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Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor
Traitor King, by Sunday Times bestselling author Andrew Lownie, looks at the years following the abdication of Edward VIII when the former king was kept in exile, feuding with his family over status for his wife, Wallis Simpson, and denied any real job.
Drawing on extensive research into hitherto unused archives and Freedom of Information requests, it makes the case that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were not the naïve dupes of the Germans but actively intrigued against Britain in both war and peace.
It reveals:
- the story behind the German attempts to recruit the Duke as a British Pétain in the summer of 1940.
- the efforts, by Churchill in particular, to prevent post-war publication of the captured German documents which detailed the Duke's Nazi intrigues.
- the reasons why the Duke, as Governor of the Bahamas, tried to shut down the investigation into the 1943 murder of his close friend Harry Oakes.
- the full extent of the feud with the British Royal Family, based on his betrayals going back to his dishonesty about his true financial position at the time of the abdication.
- that far from a love story, Wallis felt trapped in a marriage she had never wanted with a pathetic and suffocating husband, one of the reasons she took several lovers, including the gay playboy Jimmy Donahue.
Traitor King tells the story of a royal exiled with his wife, turning his back on duty, his family and using his position for financial gain.
Drawing on extensive research into hitherto unused archives and Freedom of Information requests, it makes the case that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were not the naïve dupes of the Germans but actively intrigued against Britain in both war and peace.
It reveals:
- the story behind the German attempts to recruit the Duke as a British Pétain in the summer of 1940.
- the efforts, by Churchill in particular, to prevent post-war publication of the captured German documents which detailed the Duke's Nazi intrigues.
- the reasons why the Duke, as Governor of the Bahamas, tried to shut down the investigation into the 1943 murder of his close friend Harry Oakes.
- the full extent of the feud with the British Royal Family, based on his betrayals going back to his dishonesty about his true financial position at the time of the abdication.
- that far from a love story, Wallis felt trapped in a marriage she had never wanted with a pathetic and suffocating husband, one of the reasons she took several lovers, including the gay playboy Jimmy Donahue.
Traitor King tells the story of a royal exiled with his wife, turning his back on duty, his family and using his position for financial gain.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 19, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 377 reviews
February 29, 2024
I recently read … And What Do You Do?: What The Royal Family Don't Want You To Know by Norman Baker and it used some of the research by Andrew Lownie, which in turn lead me to this book.
It is extremely well-researched and uses a gamut of sources from archives: official documents by US and UK officials, the Marburg files (info the Nazis kept on the British Royals) newspaper articles, interviews with and/or diary entries by contemporaries, friends, servants. The final outcome is an interesting mix: a recital of historical facts, gossip and some speculation about the nature of the relationship between the Duke (abdicated King, Edward VIII) and Duchess (aka Wallis Simpson) of Windsor. The mix makes for a bit of an uneven, but still very interesting reading experience.
The way the author presented his facts made a clear and convincing case: the Windsors knew well what they were in for and were partial accomplices to try and throw over Britain's (back then) lonely and heroic war efforts. They actively promoted appeasement and tried to prevent the US joining in the war. They only shut up after Pearl Harbour, but still kept exceedingly shady connections to pro-Nazi and anti-Semite businessmen on both sides of the Atlantic, who were agents for the Nazis.
The book starts with the day Edward VIII announced his abdication on the radio. While it is quite effective, I would have appreciated the author's insight about the whole process of how it all came to that decision. One of the chapters at the very end of the book speculates about the hows and the whys of the power Wallis Simpson had over E VIII, including the sexual nature of their relationship (which personally I could have done without, but it is part of the parcel), which seemed out of place. It would have made more sense for that chapter to be part of some introduction of how events led to the abdication.
I would have liked to read more about the historians both in the US and the UKs who would not let the governments of their countries suppress the publication of the invaluable Marburg files! They were heroes in their own way. But that could be a whole story to/in intself.
I am quoting the cover blurb as it is clearly indicating the content of the book in a well-structured way. We can read about
"- the story behind the German attempts to recruit the Duke as a British Pétain in the summer of 1940.
- the efforts, by Churchill in particular, to prevent post-war publication of the captured German documents which detailed the Duke's Nazi intrigues.
- the reasons why the Duke, as Governor of the Bahamas, tried to shut down the investigation into the 1943 murder of his close friend Harry Oakes."
- the full extent of the feud with the British Royal Family, based on his betrayals going back to his dishonesty about his true financial position at the time of the abdication.
- that far from a love story, Wallis felt trapped in a marriage she had never wanted with a pathetic and suffocating husband, one of the reasons she took several lovers, including the gay playboy Jimmy Donahue."
Lownie also spends considerable time and effort to show the Windsors as persons and the picture is as disgusting as it is faithful (though he also correctly mentions those very few instances when they did some good in the public interest!).
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor were pathologically pathetic parasites and social derelicts, living aimlessly in their larger than life pantomime show, keeping up the appearances of a happy marriage which in reality was empty and unfulfilling.
They (in the best of traditions that has been kept up faithfully by today's Windsors) spent their legally and mostly illegally gotten money like there was no tomorrow before/during/after the war, were the most unashamed cheapskates, avoided taxes like the plague, expected others to pick up their bills and treated their friends and servants abominably.
The Duke traded without any scruples on the black money market run by a criminal ring and they were also not above insurance fraud (making jewels disappear and claiming they were robbed.)
They were enthusiastic advocates of commercialising their status, but not that popular with the public and were held in contempt even by their so-called friends. Their egotism was quite mind-blowing even by today's standards.
In a way they were like vampires: sucking the life out of others and then throwing them away, all the time craving for and unable to obtain a real life for themselves. (YUCK!)
It is extremely well-researched and uses a gamut of sources from archives: official documents by US and UK officials, the Marburg files (info the Nazis kept on the British Royals) newspaper articles, interviews with and/or diary entries by contemporaries, friends, servants. The final outcome is an interesting mix: a recital of historical facts, gossip and some speculation about the nature of the relationship between the Duke (abdicated King, Edward VIII) and Duchess (aka Wallis Simpson) of Windsor. The mix makes for a bit of an uneven, but still very interesting reading experience.
The way the author presented his facts made a clear and convincing case: the Windsors knew well what they were in for and were partial accomplices to try and throw over Britain's (back then) lonely and heroic war efforts. They actively promoted appeasement and tried to prevent the US joining in the war. They only shut up after Pearl Harbour, but still kept exceedingly shady connections to pro-Nazi and anti-Semite businessmen on both sides of the Atlantic, who were agents for the Nazis.
The book starts with the day Edward VIII announced his abdication on the radio. While it is quite effective, I would have appreciated the author's insight about the whole process of how it all came to that decision. One of the chapters at the very end of the book speculates about the hows and the whys of the power Wallis Simpson had over E VIII, including the sexual nature of their relationship (which personally I could have done without, but it is part of the parcel), which seemed out of place. It would have made more sense for that chapter to be part of some introduction of how events led to the abdication.
