ziegler, pp. 305–307</ref> Wallis was perceived by many in the [[British Empire]] as a woman of "limitless ambition"<ref>[[Sir Horace Wilson]] writing to [[Neville Chamberlain]], December 10, 1936, National Archives PREM 1/453, quoted in Sebba, p. 250</ref> who was pursuing the King because of his wealth and position.<ref>Ziegler, pp. 234, 312</ref>

Wallis had already filed for divorce from her second husband on the grounds that he had committed adultery with her childhood friend Mary Kirk and the [[decree nisi]] was granted on October 27, 1936.<ref>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', pp. 82, 92</ref> In November, the King consulted with the [[British prime minister]], [[Stanley Baldwin]], on a way to marry Wallis and keep the throne. Edward suggested a [[morganatic marriage]], where he would remain king but Wallis would not be queen, but this was rejected by Baldwin and the prime ministers of Australia, Canada, and the [[Union of South Africa]].<ref name="ziegler" /> If Edward were to marry Wallis against Baldwin's advice, the government would be required to resign, causing a [[constitutional crisis]].<ref>Beaverbrook, p. 57</ref>
[[File:Herman Rogers; Katherine Rogers; Wallis, Duchess of Windsor; Peregrine Francis Adelbert Cust, 6th Baron Brownlow.jpg|thumb|upright|Herman and Katherine Rogers (left) with Wallis and Lord Brownlow in France, 1936]]
Wallis's relationship with Edward had become public knowledge in the United Kingdom by early December. She decided to flee the country as the scandal broke, and was driven to the south of France in a dramatic race to outrun the press.<ref>King, pp. 213–218; Duchess of Windsor, pp. 255–269</ref> For the next three months, she was under siege by the media at the Villa Lou Viei, near Cannes, the home of her close friends Herman and Katherine Rogers,<ref>Duke of Windsor, p. 359</ref> whom she later thanked effusively in her ghost-written memoirs. According to [[Andrew Morton (writer)|Andrew Morton]], who relied on an interview with the stepdaughter-in-law of Herman Rogers conducted 80 years later,<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/books/wallis-in-love-the-untold-true-passion-of-the-duchess-of-windsor-andrew-morton-review-a3773211.html |title=Wallis in Love by Andrew Morton – review: Did she ever love the Duke of Windsor? |first=David |last=Sexton |date=February 22, 2018 |work=Evening Standard |access-date=January 5, 2020}}</ref> Simpson confessed during the writing of her memoirs that Rogers was the love of her life. However, at her instruction, the ghostwriter omitted this revelation from the final memoirs.<ref>{{citation |last=Morton |first=Andrew |year=2018 |title=Wallis in Love |publisher=Michael O'Mara Books |isbn=978-1-78243-722-2 |page=247}}</ref> At her hideaway, Wallis was pressured by [[Peregrine Cust, 6th Baron Brownlow|Lord Brownlow]], the King's [[lord-in-waiting]], to renounce Edward. On December 7, 1936, Brownlow read to the press Wallis's statement, which he had helped her draft, indicating her readiness to give up Edward.<ref>{{citation |first=Adrian |last=Tinniswood |author-link=Adrian Tinniswood |title=Belton House |publisher=[[The National Trust]] |year=1992 |page=[https://archive.org/details/beltonhouselinco00adri/page/34 34] |isbn=978-0-7078-0113-1 |title-link=Belton House}}</ref> However, Edward was determined to marry Wallis. [[John Theodore Goddard]], Wallis's solicitor, stated: {{nowrap|"[his]}} client was ready to do anything to ease the situation but the other end of the wicket [Edward VIII] was determined." This seemingly indicated that Edward had decided he had no option but to abdicate if he wished to marry Wallis.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/monarchy/story/0,2763,191136,00.html |title=Edward and Mrs Simpson cast in new light |last=Norton-Taylor |first=Richard |author2=Evans, Rob |date=March 2, 2000 |journal=The Guardian |access-date=May 2, 2010}}</ref>
{{Wikisource|Edward VIII of the United Kingdom's Abdication}}

Edward signed the [[Instrument of Abdication]] on December 10, 1936, in the presence of his three surviving brothers, the Dukes of York, [[Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester|Gloucester]] and [[Prince George, Duke of Kent|Kent]]. Special laws passed by the Parliaments of the [[Dominion]]s finalized Edward's abdication the following day, or in Ireland's case one day later. The Duke of York then became King George{{nbsp}}VI. On December 11, Edward said in a radio broadcast, "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."<ref name="Duke of Windsor, p. 413"/>

