Anne Sebba
That Woman: Time to Reassess Wallis Simpson?
Summary
Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee, was always referred to as ‘That Woman’ by the Royal Family and as a greedy adventurer by many in Britain and the Commonwealth. But in the 21st century, following Anne Sebba’s discovery of new information, surely it is time to reassess her role in the abdication crisis of 1936.
Anne Sebba
Anne Sebba is a broadcaster, journalist, and lecturer. The author of eleven books, Anne’s most recent title is Ethel Rosenberg: A Cold War Tragedy (2021). She has also written biographies of Jennie Churchill, Mother Teresa, and Laura Ashley, among others. She is currently working on a book about the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz for publication in 2025, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camps. Anne is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a senior research fellow at the Institute of Historical Research.
I don’t have any evidence of Wallis’ anti-Semitism. I think Wallis knew perfectly well she was married to somebody who was Jewish, who was anti-Semitic. But I think there’s one letter where Wallis talks about her fear of Ernest going to Hamburg, where the family shipping company was based. So I think she clearly knew that he was Jewish. So I don’t think it worried her to be married to somebody Jewish. I mean, she probably imbibed the upper class atmosphere of casual antisemitism. She didn’t have any Jewish friends. I think Wallis was pro Wallis really. I don’t suppose she, you know, it would be nice to have found some pro-Semitic remarks. I think she just was in the wind. I think it’s Edward who really was anti-Semitic and she had to go his way, but I don’t think she was the prime mover in all of this.
Oh, well, I think she gave as good as she got. There are numerous episodes where Wallis imitated her. Wallis loathed her. She thought she was a goodie goodie that she was boring. She wore boring clothes. So Wallis usurped her role. And the Queen Mother stood by her mother-in-law in just trying to reveal that Wallis was a jumped up piece who would cause damage to the reputation of the royal family. But subsequently the relationship worsened. It deteriorated because she wanted some kind of quiet private life in which to bring up her two daughters. She knew she was married to a man who had not been brought up to believe he was king, who stammered, actually Edward stammered as well as you can hear in that broadcast. But George VI as he became, Bertie, it’s very complicated. They all have so many names. But the second son who was forced into taking on the role of King stammered much more, he had never been prepared for the role of king. And I think the Queen Mother was protective. She believed that her daughters would be thrust into a public role as they were. It would damage the family life she had always hoped for. And ultimately, when her husband died prematurely in 1952, she blamed his death, which was from cancer, from probably from smoking, it was lung cancer. But the Queen Mother always insisted that his end was hastened by having been forced onto the throne in a role that he was never brought up for and was not suited for. I think subsequently when she realised after the war when the British public loved her and took her to their hearts. Actually, I think she wasn’t scared of Wallis anymore, but until that point she was worried that perhaps there could be a king’s party that this glamorous couple over the water might come back and the glamorous chic Wallis and Edward or the Duke and Duchess of Windsor might usurp them. So early on there was fear and worry of destabilisation. But I think once she caught through the war, she just decided that Wallis was somebody that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with, but she wasn’t frightened or scared of her anymore and she grew into her own role. And no matter how much Wallis made fun of her, she couldn’t harm her at this that point.