The War of the Royal Wives

In British history, there has never been a more reluctant monarch than King George VI. During the abdication crisis of the 1930s, he fell to his knees and begged desperately not to have to shoulder the burden of being head of state.

Grudge

His wife, Elizabeth (mother of the current Queen Elizabeth II), also feared that her husband was completely unprepared to be king. She always believed that his life was shortened by the stress of taking over the throne from his brother Edward VIII, who had abdicated for an American divorcee. And Elizabeth never forgave that woman, Wallis Simpson, who she blamed for leaving her a widow for decades.

The ongoing feud between Elizabeth and Wallis Simpson is the subject of a new documentary called “Royal Wives At War”, broadcast on BBC Two in early 2016. The film looks at events through the eyes of the two women.

Mrs. Wallis Simpson (left) and Mrs. Elizabeth.

The abdication of King Edward to marry Wallis was the greatest constitutional crisis in modern royal history. Edward’s insistence on marrying a “prostitute” for love and refusing to be king meant that he was never properly crowned and only reigned for 325 days.

Edward was known to be a playboy and had several affairs with married women while he was Prince of Wales. However, none was more scandalous than his relationship with Wallis and it was clear that they were genuinely in love.

Elizabeth, the daughter of a Scottish earl, and Wallis, the daughter of a wealthy Baltimore flour merchant, were only four years apart in age. Yet their personalities and styles were completely different, and each disliked the other from the moment they first met. Wallis, a sociable, elegant, and slim woman with a taste for dark colors. Elizabeth, a full-figured English rose, preferred pale, modest clothes.

Mrs Wallis called Elizabeth “the old-fashioned duchess” and “the fat Scottish cook”, while Elizabeth called Wallis “that woman” and “someone”. In a letter, Elizabeth said that she considered Wallis “the lowest of the low, a completely immoral woman” whom she tried to avoid at all costs. She also described Edward and Wallis’s blatant vulgarity. She once wrote to her mother-in-law, Queen Mary: “I don’t feel that I can invite her to the house. It makes things a little difficult.”

The ill-feeling between the two turned to suspicion and resentment when the abdication crisis followed the death of King George V in January 1936. Elizabeth admitted that she was dismayed when it became clear that Edward was determined to marry Wallis. She regarded her husband's brother as a weakling who had been manipulated by a woman.

When forced to choose between the throne and Wallis, Edward chose the latter and abdicated. He announced it in a somber speech from Windsor Castle. Edward, then 42, moved to France. He married Wallis in 1937 and was given the title Duke of Windsor.

Suspected jealousy because of love

After his brother abdicated, his younger brother Albert became King George VI on 12 May 1937, and Elizabeth became Queen. At the coronation, Edward and Wallis were not on the guest list and they chose the night before the coronation to officially announce their engagement.

Mrs. Wallis and Mr. Edward at their wedding in France.

King George VI, 41, was dedicated and worked hard to adapt to his new role. However, he was nervous and stuttered and from the start he found ruling a country difficult. His wife could not help but notice that the pressure was taking its toll on him.

As for Wallis, although she became the Duchess of Windsor, she was denied her royal title at Elizabeth's behest. This angered Edward. When the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were friendly with members of the Nazi party, Elizabeth said: "The two people who gave me the most trouble were Wallis Simpson and Hitler."

Many of the official papers relating to Elizabeth’s role in the crisis will remain secret until 2037, and historians disagree about the extent of the animosity. When King George VI died at the age of 56 in 1952, his brother flew alone to France for the funeral. Neither he nor his wife were invited to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II the following year.

In fact, the Duchess of Windsor lived at Buckingham Palace in 1972 - the time after Edward died. However, she only saw Elizabeth on the day of the service and they did not speak to each other. The Duchess of Windsor died in 1987, Elizabeth attended the funeral but not the burial.

It was later discovered that Elizabeth had sent a Christmas card with affectionate messages to the Duchess of Windsor. Elizabeth refused to discuss the abdication or her attitude towards the Duchess of Windsor. Another thorny issue that has been raised by the public is whether Elizabeth had ever really had eyes for Edward before marrying his brother. What is certain is that she did like Edward, at least until he began courting Wallis - which Elizabeth considered a royal betrayal. In the BBC Two documentary, Wallis said: "Elizabeth will always hate me. I got the prize and she got the second best."

Although it is not certain whether the two women loved the same man or not, it is known that between them - the two royal wives - there existed a long-lasting and unending hatred.

According to News