When the Media Goes Silent: King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson

Stuck between a crown and a hard place

(Parts one and two of this series here)

Christine Brown’s opening line on Sister Wives used to be, “I wanted the family, I didn’t just want the man.” Wallis Simpson’s could have been, “I wanted the lifestyle, I really didn’t want the man if it meant abdication, vilification and a life in exile.” 

Little long for a tagline, but you get my point.

One of the things two very different biographies on Wallis Simpson agree on is their insistence (along with proof) that divorcing her second husband, Ernest, and becoming the wife of King Edward VIII was never the budding socialite’s ultimate aim. The the collapse of the world economy in the late ‘20s and early ‘30s affected everyone and Ernest Simpson was no exception. His family’s shipping business took a hit and he suddenly found himself traveling more to keep himself from financial ruin. Wallis found her own way to help out and fulfill her desire of a lavish lifestyle despite the tightening of the purse strings. That’s where the then Prince’s affections came into play. Prince Edward meant access to the upper echelons of society, gifts of money, jewels, clothes, all the material things that Wallis desired. She figured that, like mistresses of Edward’s past, he would eventually lose interest in her and move on.

On this, Wallis was so very, very wrong.

What’s remarkable about this affair is that it was virtually missing from the British papers until early December 1936. Even when American papers got word of it, British merchants were instructed to cut out any mention of Wallis and Edward from the papers before selling them to the public. So, unless you had a family member in America serving you some trans-Atlantic tea, the majority of the public was in the dark about King Edward’s growing obsession for a twice married woman he was determined to make his wife. His Queen. Or else.

How did things go from secret affair to abdication in the matter of weeks? Let’s get into it.