The Duchess of Windsor
| Wallis | |
|---|---|
| Duchess of Windsor (more) | |
Wallis Simpson in 1936
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| Born | Bessie Wallis Warfield 19 June 1896 Square Cottage, Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | 24 April 1986 (aged 89) 4 route du Champ d'Entraînement, Paris |
| Burial | 29 April 1986 Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, Windsor, Berkshire |
| Spouse |
Earl Winfield Spencer Jr. (m. 1916; div. 1927) Ernest Aldrich Simpson (m. 1928; div. 1937) Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (m. 1937; d. 1972) |
| Father | Teackle Wallis Warfield |
| Mother | Alice Montague |
| Signature |  |
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield; also known by her married names of Wallis Spencer and Wallis Simpson; 19 June 1896 – 24 April 1986) was an American socialite whose intended marriage to King Edward VIII caused him to abdicate his throne.
Wallis's father died shortly after her birth, and she and her widowed mother were partly supported by their wealthier relatives. Her first marriage, to U.S. naval officer Win Spencer, was punctuated by periods of separation and eventually ended in divorce. In 1934, during her second marriage, to Ernest Simpson, she allegedly became the mistress of Edward, then Prince of Wales. Two years later, after Edward's accession as King of the United Kingdom, Wallis divorced her second husband in order to marry Edward.
The King's desire to marry a woman who had two living ex-husbands threatened to cause a constitutional crisis in the United Kingdom and the Dominions, and ultimately led to his abdication in December 1936 to marry "the woman I love". After abdicating, the former king was created Duke of Windsor by his brother and successor, King George VI. Edward married Wallis six months later, after which she was formally known as the Duchess of Windsor, without the style "Her Royal Highness". She was instead styled as "Her Grace", a style normally reserved for non-royal dukes and duchesses.
Before, during, and after the Second World War, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were suspected by many in government and society of being Nazi sympathisers. In 1937, they visited Germany and met Adolf Hitler. In 1940, the Duke was appointed governor of the Bahamas, and the couple moved to the islands until he relinquished the office in 1945.
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