I would have liked to read more about the historians both in the US and the UKs who would not let the governments of their countries suppress the publication of the invaluable Marburg files! They were heroes in their own way. But that could be a whole story to/in intself.
I am quoting the cover blurb as it is clearly indicating the content of the book in a well-structured way. We can read about
"- the story behind the German attempts to recruit the Duke as a British Pétain in the summer of 1940.
- the efforts, by Churchill in particular, to prevent post-war publication of the captured German documents which detailed the Duke's Nazi intrigues.
- the reasons why the Duke, as Governor of the Bahamas, tried to shut down the investigation into the 1943 murder of his close friend Harry Oakes."
- the full extent of the feud with the British Royal Family, based on his betrayals going back to his dishonesty about his true financial position at the time of the abdication.
- that far from a love story, Wallis felt trapped in a marriage she had never wanted with a pathetic and suffocating husband, one of the reasons she took several lovers, including the gay playboy Jimmy Donahue."
Lownie also spends considerable time and effort to show the Windsors as persons and the picture is as disgusting as it is faithful (though he also correctly mentions those very few instances when they did some good in the public interest!).
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor were pathologically pathetic parasites and social derelicts, living aimlessly in their larger than life pantomime show, keeping up the appearances of a happy marriage which in reality was empty and unfulfilling.
They (in the best of traditions that has been kept up faithfully by today's Windsors) spent their legally and mostly illegally gotten money like there was no tomorrow before/during/after the war, were the most unashamed cheapskates, avoided taxes like the plague, expected others to pick up their bills and treated their friends and servants abominably.
The Duke traded without any scruples on the black money market run by a criminal ring and they were also not above insurance fraud (making jewels disappear and claiming they were robbed.)
They were enthusiastic advocates of commercialising their status, but not that popular with the public and were held in contempt even by their so-called friends. Their egotism was quite mind-blowing even by today's standards.
In a way they were like vampires: sucking the life out of others and then throwing them away, all the time craving for and unable to obtain a real life for themselves. (YUCK!)
October 10, 2021
There is a lot covered in this brand new look at the former King Edward VIII of England. What differentiates this book from all the others is that it begins with his Abdication and then takes an intimate, very intimate look at his personal life in the newly created title as the Duke of Windsor. Of course Wallis Simpson is also covered in detail and what we seem to get here is a man who was infatuated with a woman (Wallis), gave up his crown “for love” and yet from day 1 of the abdication Wallis Simpson dreads this relationship and never really wanted to marry him. But they did marry and their marriage has created a myth of love and devotion that just was not there. Don’t fall for the story as told by The Crown, once the Duke left England he rarely returned and the Royal Family wanted nothing to do with all his schemes for postings and official British positions, and certainly wanted nothing to do with Wallis Simpson.
Drawing on books, articles, diaries, letters, official British documents and German documents we get a completely different view of this man, a man who considered himself more German than British, who sided with Hitler, wanted peace treaties that would make England a servant to Germany and if this happened Hitler agreed that the Duke should become Monarch once again England would become like Vichy France. This is a truthful expose that peels back the myth and lets us see so many different sides of the Duke that we almost do not recognize him. This is a man who told the Germans they needed to bomb England in order to get them to the peace table, a man who was a huge security leak, a woman who had intimate ties to the Nazi’s, and a lifelong desire to be given the title of Her Royal Highness (HRH).
Why wouldn’t the Duke return to England after his abdication? He did not want to pay income taxes!!! The couples entire life was made up of parties, ripping off merchants for goods the never paid for and a rather bizarre sex life. Let me just say Gay and Bisexual! Yep. It’s is story of indiscreet people who treated people poorly, who expected to be pampered and who most people disliked! Yep, not a lot of love for the Duke and Duchess. And then there is that little murder in the Bahamas, and the rather bizarre behavior of the Duke.
Never knew a lot about this “fairytale” romance, but page after page of this book reveals it was certainly not that, and was more of a nightmare! If you enjoy reading about the Royal Family, if you are interested in the story behind the myth, and some really good history then you will want to read this book.
Drawing on books, articles, diaries, letters, official British documents and German documents we get a completely different view of this man, a man who considered himself more German than British, who sided with Hitler, wanted peace treaties that would make England a servant to Germany and if this happened Hitler agreed that the Duke should become Monarch once again England would become like Vichy France. This is a truthful expose that peels back the myth and lets us see so many different sides of the Duke that we almost do not recognize him. This is a man who told the Germans they needed to bomb England in order to get them to the peace table, a man who was a huge security leak, a woman who had intimate ties to the Nazi’s, and a lifelong desire to be given the title of Her Royal Highness (HRH).
Why wouldn’t the Duke return to England after his abdication? He did not want to pay income taxes!!! The couples entire life was made up of parties, ripping off merchants for goods the never paid for and a rather bizarre sex life. Let me just say Gay and Bisexual! Yep. It’s is story of indiscreet people who treated people poorly, who expected to be pampered and who most people disliked! Yep, not a lot of love for the Duke and Duchess. And then there is that little murder in the Bahamas, and the rather bizarre behavior of the Duke.
Never knew a lot about this “fairytale” romance, but page after page of this book reveals it was certainly not that, and was more of a nightmare! If you enjoy reading about the Royal Family, if you are interested in the story behind the myth, and some really good history then you will want to read this book.
June 30, 2022
2 Stars / DNF @ 35%
This is the audio version of the book, narrated by the British author. Normally I would love this (being an anglophile), but I found his delivery plodding and boring. I've read about various factions of The Windsors extensively over the years, so a lot of the history is already familiar to me. The book begins with the uncoronated King's abdication speech and the immediate aftermath of this cataclysmic event. A third into the book there was a heavy emphasis on Wallis and The Duke of Windsor's traitorous tendencies and approval of Hitler. They were strongly distrusted in England and The Duke couldn't ingratiate his scandalous wife into the Royal Family, nor could he acquire some sort of job with gravitas on behalf of the country to lend them status. They were rather ugly people, freeloading on others making them pick up the tab, living pointless lives trying to replicate his lost kingly status, high on the hog with decorating, entertaining, etc. I simply lost interest as the author kept dithering over the political crisis of the former king as England was about to go to war. I'm not sure if the written version would be more palatable, but I just couldn't listen to this author drone on any longer.
