BBC Learning English
Words in the News
19
th
August 2011
Wallis ‘was not keen on royal wedding’
Words in the News
© British Broadcasting Corporation 2011
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
Wallis Simpson, the woman whom Edward VIII abdicated the throne for, may still have been
in love with her husband, Ernest Simpson. Previously unseen letters from Wallis to Ernest
suggest she felt lonely and wasn’t keen on marrying the British royal. BBC’s Farhana Haider
reports:
The popular image is that of a rather cold, scheming woman who wormed her way into the
affections of Britain's future king. But previously unseen letters suggest that Wallis Simpson
was an insecure woman who felt trapped by her relationship with Edward. The letters have
been uncovered by Anne Sebba. She says they show that Wallis Simpson might still have
been in love with her second husband Ernest Simpson.
Additional extracts reveal the extent of Mrs Simpson’s continued love for her former husband,
even writing to him while on her honeymoon with Edward. Anne Sebba says that as an
American, Mrs Simpson loved the access to the highest levels of English society, to be
showered with expensive jewellery, to be the mistress of the future king. But she expected
the eventual fate of most mistresses, which is to be dumped.
But he didn't dump her, causing the biggest constitutional crisis for centuries. Despite the
widespread criticism of his relationship with the American divorcee, Edward VIII
renounced his throne in December 1936. Edward and Mrs Simpson married in June 1937
following her divorce from Ernest.
Farhana Haider, BBC News
