Bessie Wallis Warfield
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Bessie married a U.S. Navy airman named Earl Winfield Spencer Jr. on 8 Nov 1916 at Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, Baltimore, [[Maryland]]. He however was "...a violent alcoholic", and she left him in 1921, but did not divorce until 10 Dec 1927. Moving to London, she married secondly to banker Ernest Aldrich Simpson on 21 Jul 1928 in Chelsea Registrar's Office, Chelsea, London, England. | Bessie married a U.S. Navy airman named Earl Winfield Spencer Jr. on 8 Nov 1916 at Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, Baltimore, [[Maryland]]. He however was "...a violent alcoholic", and she left him in 1921, but did not divorce until 10 Dec 1927. Moving to London, she married secondly to banker Ernest Aldrich Simpson on 21 Jul 1928 in Chelsea Registrar's Office, Chelsea, London, England. | ||
| − | <table><tr><td>Wallis was divorced from her second husband on 27 Oct 1936 but not before she had begun | + | <table><tr><td>Wallis was divorced from her second husband on 27 Oct 1936 but not before she had begun a romantic relationship with [[Edward VIII, King of England|Prince Edward]] who was at that time the heir to the English throne, being the eldest son of [[George V, King of England]] and his wife Mary von Teck. His father George having died on 20 Jan 1936, Edward became King but his desire to marry Wallis was firmly resisted by the government and public. His famous abdication speech on 11 Dec 1936 stated that, "The throne means nothing to me without Wallis beside me." (''The Royals'', page 15) They were married on 3 Jun 1937 in Chateau de Cande, Maine-et-Loire, France, and lived thereafter in semi-exile from Britain, mostly in France, although with occasional trips to Great Britain and the United States. The picture on the right shows Wallis and Edward VII when they married.</td><td>http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=160&rendTypeId=4.jpg</td></tr></table> |
After the abdication, Edward was made Duke of Windsor by his brother, the now-King, who took the name [[George VI, King of England|George VI]]. Wallis was styled Duchess of Windsor but by a new statute created just for her, she was not called "Her Royal Highness". This is much discussed in Kitty Kelly's book ''The Royals'', where she states that George's wife, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon better known as the Queen Mother, was jealous of Bessie because she had wanted to marry Edward herself. | After the abdication, Edward was made Duke of Windsor by his brother, the now-King, who took the name [[George VI, King of England|George VI]]. Wallis was styled Duchess of Windsor but by a new statute created just for her, she was not called "Her Royal Highness". This is much discussed in Kitty Kelly's book ''The Royals'', where she states that George's wife, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon better known as the Queen Mother, was jealous of Bessie because she had wanted to marry Edward herself. | ||