Thank you to Tantor Audio for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley
This is the audio version of the book, narrated by the British author. Normally I would love this (being an anglophile), but I found his delivery plodding and boring. I've read about various factions of The Windsors extensively over the years, so a lot of the history is already familiar to me. The book begins with the uncoronated King's abdication speech and the immediate aftermath of this cataclysmic event. A third into the book there was a heavy emphasis on Wallis and The Duke of Windsor's traitorous tendencies and approval of Hitler. They were strongly distrusted in England and The Duke couldn't ingratiate his scandalous wife into the Royal Family, nor could he acquire some sort of job with gravitas on behalf of the country to lend them status. They were rather ugly people, freeloading on others making them pick up the tab, living pointless lives trying to replicate his lost kingly status, high on the hog with decorating, entertaining, etc. I simply lost interest as the author kept dithering over the political crisis of the former king as England was about to go to war. I'm not sure if the written version would be more palatable, but I just couldn't listen to this author drone on any longer.
Thank you to Tantor Audio for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley
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August 22, 2023This is a deeply researched and astonishing book about Great Britain's King Edward VIII who famously gave up the throne when he was told he could not marry the twice divorced Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson, AKA "the woman I love." As it happened, Edward was not only the King (still to be crowned) but he was also a Nazi-supporting anti-Semite who let Hitler know that all he really needed to do was to keep bombing England and England would surrender, not having the wherewithal to exist under the conditions of the Blitz. He himself, of course, was not in England at the time and so did not have to worry that he might be bombed. The author reveals Edward as a man without intellectual resources who frittered away his life dependent upon his wife to occupy him, entertain him, and otherwise give a modicum of meaning to what was a bankrupt existence in every respect. The author delves deeply not only into Edward's life but into his psyche as well, giving us an unforgettable portrait of a man who put self ahead of everything else and who quite happily would have seen Great Britain fall so that he could be placed upon the throne by Adolph Hitler when the dust of defeat settled. It's a damning portrait.
November 28, 2022
I wasn’t prepared for new material/ revelations from this book, and we all know what he supposedly did for love, but i don’t think that was the main reason. David was a coward. He was lazy, directionless, and immature. As is typical in the British royal family the father and eldest son butt heads and love to hate each other. David wanted to play golf and drink colorful cocktails for life. Wallis wanted to be queen but I don’t think she would have settled for Queen consort. I also think that she was pissed the F off at life and circumstances when he abdicated, but felt obligated by that point to stay with him. She was an icicle. He was absolutely clueless.
March 27, 2022
I was quite disappointed by Traitor King. There was loads of new information about the numerous questionable periods in the Duke of Windsor's post-King life, which could and should have been used to make a more readable book. Andrew Lownie isn't the first biographer to fall into the trap of simply using edited quotes (many of which are long and a bit rambling) from his various sources, and joining them up with a few linking sentences. I lost count of the number of paragraphs which started with the words: "On the 5th of September the Duke and Duchess left for..." or whenever to wherever.
The art of good biography is to take the information and synthesise it, distilling it down so that the reader can assimilate the author's interpretation and understanding of the material. Of course, illustrate key points with direct quotes, but only to demonstrate a theme or if the quote cannot be bettered. I don't subscribe to the idea that hundreds (and there are hundreds) of verbatim quotes is the best way to tell a person's story. I want an authorial voice, an interpretation and analysis, but so often this is missing in this book.
Despite these significant limitations, this is an important book as it summarises much of the new information about the Windsors - particularly their Nazi sympathies, their collusion with the Nazi regime, their criminal activities, such as money laundering and their numerous affairs and other strange relationships.
What emerges is a thoroughly dislikable couple, boring and conceited, who lived their lives in a bubble of self-promotion and deceit. It's just not a very good biography.
© Koplowitz 2021
The art of good biography is to take the information and synthesise it, distilling it down so that the reader can assimilate the author's interpretation and understanding of the material. Of course, illustrate key points with direct quotes, but only to demonstrate a theme or if the quote cannot be bettered. I don't subscribe to the idea that hundreds (and there are hundreds) of verbatim quotes is the best way to tell a person's story. I want an authorial voice, an interpretation and analysis, but so often this is missing in this book.
Despite these significant limitations, this is an important book as it summarises much of the new information about the Windsors - particularly their Nazi sympathies, their collusion with the Nazi regime, their criminal activities, such as money laundering and their numerous affairs and other strange relationships.
What emerges is a thoroughly dislikable couple, boring and conceited, who lived their lives in a bubble of self-promotion and deceit. It's just not a very good biography.
© Koplowitz 2021
October 24, 2021
What a remarkable read!
Andrew Lownie is a historian I really admire, having read his previous nonfiction exploration of The Mountbattens.
When I got a birthday voucher, my choice was a no-brainer, realising Andrew’s newest book looked at Edward and Wallis, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Thanks to Andrew’s meticulous research, using historical, government and verified sources and archives, you get a fully fleshed insight into the controversial pair.
I loved how Traitor King delves into the very moment of the abdication and beyond. I knew of Edward and Wallis’s Nazi and fascist sympathies but didn’t appreciate the tangled web of promises, secrets and betrayal they instigated and got involved in.
King George VI and Winston Churchill really had more to deal with (winning World War Two) than answering Edward’s incessant and childish demands in his letters.
Edward and Wallis were truly selfish, self absorbed people who demanded the standard of living that they had willingly given up when he abdicated the throne. Tales of their lavish lifestyle, questionable finances and vast luggage (just one example) will make your blood boil as the rest of the world was battling the Second World War on all fronts.
No wonder they were kept at a firm distance by the Royal Family, they were far too volatile and too much of a liability to be otherwise.
I enjoyed the chapters on the Windsors’ stay in the Bahamas and in France as I’ve never had a book which has shone a light on that period before. The chapters on the murder of Harry Oakes were intriguing, and showed the depths of deceit and dodgy dealings in the Duke’s inner circles.
Hats off to Andrew for making a lot of historical and political references and material accessible and engaging for the reader. I whizzed through my hardback copy which now has a signed bookplate from Andrew who kindly sent me it after seeing one of my tweets.
I’ll be recommending Traitor King to friends and family while I eagerly await Andrew’s next book…
Andrew Lownie is a historian I really admire, having read his previous nonfiction exploration of The Mountbattens.
When I got a birthday voucher, my choice was a no-brainer, realising Andrew’s newest book looked at Edward and Wallis, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Thanks to Andrew’s meticulous research, using historical, government and verified sources and archives, you get a fully fleshed insight into the controversial pair.
I loved how Traitor King delves into the very moment of the abdication and beyond. I knew of Edward and Wallis’s Nazi and fascist sympathies but didn’t appreciate the tangled web of promises, secrets and betrayal they instigated and got involved in.
King George VI and Winston Churchill really had more to deal with (winning World War Two) than answering Edward’s incessant and childish demands in his letters.
Edward and Wallis were truly selfish, self absorbed people who demanded the standard of living that they had willingly given up when he abdicated the throne. Tales of their lavish lifestyle, questionable finances and vast luggage (just one example) will make your blood boil as the rest of the world was battling the Second World War on all fronts.