Edward left Britain for Austria, where he stayed at [[Schloss Enzesfeld]], the home of Baron [[Eugène von Rothschild|Eugène]] and Baroness Kitty de [[Rothschild family|Rothschild]]. Edward had to remain apart from Wallis until there was no danger of compromising the granting of a decree absolute in her divorce proceedings.<ref name=BHK/> Upon her divorce being made final in May 1937, she changed her name by [[deed poll]] to Wallis Warfield, resuming her maiden name.<ref name="Waycross">{{citation |author=McMillan, Richard D. |title=Duke Awaiting His Wedding Day |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=koNaAAAAIBAJ&pg=2457,4252801&dq=wallis+simpson+deed+poll&hl=en |journal=Waycross Journal-Herald |date=May 11, 1937 |access-date=September 6, 2011 |page=1}}</ref> The couple were reunited at the [[Château de Candé]], Monts, France, on May 4, 1937.<ref name=BHK>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', pp. 106–118; King, pp. 253–254, 260</ref>

==Third marriage: Duchess of Windsor==
{{see also|Wedding of Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson}}
[[File:Candé Castle.jpg|thumb|left|[[Château de Candé]], Monts, France]]
Wallis and Edward married one month later on June 3, 1937, at the Château de Candé, lent to them by French millionaire [[Charles Bedaux]].<ref>Howarth, p. 73; Sebba, pp. 198, 205–209</ref> The date would have been King George V's 72nd birthday; Queen Mary thought the wedding had been scheduled for then as a deliberate slight.<ref>Letter from Queen Mary to Queen Elizabeth, May 21, 1937, Royal Archives, QEQM/PRIV/RF, quoted in {{citation |last=Shawcross |first=William |author-link=William Shawcross |title=Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother: The Official Biography |publisher=Macmillan |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4050-4859-0 |page=422}}</ref> No member of Edward's family attended. Wallis wore a "Wallis blue" [[Mainbocher]] [[wedding dress of Wallis Warfield|wedding dress]].<ref>Sebba, p. 207</ref> Edward presented her with an engagement ring that consisted of an [[emerald]] mount in yellow gold set with diamonds, and the sentence "We are ours now" was engraved on it.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.cartier.com/en-us/collections/engagement/features/set-for-you-by-cartier-home/legend/duke-and-duchess-windsor.html |title=Cartier engagement ring for the Duke and Duchess of Windsor |publisher=Cartier |access-date=November 15, 2018}}</ref> While the Church of England refused to sanction the wedding, [[Robert Anderson Jardine]], Vicar of St Paul's, Darlington, offered to perform the service, an offer that was accepted by the couple.<ref name=wed>{{citation |last=Hallemann |first=Caroline |url=http://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a9967591/wallis-simpson-prince-edward-wedding/ |title=Inside Wallis Simpson's Wedding to the Duke of Windsor |date=June 2, 2017 |magazine=[[Town & Country (magazine)|Town & Country]] |access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> Guests included [[Randolph Churchill]], Baron [[Eugène Daniel von Rothschild]], and the best man, Major [[Fruity Metcalfe]].<ref name=wed/> The marriage produced no children. In November, Ernest Simpson married Mary Kirk.<ref>Sebba, p. 213</ref>

