Edward, Duke of WindsorReseñas

Why this book? Because, unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a biography of Freda Dudley Ward so this is all we've got? What happened to her letters to him I wonder? Maybe she never wrote him back. Hahahahaha.

Strange couple.

These are the letters of perhaps one of the most famous couples of the twentieth century: the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The letters in the first half of the book are mainly from Wallis to her Aunt Bessie. It's very interesting to watch the progression of events, from Wallis's first meeting with her future husband to the urgency of the Abdication. It's fascinating stuff and well worth anyone's time and effort to read it.

Edward VIII is one of the Princes of Wales in the present Windsor Dynasty of England. He was just like any other man who was born at the close of the 19th century. He was Queen Victoria's great grandson who suceeded the throne in 1936 against his wishes, because he wanted to marry the american divorcee, Wallis Warfield Simpson which his mother, Queen Mary, has always abhored. According to Queen Mary, a suitable wife should be chosen because he will be a king someday. Edward deemed that it was only Wallis who listened and got interested with him and his work. His father King George V has prophesied that Edward will not stay on the throne for more than a year. True to the king's word, Edward was only barely 365 days as king and did not stay long enough for his coronation. He decided to abdicate and marry Wallis Simpson and changed the course of british monarchy history, since. This book is a must read for those wanting to know the king's early life and royal family more intimately as well as the early Windsors. It starts at his joyful birth and ends with him crossing the english channel on his way to France, on the night of his abdication from the throne.

An interesting and very readable story, Edward VIII's memoirs tell the story, of an heir to the throne. Edward was raised to be the King of England and he tells his story from his birth until his abdication of the throne. He loved his country and wanted to do what was right for his country as the King, but if forced to, he would give it all up to be married to the woman he loved. These memoirs paint a wonderful picture of the workings of the British Constitutional Monarchy and its dealings with Parliament, as well as what it is like to grow up as the heir to the throne.½

Lui certamente non era molto intelligente. I servizi segreti non gli avranno permesso di pubblicare niente di scottante. Il risultato è un libro noioso, non solo privo di qualsiasi spessore storico, ma privo anche di annedoti.½

Shows Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) childish and self-centered, in his letters to Mrs. Dudley F. Ward, who he later dropped for Wallie Simpson.

I rate it 4 for historical interest, though the quality of the letters is often puerile. Like many other non-experts, I tended to be sympathetic to
Wallis and Edward as a romantic couple, but reading their letters I learned what a ghastly pair they really were, especially in their Nazi links.

An interesting and engaging account by HRH the Duke of Windsor of his life, with a heavy focus on clothes, those of his family, of his contemporaries and his own, particularly interesting for the references to his impact on the fashions of the day.½