No wonder they were kept at a firm distance by the Royal Family, they were far too volatile and too much of a liability to be otherwise.
I enjoyed the chapters on the Windsors’ stay in the Bahamas and in France as I’ve never had a book which has shone a light on that period before. The chapters on the murder of Harry Oakes were intriguing, and showed the depths of deceit and dodgy dealings in the Duke’s inner circles.
Hats off to Andrew for making a lot of historical and political references and material accessible and engaging for the reader. I whizzed through my hardback copy which now has a signed bookplate from Andrew who kindly sent me it after seeing one of my tweets.
I’ll be recommending Traitor King to friends and family while I eagerly await Andrew’s next book…
June 8, 2022
A compelling biography of a thoughly nasty, arrogant man and his equally revolting wife. Even if only half of this is true, we, in Britain, missed a bullet.
February 8, 2022
A meticulously researched, if damning, portrait of Edward VIII, who he was and who he might have been.
November 22, 2021
I read this book because of Andrew Lownie's excellent biography of Guy Burgess 'Stalin's Englishman', in fact except fort his authorship I can not dream of a reason for looking at, let alone reading, another, or any book, about the ghastly Wallis and Edward. His wonderful catalogue of the couples life post abdication through quotations from numerous sources, it can't really be said that he spoke to friends because the couple never had any friends anybody who thought they were friends were betrayed and abandoned in shocking ways - Fruity Metcalfe who was his best man and worked for him unpaid for twenty years literally said goodnight to the Prince one night in Paris in 1940 and woke up to discover that the Prince had fled during the night abandoning him as well the comptroller of the Princes household (but then how awfully they both treated servants would be a book in itself) to fend for themselves.
Lownie's book is an indictment not only of the Windsor's, but really of the whole British Society and government that consistently covered for these two nasty people for so many years. I would quibble with some of the quotes he uses from FBI and secret service files - detectives and spies making reports for superiors have to justify their pay so often fill them information that is doubtful though often delightfully scurrilous - dislike her as I may - I am still not convinced, nor seen any compelling evidence that Wallis slept with Ribbentrop. To put it in perspective for years we were told stories, in fact assured that it was absolutely accurate and true that Queen Mary cheated the exiled Russian out of various treasures and jewels. When someone actually got access to the records - William Clarke 'Lost Fortune of the Tsar' - it turned out not only had Queen Mary paid for everything but, when prices had been marked down due to a glut of sellers and few buyers she still paid the original higher price.
In fact the complicity of the government, establishment and Royal family in covering up and dismissing the couples deplorable war time activities is one of the more compelling things that comes through in the book (much like the grotesque way the same establishment overlooked Burgess antics for so many year - he though was never dishonest or attempted to concealed that he was a boy chasing, drunken, Marxist reprobate) - if various governments had had their way all the German documents repealing the Windsor's activities would have been destroyed, they couldn't because to many people knew about them and had copies, but for years historians, in the UK at least, didn't really consult them or refer to them when speaking of the Windsor's - they were dismissed as 'tainted' though of course totally reliable in every other way. The fact that the Windsor's conducted conversations, through third parties, with German representatives in occupied France about their property there and were able to send a maid into occupied France to retrieve absolutely 'essential' items like bed linen, while Britain was being bombed, should have earned them prosecution for consorting with the enemy as well the contempt of everyone. But they weren't.
It would be marvelous if one could find one redeeming feature in this unappealing couple - but their isn't - they were notoriously cheap and tried constantly to bilk tradesmen and suppliers. They cared for no one but themselves and even amongst the international 'high' society they spent their lives they were regarded as bores and cheapskates'. They were nasty and unkind to everyone from Rothschilds to maids and bellhops and no one as far as I know has ever found anyone who spent anytime with them to say a nice word about them. The pointlessness of their lives is mind boggling. If you are going to read a book about the Windsor's read this one - you won't need another.
Lownie's book is an indictment not only of the Windsor's, but really of the whole British Society and government that consistently covered for these two nasty people for so many years. I would quibble with some of the quotes he uses from FBI and secret service files - detectives and spies making reports for superiors have to justify their pay so often fill them information that is doubtful though often delightfully scurrilous - dislike her as I may - I am still not convinced, nor seen any compelling evidence that Wallis slept with Ribbentrop. To put it in perspective for years we were told stories, in fact assured that it was absolutely accurate and true that Queen Mary cheated the exiled Russian out of various treasures and jewels. When someone actually got access to the records - William Clarke 'Lost Fortune of the Tsar' - it turned out not only had Queen Mary paid for everything but, when prices had been marked down due to a glut of sellers and few buyers she still paid the original higher price.
In fact the complicity of the government, establishment and Royal family in covering up and dismissing the couples deplorable war time activities is one of the more compelling things that comes through in the book (much like the grotesque way the same establishment overlooked Burgess antics for so many year - he though was never dishonest or attempted to concealed that he was a boy chasing, drunken, Marxist reprobate) - if various governments had had their way all the German documents repealing the Windsor's activities would have been destroyed, they couldn't because to many people knew about them and had copies, but for years historians, in the UK at least, didn't really consult them or refer to them when speaking of the Windsor's - they were dismissed as 'tainted' though of course totally reliable in every other way. The fact that the Windsor's conducted conversations, through third parties, with German representatives in occupied France about their property there and were able to send a maid into occupied France to retrieve absolutely 'essential' items like bed linen, while Britain was being bombed, should have earned them prosecution for consorting with the enemy as well the contempt of everyone. But they weren't.
It would be marvelous if one could find one redeeming feature in this unappealing couple - but their isn't - they were notoriously cheap and tried constantly to bilk tradesmen and suppliers. They cared for no one but themselves and even amongst the international 'high' society they spent their lives they were regarded as bores and cheapskates'. They were nasty and unkind to everyone from Rothschilds to maids and bellhops and no one as far as I know has ever found anyone who spent anytime with them to say a nice word about them. The pointlessness of their lives is mind boggling. If you are going to read a book about the Windsor's read this one - you won't need another.
April 9, 2023
TRAITOR KING: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor is one of the best, most thoroughly researched, and highly readable books about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (Edward and Wallis Simpson) it has been my pleasure to read.
The book takes the reader from the day of Edward VIII's abdication of the throne (December 11, 1936) to the deaths of both Edward (May 1972) and Wallis Simpson (April 1986). It is also richly laden with photos (both B&W and color) of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, as well as some of their friends, attendants, and associates.
What became clear to me as I read this book is how utterly unfit Edward was to be King (while he loved the trappings of the role, he hated the work and responsibilities that came with being King and avoided them whenever he could), coupled with his pro-Nazi sentiments, which Wallis Simpson also shared. By his own admission, Edward eschewed reading books and had zero interest in the arts, preferring to engage in gossip (he liked to dominate conversations with his take on the world), gardening, and golf. Wallis Simpson was a spendthrift, a social snob, and like her husband, a freeloader whenever she could get away with it.