Edward was created [[Duke of Windsor]] by his brother King George{{nbsp}}VI prior to the marriage. However, [[letters patent]], issued by the new king and unanimously supported by the Dominion governments,<ref>Diary of [[Neville Chamberlain]] quoted in Bradford, p. 243</ref> prevented Wallis, now Duchess of Windsor, from sharing her husband's [[Style (manner of address)|style]] of "[[Royal Highness]]". George{{nbsp}}VI's firm view that the Duchess should not be given a royal title was shared by his mother, Queen Mary, and his wife, [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother)]].<ref>{{citation |url=https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2003/january30/edward_duke.htm |title=Home Office memo on the Duke and Duchess's title |publisher=National Archives |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20161207010016/https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2003/january30/edward_duke.htm |archive-date=December 7, 2016 |access-date=May 2, 2020 }}</ref> At first, the [[British royal family]] did not accept Wallis and would not receive her formally, although the former king sometimes met his mother and siblings after his abdication. Some biographers have suggested that Wallis's sister-in-law Queen Elizabeth remained bitter towards her for her role in bringing George{{nbsp}}VI to the throne (which she may have seen as a factor in his early death)<ref>King, p. 399</ref> and for prematurely behaving as Edward's consort when she was his mistress.<ref>Bradford, p. 172; King, pp. 171–172</ref> These claims were denied by Elizabeth's close friends, such as the [[Hugh FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton|Duke of Grafton]], who wrote that she "never said anything nasty about the Duchess of Windsor, except to say she really hadn't got a clue what she was dealing with."<ref>{{citation |last=Hogg |first=James |author2=Mortimer, Michael |title=The Queen Mother Remembered |publisher=BBC Books |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-563-36214-2 |pages=84–85}}</ref> Elizabeth was said to have referred to Wallis as "that woman",<ref>{{citation |first=Jill |last=Lawless |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/17/AR2011031700956_2.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 17, 2011 |title=Move over, Kate: Wallis Simpson back as style icon |access-date=January 3, 2019}}</ref> while Wallis referred to Queen Elizabeth as "Mrs. Temple" and "Cookie", alluding to her solid figure and fondness for food, and to her daughter Princess Elizabeth (later [[Queen Elizabeth&nbsp;II]]) as "Shirley", as in [[Shirley Temple]].<ref>Bloch, ''The Secret File of the Duke of Windsor'', p. 259</ref> Wallis bitterly resented the denial of the royal title and the refusal of Edward's relatives to accept her as part of the family.<ref name="dnb" /><ref>See also, Bloch, ''Wallis and Edward: Letters 1931–1937'', pp. 231, 233 cited in Bradford, p. 232</ref> Within the household of the Duke and Duchess, the style "Her Royal Highness" was used by those who were close to the couple.<ref name="style">Sebba, p. 208</ref>

According to [[Diana Mosley]], who knew both Queen Elizabeth and the Duchess of Windsor but was only friendly with the latter, Elizabeth's antipathy toward Wallis may have resulted from jealousy. Lady Mosley wrote to her sister, the [[Deborah Mitford|Duchess of Devonshire]], after the death of the Duke of Windsor, "probably the theory of their [the Windsors'] contemporaries that Cake [a Mitford nickname for the Queen Mother] was rather in love with him [the Duke] (as a girl) & took second best, may account for much."<ref>Letter from Lady Mosley to the [[Deborah Mitford|Duchess of Devonshire]], June 5, 1972, in Mosley, Charlotte (ed.) (2007). ''The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters''. London: Fourth Estate, p. 582</ref>
[[File:Duke and Duchess of Windsor meet Adolf Hitler 1937.jpg|right|thumb|Wallis and Edward with [[Adolf Hitler]], 1937]]
Wallis and Edward lived in France in the pre-war years. In 1937, they made a [[1937 tour of Germany by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor|high-profile visit to Germany]] and met [[Adolf Hitler]] at the [[Berghof (residence)|Berghof]], his [[Berchtesgaden]] retreat. After the visit, Hitler said of Wallis, "she would have made a good queen".<ref>Memoirs of Hitler's interpreter [[Paul Schmidt (interpreter)|Paul Schmidt]], quoted in King, p. 295</ref> The visit tended to corroborate the strong suspicions of many in government and society that Wallis was a German agent,<ref name="dnb" /> a claim that she ridiculed in her letters to Edward.<ref>Higham, p. 203</ref> US [[FBI]] files compiled in the 1930s also portray her as a possible [[Nazi]] sympathizer. [[Duke Carl Alexander of Württemberg]] told the FBI that Wallis and leading Nazi [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] had been lovers in London.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/Archive/Article/0,4273,4451107,00.html |first=Rob |last=Evans |author2=Hencke, David |title=Wallis Simpson, the Nazi minister, the telltale monk and an FBI plot |journal=The Guardian |date=June 29, 2002 |access-date=May 2, 2010}}</ref> There were even rather improbable reports during the Second World War that she kept a signed photograph of Ribbentrop on her bedside table.<ref>Bloch, ''The Duke of Windsor's War'', p. 355</ref>

