Edward VIII’s visitor books, which reveal how former king and Wallis Simpson hosted guests including Winston Churchill and Lord Mountbatten at their French home, sell for £30,000
Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson’s visitor books with a ‘who’s who’ of 20th century figures have been put up for sale for £30,000.
The two red leather books were completed by hundreds of VIPs who stayed with them or visited them at various locations between 1935 and 1970.
Their high-profile guests included Winston Churchill, whom they invited to their retreat on the French Riviera in 1948.
Other visitors included Prime Minister Antony Eden, Lord Tennyson and Earl Louis ‘Dickie’ Mountbatten.
They reveal that Equerry Ulick Alexander, advisor Walter Monckton and lawyer Albert George Allen stayed with the Windsors during the abdication crisis of December 1936.
Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson’s visitor books with a ‘who’s who’ of 20th century figures have been put up for sale for £30,000. Important guests include Winston and Clementine Churchill, whom they invited to their retreat on the French Riviera in 1948
Edward abdicated as king after eleven months so that he could marry American divorcee Simpson
Edward abdicated as king after eleven months so that he could marry American divorcee Simpson.
The first visitors’ book is embossed with ‘The Fort’, the name of Fort Belvedere – Edward’s beloved home in Windsor, where he signed the abdication papers.
It is also marked with the name of the Austrian castle where Edward and Wallis spent their honeymoon after they married in 1937.
Although he intended to return to live at Fort Belvedere, the former king was forbidden to do so by his brother and so he never went back.
He and Wallis spent the rest of their lives in exile in the Bahamas and France, entertaining many high society figures.
There are signatures from Edward’s younger brother Prince George and his wife Princess Marina.
Other names include the Earl and Countess of Portarlington, and the Dukes of Buccleuch, Sutherland and Marlborough.
The first visitors’ book is embossed with ‘The Fort’, the name of Fort Belvedere – Edward’s beloved home in Windsor, where he signed the abdication papers
Also featured are NBC announcer Fred Bate, interior designers Sibyl Colefax and Constance Spry, Eugene and Kitty de Rothschild, Prince Dmitri Alexandrovich Romanov and British biographer James Pope-Hennessy.
The Windsors’ monograms evolved as their status changed – ‘Edward RI and Wallis W Simpson’ became ‘Edward Duke of Windsor and Wallis Duchess of Windsor’.
The first visitors book was a gift from Simpson to Edward for Christmas in 1934.
She wrote to her aunt in Washington that she had given him “two red leather books, one for the card accounts and one a guest book.”
She had an almost identical second volume made for him after they completed the first book in 1958.
The books, with hundreds of signatures, were donated by Simpson to her French lawyer and caregiver Suzanne Blum.
She passed them on to the current owner, who helped manage Simpson’s estate after her death in 1986.
The visitors’ books will go under the hammer at the London auction house Bonhams.
Matthew Haley, manuscript specialist at Bonhams, said: ‘These are the remarkable visitor books that accompanied the Duke and Duchess of Windsor on their travels and trials.
‘They are really special and represent a cross-section of their lives.
‘It’s fascinating to see who they met, where and when.
‘Their details and monograms change over time, as he went from Prince of Wales to King and then to Duke of Windsor.
The first visitors’ book also lists the name of the Austrian castle where Edward and Valais spent their honeymoon after they married in 1937. Above: the page with the castle’s mark, as well as the signatures of Wallis and Edward themselves
Fort Belvedere became the main residence of the future King Edward VIII in 1929, when he was Prince of Wales. Above: The exterior of the property pictured in 2006
‘His guests during the eleven months of his reign signed the book, including those who accompanied him on the Nahlin cruise in August, and those who stayed at Balmoral in September 1936.
‘Towards the end of the year, among the signatories were those who came to see him in connection with the abdication crisis: Walter Monckton, George Allen, Esmond Harmsworth and others.
‘When Edward left England after his abdication, he took with him the (first) visitors’ book, a remarkable catalog of exile.
‘It covers the Windsors’ wartime period in the Bahamas, their post-war journey to Britain and the rekindling of their friendship with Churchill.
‘The original album given to the Duke by his future wife was completed in 1958 and another almost identical volume was ordered from Smythson.
‘It was signed by all subsequent guests until the Duke’s declining health prevented them from receiving any further visitors there.
“The last entry is dated March 7, 1970, two years and two months before his death.”
Edward died in 1972 at the age of 77.
The sale will take place tomorrow.