What particularly struck me was the following remarks from Edward Metcalf, who had been one of Edward's closest friends and aides from the 1920s (when Edward was the young and dashing Prince of Wales, celebrated and emulated for his smart fashion sense -- he was a very snazzy dresser) concerning his abrupt abandonment by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in May 1940, when both of them fled their French estate in the wake of the German advances during the Battle of France. Following the abdication, Metcalf had worked for the Windsors for months without pay, sacrificing his own needs in the process:
"He [the Duke of Windsor] never made one single mention of what was to happen to me, or his paid Comptroller Phillips. He has taken all cars and left not even a bicycle!! ... He had denuded the Suchet house of all articles of value and all his clothes, etc. After twenty years I am through --- utterly I despise him, I've fought and backed him up (knowing what a swine he was for 20 years), but now it is finished ... The man is not worth doing anything for. He deserted his job in 1936. Well, he deserted his country now, at a time when every office boy and cripple is trying to do what he can. It is the end."
TRAITOR KING is an absolute keeper. This is a book that I will return to in times to come.
The book takes the reader from the day of Edward VIII's abdication of the throne (December 11, 1936) to the deaths of both Edward (May 1972) and Wallis Simpson (April 1986). It is also richly laden with photos (both B&W and color) of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, as well as some of their friends, attendants, and associates.
What became clear to me as I read this book is how utterly unfit Edward was to be King (while he loved the trappings of the role, he hated the work and responsibilities that came with being King and avoided them whenever he could), coupled with his pro-Nazi sentiments, which Wallis Simpson also shared. By his own admission, Edward eschewed reading books and had zero interest in the arts, preferring to engage in gossip (he liked to dominate conversations with his take on the world), gardening, and golf. Wallis Simpson was a spendthrift, a social snob, and like her husband, a freeloader whenever she could get away with it.
What particularly struck me was the following remarks from Edward Metcalf, who had been one of Edward's closest friends and aides from the 1920s (when Edward was the young and dashing Prince of Wales, celebrated and emulated for his smart fashion sense -- he was a very snazzy dresser) concerning his abrupt abandonment by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in May 1940, when both of them fled their French estate in the wake of the German advances during the Battle of France. Following the abdication, Metcalf had worked for the Windsors for months without pay, sacrificing his own needs in the process:
"He [the Duke of Windsor] never made one single mention of what was to happen to me, or his paid Comptroller Phillips. He has taken all cars and left not even a bicycle!! ... He had denuded the Suchet house of all articles of value and all his clothes, etc. After twenty years I am through --- utterly I despise him, I've fought and backed him up (knowing what a swine he was for 20 years), but now it is finished ... The man is not worth doing anything for. He deserted his job in 1936. Well, he deserted his country now, at a time when every office boy and cripple is trying to do what he can. It is the end."
TRAITOR KING is an absolute keeper. This is a book that I will return to in times to come.
June 19, 2023
Didn't realized that lived such a lavish life in exile. A good read.
March 24, 2023
Reading this in 2023 was fascinating. It also remains wild to me how deeply invested Winston Churchill was in preventing it from being public knowledge that the Duke of Windsor had Nazi sympathies.
January 26, 2022
I think this is the 2nd book I've read about these two. This one posits that they were very actively on the side of the Germans in WWII and thought he could be restored as King if the Germans had won. Also some interesting details about their finances. All I can think when I read about these two is how weirdly similar it is to the situation with Harry & Meghan and what a lesson for them, if they had any ability to absorb it. So many of the same issues -- her hatred of his family, the commercialization of their status, the incredible unsuitability of Edward for the role he was destined to fulfill, and the feeding off each other. Anyway, it's a good one if you're interested in them.
October 10, 2021
An absolutely amazing read. Extremely well written and terribly insightful. Gives a completely new perspective on a well covered subject. Would highly recommend and will be reading more from this author
April 10, 2023
Damn, that was f*cked up.
Anyone who has ever given a thought to the idea of romantic sacrifice knows the story of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. David, the first son of George V of England, abdicated his throne shortly after he was coronated Edward VIII. This would be shocking today, but in the late 30s, it reverberated as the scandal of the time. Presumably, his only crime was falling in love with a twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson. This book starts as the Duke of Windsor (his post-kingly title) was leaving his home for the last time to meet Wallis and start his new life. That is pretty much where the romance ends and real life, something neither of them were really equipped to handle, started
If you’ve watched the first season of The Crown, you know that the Windsor (née Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) family was less than thrilled with David and his decision, but by the time I finished reading, I was firmly of the opinion that his abdication was the best thing that could have happened to the Allied powers in WWII. You would have also seen, in that episode, photos of the real Duke and Duchess shaking hands and smiling with a bunch of literal Nazis, including Der Führer himself. (No, those photos were not fake.) Traitor King stands on its well-researched facts and presents the picture of two people who at the most were dangerous traitors and, at the least, a 1930s/40s version of the old SNL skit “Two A-Holes”. There is no doubt in my mind that the connection that Wallis had to high-ranking German officials and David’s more than passing curiosity about fascism made permission to marry Wallis about much more than the idea that the King could not marry a divorced woman. At the same time, there is something sad about the way they chose to carry on as not-quite-royals, never really seeing the good that could be done, but always looking back and taking what they thought was owed to them. I could go on and on about this book and the way it laid out the facts using a narrative style that exposed both the titillating and horrifying events of their lives, but I will just tell you that it is far from a piece of dry historical non-fiction. It’s not the romantic story I always envisioned, but the truth turns out to be much more consequential and interesting.
Anyone who has ever given a thought to the idea of romantic sacrifice knows the story of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. David, the first son of George V of England, abdicated his throne shortly after he was coronated Edward VIII. This would be shocking today, but in the late 30s, it reverberated as the scandal of the time. Presumably, his only crime was falling in love with a twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson. This book starts as the Duke of Windsor (his post-kingly title) was leaving his home for the last time to meet Wallis and start his new life. That is pretty much where the romance ends and real life, something neither of them were really equipped to handle, started
If you’ve watched the first season of The Crown, you know that the Windsor (née Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) family was less than thrilled with David and his decision, but by the time I finished reading, I was firmly of the opinion that his abdication was the best thing that could have happened to the Allied powers in WWII. You would have also seen, in that episode, photos of the real Duke and Duchess shaking hands and smiling with a bunch of literal Nazis, including Der Führer himself. (No, those photos were not fake.) Traitor King stands on its well-researched facts and presents the picture of two people who at the most were dangerous traitors and, at the least, a 1930s/40s version of the old SNL skit “Two A-Holes”. There is no doubt in my mind that the connection that Wallis had to high-ranking German officials and David’s more than passing curiosity about fascism made permission to marry Wallis about much more than the idea that the King could not marry a divorced woman. At the same time, there is something sad about the way they chose to carry on as not-quite-royals, never really seeing the good that could be done, but always looking back and taking what they thought was owed to them. I could go on and on about this book and the way it laid out the facts using a narrative style that exposed both the titillating and horrifying events of their lives, but I will just tell you that it is far from a piece of dry historical non-fiction. It’s not the romantic story I always envisioned, but the truth turns out to be much more consequential and interesting.