Edward wrote in the New York ''[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]'' of December 13, 1966: "In a roundabout way [Hitler] encouraged me to infer that Red Russia was the only enemy and that it was in Britain's interest and in Europe's too, that Germany be encouraged to strike east and smash Communism forever&nbsp;... I confess frankly that he took me in. ... I thought the rest of us could be fence-sitters while the Nazis and the Reds slogged it out."<ref>King, pp. 294–296</ref>

==Second World War==
As the German troops advanced into France in 1940, the Windsors fled south from their Paris home, first to [[Biarritz]] then to Spain in June. Wallis told United States ambassador to Spain [[Alexander W. Weddell]] that France had lost because it was "internally diseased".<ref>Telegram from Weddell to Secretary of State [[Cordell Hull]], FRUS 740.0011 1939/4357 European War, National Archives, Washington, D.C., quoted in Higham, p. 323 and King, p. 343</ref> The couple moved to Portugal in July. They stayed in [[Cascais]], at Casa de Santa Maria, the home of [[Ricardo Espírito Santo|Ricardo do Espírito Santo e Silva]], a banker who was suspected of being a German agent.<ref>Bloch, ''The Duke of Windsor's War'', p. 102</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Damas |first1=Carlos Alberto |title=Duke of Windsor and Ricardo Espírito Santo |journal=British Historical Society of Portugal Annual Report |date=2002 |volume=29 |url=https://www.bhsportugal.org/library/articles/duke-of-windsor-and-ricardo-espirito-santo |accessdate=July 26, 2020}}</ref>

In August 1940, the Duke and Duchess traveled by commercial liner to [[the Bahamas]], where Edward was installed as governor.<ref>King, pp. 350–352; Duchess of Windsor, pp. 344–345</ref> Wallis performed her role as the governor's consort competently for five years; she worked actively for the [[Red Cross]] and in the improvement of infant welfare,<ref>King, pp. 368–376; Vickers, p. 331</ref> as well as overseeing [[Government House, The Bahamas#1940s renovations|renovations of Government House]]. However, she hated [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], calling it "our [[St Helena]]" in a reference to [[Napoleon]]'s final place of exile,<ref>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', pp. 153, 159</ref> and sarcastically commenting on the government surveillance.<ref name="Aldrich">{{cite book |last1=Aldrich |first1=Richard J. |last2=Cormac |first2=Rory |title=Crown, cloak, and dagger: the British monarchy and secret intelligence from Victoria to Elizabeth II |date=2023 |publisher=Georgetown University Press |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-1647123710 |pages=166–170}}</ref> She was heavily criticized in the British press for her extravagant shopping in the United States, undertaken when Britain was enduring privations such as rationing and blackout.<ref name="dnb" /><ref>Sebba, p. 244</ref> She referred to the local population as "lazy, thriving niggers" in letters to her aunt, which reflected her upbringing in [[Jim Crow]] Baltimore.<ref>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', p. 165</ref>{{efn|When telling a story of how Wallis complained about blacks being allowed on [[Park Avenue (Manhattan)]], Joanne Cummings, the wife of [[Nathan Cummings]], said of Wallis, "She grew up in the South, at a certain time, with certain prejudices." Source: Menkes, p. 88}} Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] strenuously objected in 1941 when she and her husband planned to tour the Caribbean aboard a yacht belonging to Swedish magnate [[Axel Wenner-Gren]], who Churchill said was "pro-German", and Churchill complained again when the Duke gave a "[[defeatist]]" interview.<ref>Howarth, p. 130; King, pp. 377–378</ref> Another of their acquaintances, [[Charles Bedaux]], who had hosted their wedding, was arrested on charges of treason in 1943 but committed suicide in jail in Miami before the case was brought to trial.<ref>King, p. 378</ref> The British establishment distrusted Wallis; [[Alexander Hardinge, 2nd Baron Hardinge of Penshurst|Sir Alexander Hardinge]] wrote that her suspected anti-British activities were motivated by a desire for revenge against a country that rejected her as its queen.<ref>Howarth, p. 113</ref> The couple returned to France and retirement after the defeat of Nazi Germany.<ref name="dnb"/>

