The Duchess Of Windsor: The Uncommon Life of Wallis Simpson

After all the trash that has been published about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, finally a book that gets closer to the truth. It is not without its bias but seemingly objective. The love affair of HRH and Wallis is one of the great love stories of the twentieth century. It leaves me with a great distaste for the royal family at the time who were mean, cruel, and unforgiving in a manner unacceptable to those who make a great claim to Christianity. The king could not marry Wallis and retain the throne because she was divorced. Now how does that work-Charles divorced Diana, had an adulterous affair with Camilla, and married her as a divorced woman. i don't see how he can sit on the throne and be the head of the church of england. show more According to the treatment of Edward and Wallis, he can't sit on the throne and she could never be queen. It will be interesting to see how they deal with that situation. Perhaps Lilibet is hoping Charlie will die before she does and the throne will go to Wills. That would be my preferred schemata. show less

This book was well written , detailed and I was taken by it. I researched after reading this with other versions and felt that the biographer captured these two with an ease that others didn't , He described Wallis Simpson from her upbringing , her abusive first marriage and her love for Ernest Simpson. She was a force and also did seem to love Edward , it may have been romanticism at first but really turned to a honest caring and detailed love for each other as they were both exiled from the Royal family after he gave up his kingship. I did see the underpinnings that exist in the Royal family as they held a hateful revenge to have acknowledged his love for an divorcee . Wallis lived a rather empty life that she filled with expensive show more jewelry and couture wardrobe to fill up an empty space while the Duke tried to care for gardens and take care of her . Very sad and lonely existence .loved this book show less

I did not know much about Wallis Simpson before reading this book. I had heard of her and what I heard was not at all flattering. I read a sample of the e-book and immediately could not put it down! It was unbiased, but honest about the Duchess' life, loves, and impact upon society. What it must have been like to have lived such a life. After reading King's biography, I had a much better understanding of a woman much maligned and misunderstood.

A good review of a much maligned woman who had the good fortune to marry the man that Elizabeth Lyon was desperate to marry. As Duchess of York she connive with Baldwin and Cosmo Lang to ensure the the Prince of Wales would never become king. It was the new Queen who forced her husband to illegally withold the title of HRH to the Duchess of Windsor and ensured that the Duke and his wife were not allowed to return to England and carry on his good works. The Windsors were frustated at every turn when they wishe to help his country at a time of grave danger. King George VIth was a simpleton who drank too much which was the cause of his illness and death and not the war, most of which he spent at Windsor, Sandringham and Balmoral with an show more abundance of food and a life unlike his people. show less

Fairly sympathetic treatment of a woman who was long demonized.