January 4, 2024
This was quite fascinating and full of interesting research from official and unofficial diaries and documents.
I enjoyed some of the guesses of meetings and conversations laid out with facts and assessments of what may still be uncovered in the future. Edward VIII and his wife, Wallis Simpson, were both seemingly traitorous, terrible specimens of their posts.
It was incredibly interesting to speculate about what could have become of Britain if Edward had continued to pursue his German goals instead of abdicating,
Worth the read for any history or royal intel buff.
Solid 4 Stars.
I enjoyed some of the guesses of meetings and conversations laid out with facts and assessments of what may still be uncovered in the future. Edward VIII and his wife, Wallis Simpson, were both seemingly traitorous, terrible specimens of their posts.
It was incredibly interesting to speculate about what could have become of Britain if Edward had continued to pursue his German goals instead of abdicating,
Worth the read for any history or royal intel buff.
Solid 4 Stars.
September 29, 2021
Whatever else one may think of them, one thing is for sure: The Duke and Duchess of Windsor always make for an interesting topic. Lownie's new book on the couple picks up their story from the day of Edward VIII's abdication and follows them through the scandals and rumours of the remaining decades of their lives, with the greatest focus on the years of WWII and the various tales of Nazi sympathies and potentially treasonous behaviour that come with them.
August 4, 2022
Review of Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
It is ironic indeed that I, David Edward Huntley, on December 21st, 1936, having been named after King Edward VIII, who had abdicated his throne exactly 10 days prior to my birth, that I should now, 85 years later, begin the process of reviewing his life in exile.
I have reviewed previous works by Andrew Lownie, and they never fail to impress with his impeccable record of meticulous research with verifiable references and archival material. More importantly, Mr. Lownie’s strictly objective presentation of factual material leaves the reader in no doubt, they are responsible for casting their own judgments on the ex-King's character, evidence of treasonous activity, and his child-like “possessive passion” for Wallis Simpson.
As we the reader, turn page after page, we are presented with indisputable facts in the form of previously secret documents showing the Windsor’s were subject to surveillance by both the British, and the US governments. It is these documents that are the most damning in which the duke, at the very least, demonstrated he would be willing to re-take the throne if Britain were to capitulate to Germany.
Wallis Simpson was a known Nazi sympathizer and reputed to have a close if not a sexual relationship with Joachim Von Ribbentrop, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Nazi regime.
The Windsor’s are clearly depicted in this book, and supported by copious footnotes, that they were selfish, expected to be doted on wherever they traveled, and glorified as a glamorous couple living in beautiful mansions and villas in the South of France, and in America. They obviously relished their image.
Their sexual proclivities are explored in detail, with the duke often left in jealous solitude, as his wife is off enjoying the freedom of association to explore her own pleasures.
Andrew Lownie makes no assumptions and offers no opinions of his own about his two subjects, but there is a certain nuance of sympathy within the mountain of archival material used in the compilation of this treatise.
It is easy to see why this book is U.K.’s best-selling book, and no doubt will become the same when released in the USA. It is unusual to say a work of this type being a page-turner but I found it so fascinating and wondered how could my namesake be of such an opposing character. My parents just thought it was a great love story. The Windsors fooled all of us!
David E. Huntley October 13, 2021
It is ironic indeed that I, David Edward Huntley, on December 21st, 1936, having been named after King Edward VIII, who had abdicated his throne exactly 10 days prior to my birth, that I should now, 85 years later, begin the process of reviewing his life in exile.
I have reviewed previous works by Andrew Lownie, and they never fail to impress with his impeccable record of meticulous research with verifiable references and archival material. More importantly, Mr. Lownie’s strictly objective presentation of factual material leaves the reader in no doubt, they are responsible for casting their own judgments on the ex-King's character, evidence of treasonous activity, and his child-like “possessive passion” for Wallis Simpson.
As we the reader, turn page after page, we are presented with indisputable facts in the form of previously secret documents showing the Windsor’s were subject to surveillance by both the British, and the US governments. It is these documents that are the most damning in which the duke, at the very least, demonstrated he would be willing to re-take the throne if Britain were to capitulate to Germany.
Wallis Simpson was a known Nazi sympathizer and reputed to have a close if not a sexual relationship with Joachim Von Ribbentrop, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Nazi regime.
The Windsor’s are clearly depicted in this book, and supported by copious footnotes, that they were selfish, expected to be doted on wherever they traveled, and glorified as a glamorous couple living in beautiful mansions and villas in the South of France, and in America. They obviously relished their image.
Their sexual proclivities are explored in detail, with the duke often left in jealous solitude, as his wife is off enjoying the freedom of association to explore her own pleasures.
Andrew Lownie makes no assumptions and offers no opinions of his own about his two subjects, but there is a certain nuance of sympathy within the mountain of archival material used in the compilation of this treatise.
It is easy to see why this book is U.K.’s best-selling book, and no doubt will become the same when released in the USA. It is unusual to say a work of this type being a page-turner but I found it so fascinating and wondered how could my namesake be of such an opposing character. My parents just thought it was a great love story. The Windsors fooled all of us!
David E. Huntley October 13, 2021
July 25, 2022
Very interesting
September 12, 2021
Well researched book.
I found this book to be an excellent read. It was extremely well written, providing many new facts which I had not read before, all backed up with evidence from a very wide field of research.
I found it to be a very fair, balanced book. We were given the facts quite plainly, and I was astonished at some of them. I could not quite believe what I was reading at times! It certainly does not paint these two characters in a good light. It really is sensational reading, in parts, but it is not written in a sensationalist style. I think the factual style of the writing gives it an even greater impact. The writer also discusses alternative ways at looking at the evidence, in order to balance the conclusions drawn, so it does not read as an all out attack on them both but, without doubt, very damning of both characters.
If you choose to read this book, you will certainly 'get what it says on the tin'. It certainly was a scandalous exile of the Duke and Duchess.
I found this book to be an excellent read. It was extremely well written, providing many new facts which I had not read before, all backed up with evidence from a very wide field of research.
I found it to be a very fair, balanced book. We were given the facts quite plainly, and I was astonished at some of them. I could not quite believe what I was reading at times! It certainly does not paint these two characters in a good light. It really is sensational reading, in parts, but it is not written in a sensationalist style. I think the factual style of the writing gives it an even greater impact. The writer also discusses alternative ways at looking at the evidence, in order to balance the conclusions drawn, so it does not read as an all out attack on them both but, without doubt, very damning of both characters.