==Later life==
[[File:Nixon and the Windsors.jpg|thumb|Wallis and Edward at the White House for dinner with President [[Richard Nixon]], 1970]]
In 1946, when Wallis was staying at Ednam Lodge, the home of the [[William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley|Earl of Dudley]], some of her jewels were stolen. There were rumors that the theft had been masterminded by the royal family as an attempt to regain jewels taken from the [[Royal Collection]] by Edward, or by the Windsors themselves as part of an insurance fraud—they made a large deposit of loose stones at [[Cartier SA|Cartier]] the following year. However, in 1960, career criminal Richard Dunphie confessed to the crime. The stolen pieces were only a small portion of the Windsor jewels, which were either bought privately, inherited by the Duke, or given to Edward when he was Prince of Wales.<ref>Menkes, pp. 192–193</ref>

In 1952, the Windsors were offered the use of a house by the Paris municipal authorities. The couple lived at [[4 route du Champ d'Entraînement]] in the [[Bois de Boulogne]], near [[Neuilly-sur-Seine]], for most of the remainder of their lives, essentially living a life of easy retirement.<ref>Menkes, pp. 11–48</ref> They traveled frequently between Europe and America aboard [[ocean liners]]. They bought a second house in a far suburb of Paris, ''Moulin de la Tuilerie'' or "The Mill" in [[Gif-sur-Yvette]], where they soon became close friends with their neighbors, [[Oswald Mosley|Oswald]] and Diana Mosley.<ref>Ziegler, p. 545</ref> Years later, Diana Mosley said that Wallis and Edward shared her and her husband's views that Hitler should have been given a free hand to destroy Communism.<ref>Higham, p. 450</ref>

In 1965, the Duke and Duchess visited London as Edward required eye surgery for a [[detached retina]]; Edward's niece Queen Elizabeth{{nbsp}}II and sister-in-law [[Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent]], visited them. Edward's sister, the [[Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood|Princess Royal]], also visited them just 10 days before her death. Wallis and Edward attended her memorial service in [[Westminster Abbey]].<ref>Vickers, p. 360</ref> Later, in 1967, they joined the royal family in London for the unveiling of a plaque by Elizabeth{{nbsp}}II to commemorate the centenary of Queen Mary's birth.<ref>King, pp. 455–459; Vickers, p. 362</ref> The couple spoke to [[Kenneth Harris (journalist)|Kenneth Harris]] for an extensive [[The Duke and Duchess of Windsor in conversation with Kenneth Harris|BBC television interview in 1970]].<ref name="Times70">{{citation |title='Clash with the Establishment was inevitable' |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS168391214/TTDA?u=wes_ttda&sid=TTDA&xid=2e4e78c3 |access-date=January 27, 2021 |work=The Times |first=David |last=Wilsworth |issue=57767 |date=January 14, 1970 |page=10}}</ref> Both Queen Elizabeth&nbsp;II and her son [[Charles, Prince of Wales]], visited the Windsors in Paris in Edward's later years, the Queen's visit being shortly before Edward's death.<ref>Bloch, ''The Secret File of the Duke of Windsor'', p. 299; Vickers; pp. 15–16, 367</ref> For much of their later lives, Wallis and Edward were served by their valet and footman [[Sydney Johnson (servant)|Sydney Johnson]].<ref name="Pasternak">{{cite book |last=Anna |first=Pasternak |date=2020 |title=The American Duchess. The Real Wallis Simpson |publisher=Atria Books |page=246 |isbn=9781501198458}}</ref>

==Widowhood==
Upon Edward's death from throat cancer in 1972, Wallis traveled to the United Kingdom to attend [[Death and funeral of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor|his funeral]],<ref>Conducted by [[Launcelot Fleming]], [[Dean of Windsor]] (''[[The Times]]'', Monday, June 5, 1972; p. 2; Issue 58496; col. E)</ref> staying at Buckingham Palace during her visit.<ref>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', p. 216; Sebba, p. 272; Vickers, p. 26</ref> She became increasingly frail and eventually succumbed to [[dementia]], living the final years of her life as a recluse, supported by both her husband's estate and an allowance from Elizabeth II.<ref>Sebba, pp. 274–277; Vickers, pp. 99–120; Ziegler, p. 555</ref> She suffered several falls and broke her hip twice.<ref>King, pp. 492–493</ref>

