Wallis Simpson was born in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania on June 19, 1896. In honor of her father and her mother's elder sister, she was called Bessie Wallis Warfield; she later dropped her first name to become Wallis Warfield, because cows were often called Bessie and to Wallis it was embarrassing to be named Bessie, Her father was Baltimoreans Teackle Wallis Warfield and mother was Alice Montague, Wallis was an only child and they were a distinguished American family. Wallis’s grandfather ran for mayor of Baltimore in 1875. Her father died of tuberculosis shortly after her birth on the 15th November 1896 and her mother Alice found it difficult to provide for Wallis on her own so Wallis ...view middle of the document...
During their marriage it is said that Wallis had an affair with an argentine diplomat ‘Felipe de Espil’ and also ‘Count Galeazzo Ciano’ who later became foreign minister and Mussolini’s future son-in-law. It is believed by some that Wallis became pregnant by Ciano which led to a botched abortion that left her unable to conceive, but this rumor has never been confirmed, Wallis spent a lot of time in China and these years are known as her ‘Lotus Years’.“Win” as her husband was known became an alcoholic and later became abusive towards Wallis, Wallis gained confidence to leave her abusive husband and on the 10th December 1927 they divorced.
Wallis felt that in her early thirties she was becoming old and already after being married and now a divorcee she felt she wouldn’t have much luck with love so Wallis rushed into another marriage just 6 months after her divorce. It was a marriage for companionship rather than love, his name was Ernest Aldrich Simpson, he divorced his first wife, Dorothea who he had a daughter with called Audrey, to marry Wallis they married on the 21st July 1928 and they moved to London. The couple began to fall in love, Wallis was enjoying the security Ernest could offer, he didn’t hurt her like her previous husband and they had a reasonable income, she also felt no stress with Ernest, everything just always moved smoothly. They were enjoying London social life and through a friend of theirs called Consuelo thaw, Wallis met Consuelo’s sister Thelma who was the then mistress of Edward, Prince of Wales. On 10th January 1931 Lady Thelma Furness Invited Wallis and Ernest to a Party and this is where Wallis met Edward. Edward met the Simpsons at various events and they were excited at the fact that they were friends with the prince of Wales, what Ernest didn’t know was that the Edward was falling in love with Wallis and his love for her grew every time they met.
In 1934, during her second marriage to Ernest Simpson, Wallis became the mistress of Edward, Prince of Wales, while Lady Furness was away in New York. Wallis Simpson assumed she could control the increasing feelings coming from the Prince of Wales, the last thing Wallis wanted to do was risk losing her easy-going husband Ernest. Ernest allowed Wallis and the prince to meet because he assumed like Wallis that it would end soon, Ernest was quite impressed that the future king of England adored his wife
But by the end of 1934, Edward was besotted with Wallis, he found her domineering manner appealing; he became "slavishly dependent" on her, it seems the prince had fallen for her “sharp tongue and risqué repartee.”
At an event held in Buckingham Palace, he introduced her to his mother; his father was outraged at this and disgraced by his son’s behavior because divorced people were usually prohibited from court. Edward showered Wallis with gifts such as money and jewels and the couple vacationed in Europe many times together. His courtiers became increasingly alarmed as the...