If you choose to read this book, you will certainly 'get what it says on the tin'. It certainly was a scandalous exile of the Duke and Duchess.
January 16, 2022
This was a fabulous book. I haven't read any other accounts of the Duke and Duchess of Winsor so I found this book fascinating. I did have to read it quite slowly (put it down often) as I found myself increasingly frustrated by their behaviour.
Its a story of the ultimate stepping back - with feuds, bickering royals, arguments over titles and money, ill-judged memoirs and reckless relationships with unsavoury people.
But more than that - the central section ofthe book is concerned with the shady activities of the Windsors during the war and the incriminating German files on the couple which are held in the National Archives. Did the Duke knowingly collude with the Nazis?
Its a story of the ultimate stepping back - with feuds, bickering royals, arguments over titles and money, ill-judged memoirs and reckless relationships with unsavoury people.
But more than that - the central section ofthe book is concerned with the shady activities of the Windsors during the war and the incriminating German files on the couple which are held in the National Archives. Did the Duke knowingly collude with the Nazis?
October 20, 2021
This is a fairly thorough and damning review of the evidence concerning the Windsors' dealings with Nazi Germany, and the aftermath. The author quotes chapter and verse from official sources, leaving little doubt as to the probability of these allegations being accurate. There is also a long discussion of their aimless and (if you believe this book) dissolute lives after the war, which strictly wasn't germane to the central argument and really drifted off into the area of gossip. However over all this is a compelling read.
July 10, 2022
I think Lownie has a problem with strong women who've grown a pair. In his previous book on the Mountbatten's it was Edwina who coped most of his flack. Here predictably it's Wallis who incurs most of his wrath. While the former king doesn't escape, being described as an over-indulged and spoiled child, Wallis is the cause of all the Windsor's troubles and the woman who led her man astray. It struck me that Lownie may be a die hard monarchist and here his judgement is somewhat impaired and he seems to struggle to keep his arguments balanced. A disappointing read.
November 12, 2021
The Duke and Duchess of Windor are two of the most loathable human beings in modern history due to their stupidity and sheer lack of empathy. They are not worthy of the rivers of ink used to write about them. This book is full of details but fails at giving a cohesive history and at analyzing the psyche of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The last chapter, in which the author is supposed to cement his thesis on the title of the book, fails miserably at it. I don't recommend this book.
February 19, 2022
A biography of the Windsor's from abdication to death. This makes use of diaries, official papers, letters, and records of the various scandals to expose the relationship that 'shook' the empire in the 1930s. What is revealed is a rather stupid, rather commonplace pair of utter w**kers.
I cannot pretend that I, previously had a high opinion of the pair, but some of the anecdotes here lowered my expectations even further.
I cannot pretend that I, previously had a high opinion of the pair, but some of the anecdotes here lowered my expectations even further.
December 29, 2021
This ought to turn the most ardent monarchist into a republican revolutionary. A couple of greedy, spoilt, stupid, self-obsessed parasites are shunted around between various jobs where they can cause considerable damage simply because one of them was born into Britain's royal family. Et plus ça change...
February 10, 2022
Dysfunctional royals
The Windsors continue to be a dysfunctional family and Harry was wise to separate from them and shield his wife from our intrusive tabloids. I see no future for the monarchy after the passing of Queen Elizabeth.
The Windsors continue to be a dysfunctional family and Harry was wise to separate from them and shield his wife from our intrusive tabloids. I see no future for the monarchy after the passing of Queen Elizabeth.
August 12, 2022
Traitor king was a good book. The book told the story of the lives of the duke and duchess of Windsor. It told how the royal family shunned the duke and duchess only after years the royal family mended fences.
January 13, 2023
Traitor King by Andrew Lownie – a review
Much has been written about the dreadful antics of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. So much so that according to Andrew Lownie, the author of Traitor King, it was difficult to get reviewers to read and review his latest book. This might be because they believe, wrongly, that there is nothing new to add to the well trodden territory that has seen some fifty titles about the notorious couple. Or it might be that literary editors and reviewers are too lazy to want to learn more about them. But learning more is what Traitor King is all about: it’s new territory presented in eensy weensy detail.
The book covers the years following King Edward VIII’s abdication, his marriage to Wallis Simpson and their dubious career as celebrity royals. Much as seems to be happening with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex today, the Windsors went to immense effort to earn a very juicy living by exploiting their non-roles. No longer part of the monarchy, they continued to live the lifestyle that Edward had enjoyed prior to his new life with Wallis, except that he wasn’t king anymore. They married in 1937 as soon as her divorce from her second husband was finalised and spent the rest of their lives as glamourous nomads, mostly in Europe and often at the expense of others.
They did a stint in the Bahamas, then a British Crown Colony, where Edward was put out of harm’s way during World War II. At least that was Winston Churchill’s intention. But corruption, scandal and murder attended the Windsors’ time in the sun. Edward’s deficit of grey matter was a serious impediment when it came to making sensible choices, no matter how obvious they were. Mrs Windsor did at least make an effort in the Bahamas and got involved in good works to the benefit of the islanders. But the local murder of Harry Oakes, a British gold miner, tax exile and close friend of the Duke of Windsor, was never solved and the Duke was directly involved in the haphazard investigation into the death. In Traitor King Lownie presents compelling evidence that Windsor was implicated in Harry Oakes’ demise.
Churchill had sent the pair away for several reasons, but mainly to keep them out of range of the throne. This sounds outlandish but the close connections between the Windsors and the Nazis was more than a mere sharing of ideologies. It was easy to flatter Wallis and Edward with promises of wealth and power, as neither was politically astute. It was even easier to appeal to their shared vanity with a promise to reinstate Edward as the King of England, with Wallis as his queen once Germany had vanquished Great Britain.
Edward and Wallis were obvious security risks although much of the evidence for the gravity of the risk has only recently come to light. Sitting at the heart of the diplomatic circles in various European capitals, Edward was well-placed to keep up to date with developments as the war progressed. Unfortunately he was keen to brag over dinner about what he heard, regardless of its sensitivity and security implications. He professed he wanted to help and he craved position for most of his life. During the war, got only a token position as a military liaison official where he could do the least harm.
Wallis was known to have had Nazi sympathies and it turns out that before the war she had had an affair with Joachim von Ribbentrop. From 1938 to 1945 he was the Nazi’s Minister for Foreign Affairs. Does that title scream spymaster or what? As far as Wallis was concerned he lived up to his title. She had become of interest to intelligence services in the USA and elsewhere and a recently disclosed FBI report states that “because of her high official position, the duchess is obtaining a variety of information concerning the British and French activities that she is passing on to the Germans.” Once married to Edward the pair were targets for the British and French intelligence services as well. The 1937 tour of Germany and meeting Hitler and his odious crew didn’t help matters and nor did Edward’s close family connections in Germany.