After Edward's death, Wallis's French lawyer, [[Suzanne Blum (lawyer)|Suzanne Blum]], assumed [[power of attorney]].<ref>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', p. 221; King, p. 505; Menkes, p. 199; Vickers, pp. 137–138</ref> Blum sold items belonging to the Duchess to her own friends at lower than market value<ref>Vickers, pp. 124–127, 165</ref> and was accused of exploiting her client in [[Caroline Blackwood]]'s ''The Last of the Duchess'', written in 1980 but not published until 1995, after Blum's death.<ref>Vickers, pp. 178–179</ref> Later, royal biographer [[Hugo Vickers]] called Blum a "Satanic figure&nbsp;... wearing the mantle of good intention to disguise her inner malevolence".<ref>Vickers, p. 370</ref>

In 1980, Wallis lost her ability to speak.<ref>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', p. 222</ref> Towards the end of her life, she was bedridden and did not receive any visitors, apart from her doctor and nurses.<ref>Vickers, pp. 158–168</ref>

==Death==
{{main|Death and funeral of Wallis, Duchess of Windsor}}

Wallis died on April 24, 1986, at her home in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, at the age of 89 from [[bronchial pneumonia]].<ref name="weir"/><ref>{{cite news |title=The Duchess Of Windsor Dies at 89 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627223709/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/04/25/the-duchess-of-windsor-dies-at-89/527355f5-b283-441c-b892-a5d35c0a341f/ |archive-date=June 27, 2022 |url-status=live |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/04/25/the-duchess-of-windsor-dies-at-89/527355f5-b283-441c-b892-a5d35c0a341f/}}</ref> Her funeral was held on April 29 at [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]], attended by her two surviving sisters-in-law&nbsp;– Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and [[Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester]]&nbsp;– and other members of the royal family.<ref>Vickers, pp. 191–198</ref> The Queen and her husband, [[Prince Philip]], attended both the funeral ceremony and the burial, as did their son Charles and daughter-in-law [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Diana]].<ref name="bbc"/> Diana said afterwards that it was the only time she had seen the Queen weep.<ref>{{citation|page=98|title=The Queen's Speech: An Intimate Portrat of the Queen in Her Own Words|author=Ingrid Seward|year=2016|publisher=Simon & Schuster, Limited |isbn=9781471150982}}</ref>

Wallis was buried next to Edward in the [[Royal Burial Ground]] near Windsor Castle, as "Wallis, Duchess of Windsor".<ref name="bbc">{{citation |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/29/newsid_2500000/2500427.stm |publisher=BBC |title=Simple funeral rites for Duchess |date=April 29, 1998 |access-date=May 2, 2010}}</ref> Prior to an agreement with Elizabeth{{nbsp}}II in the 1960s, Wallis and Edward had previously planned for a burial in a purchased cemetery plot at [[Green Mount Cemetery]] in Baltimore, where Wallis's father was interred.<ref>{{citation |title=Windsors had a plot at Green Mount |last=Rasmussen |first=Frederick |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=April 29, 1986}}; Vickers, p. 245</ref>

In recognition of the help France gave to the Windsors in providing them with a home, and in lieu of death duties, Wallis's collection of [[Louis XVI style]] furniture, some [[porcelain]], and paintings were made over to the French state.<ref>King, p. 506; Menkes, pp. 198, 206 and 207</ref> The British royal family received no major bequests. Most of her estate went to the [[Pasteur Institute]] medical research foundation, on the instructions of Suzanne Blum. The decision took the royal family and Wallis's friends by surprise, as she had shown little interest in charity during her life.<ref>Menkes, p. 200</ref>

In a [[Sotheby's]] auction in Geneva, in April 1987, Wallis's jewelry collection raised $45&nbsp;million for the institute, approximately seven times its pre-sale estimate.<ref>Culme, p. 7</ref> Blum later said that Egyptian entrepreneur [[Mohamed Al-Fayed]] tried to purchase the jewels for a "rock bottom price".<ref>{{citation |author1=Wadler, Joyce |author2=Hauptfuhrer, Fred |date=January 8, 1990 |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20116503,00.html |title=Egypt's Al Fayed Restores the House Fit for a Former King |work=[[People (American magazine)|People]] |volume=33 |issue=1}}</ref> Al-Fayed bought much of the non-financial estate, including the lease of the Paris mansion. An auction of his collection was announced in July 1997 for later that year in New York.<ref>Vickers, pp. 234–235</ref> Delayed by [[Dodi Fayed|his son]]'s death in [[Death of Diana, Princess of Wales|the car crash]] that also claimed the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, the sale raised more than £14&nbsp;million for charity in 1998.<ref name="bbc" />

==Legacy==
[[File:Simpson, Wallis & Edward VIII - RLWMV (5034878895).jpg|thumb|upright|Wax figures of Wallis and Edward at the Royal London Wax Museum, [[Victoria, British Columbia]], Canada]]

Wallis was plagued by rumors of other lovers. The gay American [[Jimmy Donahue]], an heir to the [[F. W. Woolworth Company|Woolworth]] fortune, said he had a liaison with her in the 1950s, but Donahue was notorious for his inventive pranks and rumor-mongering.<ref>{{cite book |first=Christopher |last=Wilson |title=Dancing With the Devil: the Windsors and Jimmy Donahue |publisher=HarperCollins |location=London |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-00-653159-3}}; King, p. 442</ref>{{efn|[[Lady Pamela Hicks]] remembered the Duke being "in tears" with her father [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Earl Mountbatten of Burma]] because Wallis was with Donahue.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Reginato |first=James |title=Royal In-Law: Princess Diana Favored 'Disco-ing' to Married Life; Charles Has 'Blossomed Again' with Camilla |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2013/09/princess-diana-discoing-mountbatten-memoir |accessdate=April 19, 2023 |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=September 5, 2013 |language=en}}</ref>}} Wallis's memoir ''The Heart Has Its Reasons'' was published in 1956, and biographer [[Charles Higham (biographer)|Charles Higham]] said that "facts were remorselessly rearranged in what amounted to a self-performed face-lift". He describes Wallis as "charismatic, electric and compulsively ambitious".<ref>Higham, pp. 452–453</ref>

[[Cultural depictions of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson|Fictional depictions of the Duchess]] include the novel ''[[Famous Last Words (novel)|Famous Last Words]]'' (1981) by Canadian author [[Timothy Findley]], which portrays her as a manipulative conspirator,<ref>Sebba, pp. 280–281</ref> and [[Rose Tremain]]'s short story "The Darkness of Wallis Simpson" (2006), which depicts her more sympathetically in her final years of ill health.<ref>Sebba, p. 282</ref> Hearsay and conjecture have clouded assessment of Wallis's life, not helped by her own manipulation of the truth. But, in the opinion of her biographers, there is no document that proves directly that she was anything other than a victim of her own ambition, who lived out a great romance that became a great tragedy.<ref name=abc>Bloch, ''The Duchess of Windsor'', p. 231; See also {{cite news |last=Weintraub |first=Stanley |author-link=Stanley Weintraub |title=The Love Letters of the Duchess of Windsor |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=June 8, 1986 |page=X05}} for a similar view.</ref> In the words of one, "she experienced the ultimate fairy tale, becoming the adored favorite of the most glamorous bachelor of his time. The idyll went wrong when, ignoring her pleas, he threw up his position to spend the rest of his life with her."<ref name=abc/> Wallis herself is reported to have summed up her life in a sentence: "You have no idea how hard it is to live out a great romance."<ref>King, p. 388; Wilson, p. 179</ref>

==Titles and styles==
[[File:Royal Monogram of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor.svg|thumb|upright|[[Royal cypher|Cypher]] of Wallis and Edward]]

Wallis resumed her maiden name Wallis Warfield by [[deed poll]] on May 7, 1937,<ref>{{citation |first=Mike |last=Ashley |title=The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens |publisher=Robinson |location=London |year=1998 |page=701 |isbn=978-1-84119-096-9}}</ref> but continued to use the title "Mrs".<ref name="Waycross"/>

The Duchess of Windsor was unofficially styled ''Her Royal Highness'' within her own household.<ref name="style"/>

==Works==
* {{cite web |last=The Duchess of Windsor |year=1949 |title=The Duchess of Windsor's Tongue-In-Cheek Guide to Entertaining |url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/wallis-simpson-guide-to-entertaining |website=Vogue|edition=UK}}
* The Duchess of Windsor (1956). ''The Heart Has Its Reasons: The Memoirs of the Duchess of Windsor''.