In 1940 the Germans set up Operation Willi, a pretty half-hearted effort to kidnap the couple. This was another reason to get the Windsors out of Europe. In the Bahamas they continued to be annoying, hobnobbing with known Nazi sympathisers and getting involved in what appears to be money laundering and currency gambles. Money was very important to the Windsors although they appear to have been takers more than givers.
Andrew Lownie documents all this and much more in granular detail. At times his book reads as if it were an elaborated list of every interaction the Windsors had with a vast miscellany of people as documented in security reports, sales catalogues, travel documents, letters and diaries. Lownie has scoured the planet for any references to the Windsors in the biographies, letters and diaries of their friends, colleagues, servants, guests, business partners and hangers on. This data overwhelm creates a tension with the book’s narrative flow and the drumbeat of meticulously documented facts too often drowns out the author’s voice. Bolder opinions on the facts presented would have made for a more compelling storyline and an easier read.
Traitor King doesn’t really hit its stride until the final quarter. By this time its 1953 and the couple is settling down in Paris where they continue to entertain on a grand scale and Edward is still trying to get his family to be nice to Wallis. That never happens and after his death in May 1972 Wallis lives on for another 14 years, still exiled, depressed and unloved. In her final days parasites posing as aides sell off her belongings and she is confined to her bedroom waiting to die.
It’s all very sad, but although love was the reason for Edward’s abdication, love seems not to have been at the heart of the Windsors’ relationship. That is even sadder. He worshipped his idealised version of her and she treated him with condescension and distain. Ambition, greed, vanity, platforming, ostentatiousness, all ooze from these two people even at such a distance. They are odious individuals, selfish, mean and competitive narcissists of limited intelligence and perception. Beyond the romance that persistently overshadows the human reality Andrew Lownie’s book, with all its details, shows us the pair for who they really were.
Much has been written about the dreadful antics of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. So much so that according to Andrew Lownie, the author of Traitor King, it was difficult to get reviewers to read and review his latest book. This might be because they believe, wrongly, that there is nothing new to add to the well trodden territory that has seen some fifty titles about the notorious couple. Or it might be that literary editors and reviewers are too lazy to want to learn more about them. But learning more is what Traitor King is all about: it’s new territory presented in eensy weensy detail.
The book covers the years following King Edward VIII’s abdication, his marriage to Wallis Simpson and their dubious career as celebrity royals. Much as seems to be happening with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex today, the Windsors went to immense effort to earn a very juicy living by exploiting their non-roles. No longer part of the monarchy, they continued to live the lifestyle that Edward had enjoyed prior to his new life with Wallis, except that he wasn’t king anymore. They married in 1937 as soon as her divorce from her second husband was finalised and spent the rest of their lives as glamourous nomads, mostly in Europe and often at the expense of others.
They did a stint in the Bahamas, then a British Crown Colony, where Edward was put out of harm’s way during World War II. At least that was Winston Churchill’s intention. But corruption, scandal and murder attended the Windsors’ time in the sun. Edward’s deficit of grey matter was a serious impediment when it came to making sensible choices, no matter how obvious they were. Mrs Windsor did at least make an effort in the Bahamas and got involved in good works to the benefit of the islanders. But the local murder of Harry Oakes, a British gold miner, tax exile and close friend of the Duke of Windsor, was never solved and the Duke was directly involved in the haphazard investigation into the death. In Traitor King Lownie presents compelling evidence that Windsor was implicated in Harry Oakes’ demise.
Churchill had sent the pair away for several reasons, but mainly to keep them out of range of the throne. This sounds outlandish but the close connections between the Windsors and the Nazis was more than a mere sharing of ideologies. It was easy to flatter Wallis and Edward with promises of wealth and power, as neither was politically astute. It was even easier to appeal to their shared vanity with a promise to reinstate Edward as the King of England, with Wallis as his queen once Germany had vanquished Great Britain.
Edward and Wallis were obvious security risks although much of the evidence for the gravity of the risk has only recently come to light. Sitting at the heart of the diplomatic circles in various European capitals, Edward was well-placed to keep up to date with developments as the war progressed. Unfortunately he was keen to brag over dinner about what he heard, regardless of its sensitivity and security implications. He professed he wanted to help and he craved position for most of his life. During the war, got only a token position as a military liaison official where he could do the least harm.
Wallis was known to have had Nazi sympathies and it turns out that before the war she had had an affair with Joachim von Ribbentrop. From 1938 to 1945 he was the Nazi’s Minister for Foreign Affairs. Does that title scream spymaster or what? As far as Wallis was concerned he lived up to his title. She had become of interest to intelligence services in the USA and elsewhere and a recently disclosed FBI report states that “because of her high official position, the duchess is obtaining a variety of information concerning the British and French activities that she is passing on to the Germans.” Once married to Edward the pair were targets for the British and French intelligence services as well. The 1937 tour of Germany and meeting Hitler and his odious crew didn’t help matters and nor did Edward’s close family connections in Germany.
In 1940 the Germans set up Operation Willi, a pretty half-hearted effort to kidnap the couple. This was another reason to get the Windsors out of Europe. In the Bahamas they continued to be annoying, hobnobbing with known Nazi sympathisers and getting involved in what appears to be money laundering and currency gambles. Money was very important to the Windsors although they appear to have been takers more than givers.
Andrew Lownie documents all this and much more in granular detail. At times his book reads as if it were an elaborated list of every interaction the Windsors had with a vast miscellany of people as documented in security reports, sales catalogues, travel documents, letters and diaries. Lownie has scoured the planet for any references to the Windsors in the biographies, letters and diaries of their friends, colleagues, servants, guests, business partners and hangers on. This data overwhelm creates a tension with the book’s narrative flow and the drumbeat of meticulously documented facts too often drowns out the author’s voice. Bolder opinions on the facts presented would have made for a more compelling storyline and an easier read.
Traitor King doesn’t really hit its stride until the final quarter. By this time its 1953 and the couple is settling down in Paris where they continue to entertain on a grand scale and Edward is still trying to get his family to be nice to Wallis. That never happens and after his death in May 1972 Wallis lives on for another 14 years, still exiled, depressed and unloved. In her final days parasites posing as aides sell off her belongings and she is confined to her bedroom waiting to die.
It’s all very sad, but although love was the reason for Edward’s abdication, love seems not to have been at the heart of the Windsors’ relationship. That is even sadder. He worshipped his idealised version of her and she treated him with condescension and distain. Ambition, greed, vanity, platforming, ostentatiousness, all ooze from these two people even at such a distance. They are odious individuals, selfish, mean and competitive narcissists of limited intelligence and perception. Beyond the romance that persistently overshadows the human reality Andrew Lownie’s book, with all its details, shows us the pair for who they really were.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 377 reviews