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{Cite book |last=Bloch |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Bloch |title=The Duchess of Windsor |year=1996 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location=London |isbn=978-0-297-83590-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bloch |first=Michael |title=The Duke of Windsor's War |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location=London |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-297-77947-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bloch |first=Michael |title=The Secret File of the Duke of Windsor |year=1988 |publisher=Bantam Books |location=London |isbn=978-0-593-01667-1}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Bloch |editor-first=Michael |title=Wallis and Edward: Letters 1931–1937 |publisher=Summit Books |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-671-61209-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/wallisedwardlett00wind}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bradford |first=Sarah |year=1989 |title=George VI |location=London |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |isbn=978-0-297-79667-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Culme |first=John |title=The Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor |publisher=Vendome Press |location=New York |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-86565-089-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Higham |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Higham (biographer) |title=Mrs Simpson |publisher=Pan Books |location=London |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-330-42678-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Howarth |first=Patrick |title=George VI |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-09-171000-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=King |first=Greg |author-link=Greg King (author) |title=The Duchess of Windsor |publisher=Citadel Press |location=New York |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-55972-471-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Menkes |first=Suzy |author-link=Suzy Menkes |title=The Windsor Style |publisher=Grafton Books |location=London |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-246-13212-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sebba |first=Anne |author-link=Anne Sebba |year=2011 |title=That Woman: the Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location=London |isbn=978-0-297-85896-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Vickers |first=Hugo |title=Behind Closed Doors: The Tragic, Untold, Story of the Duchess of Windsor |year=2011 |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |isbn=978-0-09-193155-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Weir |first=Alison |author-link=Alison Weir (historian) |title=Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy Revised edition |publisher=Random House |location=London |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-7126-7448-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Susan |author-link=Susan Williams (historian) |year=2004 |title=The People's King: The True Story of the Abdication |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4039-6363-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Christopher |title=Dancing With the Devil: the Windsors and Jimmy Donahue |publisher=HarperCollins |location=London |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-00-653159-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Windsor |first=HRH The Duke of |title=A King's Story |year=1951 |publisher=Cassell & Co |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Windsor |first=The Duchess of |title=The Heart Has Its Reasons: The Memoirs of the Duchess of Windsor |location=London |publisher=Michael Joseph |year=1956}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ziegler |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Ziegler |year=1991 |title=King Edward VIII: The Official Biography |url=https://archive.org/details/kingedwardviii00zieg |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York |isbn=978-0-394-57730-2}}
* Ziegler, Philip (2004). [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/38277 "Windsor, (Bessie) Wallis, duchess of Windsor (1896–1986)"] {{subscription}}, ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', [[Oxford University Press]], {{doi|10.1093/ref:odnb/38277}}, retrieved May 2, 2010.

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Duchess: The Story of Wallis Warfield Windsor |last=Birmingham |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Birmingham |publisher=Little, Brown |location=Boston |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-316-09643-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/duchessstoryofwa00birm}}
* {{cite book |title=The Last of the Duchess |last=Blackwood |first=Lady Caroline |author-link=Caroline Blackwood |publisher=Pantheon |location=New York |isbn=978-0-679-43970-7 |year=1995 |url=https://archive.org/details/lastofduchess00blac_0}}
* {{cite book |last=French |first=Paul |author-link=Paul French (author) |title=Her Lotus Year: China, the Roaring Twenties, and the Making of Wallis Simpson |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |year=2024 |isbn=978-1250287472}}
* {{cite book |last=Morton |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Morton (writer) |title=Wallis in Love: The Untold Life of the Duchess of Windsor, the Woman Who Changed the Monarchy |publisher=[[Grand Central Publishing]] |location=New York |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-455-56697-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Mosley |first=Diana |author-link=Diana Mitford |title=The Duchess of Windsor |publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson |location=London |year=1980 |isbn=978-0-283-98628-4 |title-link=The Duchess of Windsor (Mosley biography)}}
* {{cite book |last=Silvin |first=Richard René |author-link=Richard René Silvin |year=2010 |title=Noblesse Oblige: The Duchess of Windsor As I Knew Her |publisher=Nike Publishing |isbn=978-0-615-50578-7}}
* [https://www.vanityfair.com/topic/wallis-simpson Wallis Simpson]—''Vanity Fair'' topic

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Wallis, Duchess of Windsor}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0239846}}
* [http://explore.baltimoreheritage.org/items/show/195 The Duchess of Windsor at 212 East Biddle Street]&nbsp;– Explore Baltimore Heritage
* {{NPG name|name=Wallis, Duchess of Windsor}}

{{Edward VIII}}
{{Time Persons of the Year|27–50}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Wallis}}
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