Before Wallis

by Rachel Trethewey

  Whenever the couple were separated they had a special ritual of exchanging two pairs of pink and green teddy bears which Thelma had bought at Harrods. If they went on a trip away from each other they swapped bears, so that they would always have something of each other with them. When the prince wrote to Thelma from abroad he never failed to send love from his teddies to her’s.125 Edward’s pet name for Thelma was ‘Toodles’.126 He was fond of her, even though she did not inspire the grand passion he had felt for Freda. Mary, Duchess of Buccleuch, recalled how Edward used to fuss over Lady Furness. Before taking her out in his motorboat on Virginia Water, he would meticulously check that her life jacket was safely fastened, even though there was little risk on such shallow water.127

  10

  THE ACCIDENTAL MATCHMAKER

  Rather than being remembered for her great love affair with the prince, Thelma Furness is most well known for her role in introducing Wallis Simpson to the heir to the throne. A fellow American, at that time Wallis was married to her second husband, Ernest Simpson, who was an Anglo-American shipping broker, when she met the Prince of Wales. During her first years in London Wallis had been lonely; she felt that she did not fit into British society. She searched for like-minded friends among the American colony in the city. Ernest and Wallis began to socialise with young diplomats and managers of American banks and businesses.1 It was an important moment for Wallis when she first met Thelma’s sister Consuelo, who was married to Benjamin Thaw, first secretary of the American embassy in London. Consuelo and Wallis became close friends and then Consuelo introduced Wallis to Thelma. The two women immediately got on well as Thelma found Wallis ‘fun’.2

  In their memoirs, Thelma, Wallis and the Prince of Wales all recorded slightly different versions of how and when Edward first met Mrs Simpson. According to Thelma, it was in late 1930 or January 1931, when Consuelo first brought Wallis over to cocktails at Thelma’s house. Gloria and her friends also dropped in, making an impromptu party. The prince arrived to see Thelma and she introduced him to her new friend, Mrs Simpson. Thelma later wrote that it was an uneventful meeting; there was no electric tension between Wallis and Edward that night.3

  Edward remembered it differently. He recalled in his memoir that he first met the woman he would marry when he went to Lady Furness’s country house, Burrough Court, for a weekend’s hunting with his brother George during the winter of 1931. Wallis was there with her husband. She did not ride, and she was suffering from a bad cold. The prince made conversation with her, saying that she must miss central heating. Always prepared to say what she thought, Wallis told him that, on the contrary, she liked cold houses. A mocking look came into her eyes when she said that every American woman who came to England was asked that question and she had hoped for something more original from him. Her willingness to challenge him immediately attracted Edward’s attention and made her more interesting to him.4

  In her memoir, Wallis corrected both Thelma’s and the prince’s accounts. She agreed with Thelma that their first meeting was in the winter of 1930–31, but it was at Burrough Court, not in London. Biographers confirm that the fateful date was 10 January 1931.5 Thelma had planned a hunting weekend with the heir to the throne. Lord Furness was away on safari so, to keep up appearances, a married woman was required to act as chaperone. Wallis and Ernest Simpson were invited because Consuelo could not be there. At this point, Wallis hardly knew Thelma as they had only met at a couple of parties. At first, she was reluctant to go because she did not know what would be expected of her. However, she agreed to help her friend and because she was ‘dying’ to meet the heir to the throne.6 As she admitted to her Aunt Bessie in a letter, she had made up her mind to meet the prince ever since she first arrived in London, but she never expected to do it in such an informal way.7

  Ernest had no qualms about going; he was delighted to be asked and saw it as an honour. On the way to Melton Mowbray by train, Benjamin Thaw taught Wallis how to curtsy. Her nerves about the weekend were made worse by the fact that she had a stinking cold. Once at Burrough Court, when she first met the prince, Wallis was surprised to discover how small he was. At 5ft 7in he was only 2 inches taller than her, but she was immediately attracted by his joie de vivre and his naturalness.

  Wallis also recorded her version of her first conversation with her future husband. She admitted that she was very nervous and had to censor what she would normally say because she had been told that with royalty you should not discuss politics or controversial topics.8 Lady Kimberley, who was at the dinner, recalled that Wallis was sitting opposite the prince. She leant forward and asked him if he thought she was like Rita Kruger, a woman he had courted in New York. Edward replied abruptly, ‘Good God! No!’ and turned back to his neighbour.9

  On her way back to London at the end of the weekend Wallis decided that the prince was one of the most attractive characters she had ever met. She was also fascinated by the air of melancholy that she had detected in him. Wallis asked Benjamin Thaw if he thought Edward would ever marry. He told her that the prince had been in love with several women, but nothing ever came of the relationships. Thaw doubted that, having waited so long, he would marry.10

  After this first meeting, Wallis thought it unlikely that she would ever meet the prince again, but thanks to Thelma she did. The prince was sent to South America in a bid to boost the British export trade, which had dropped drastically due to German and American goods taking much of the market during the Depression. To prepare him for his trip, Thelma frequently spoke to Edward in Spanish. She helped him practise his speech for the opening of the British Empire Trade Exposition in Buenos Aires in March 1931.11 From South America Edward wrote to Thelma to tell her how much he was missing her. In terms that echoed his earlier letters to Freda, he explained: ‘I love you and that it is wonderful to think that every day is bringing us nearer together. That is a wonderful thought, my darling, and about the only thought that keeps me alive and doing what I have to on this trip.’12

  On the prince’s return from South America, Thelma held a reception for him at her house. When Edward saw Wallis, he recognised her and asked Thelma who she was. He then came over to Ernest and Wallis and said how nice it was to see them again.13 In the following months, Wallis became part of the Morgan sisters’ circle. When she was presented at court in June, Consuelo Thaw lent her the dress she had worn for her own presentation while Thelma lent her the train, feathers and fan. At the presentation, the prince walked past Wallis with his great-uncle, the Duke of Connaught. She heard him say that something ought to be done about the lighting because it made all the women look so awful. When Wallis saw Edward afterwards, at a party at Thelma’s, she teased the prince about this remark. Her challenging attitude evidently appealed to Edward, because he gave the Simpsons a lift home in his car. When Wallis asked him if he would like to come in for a drink, he said he could not that night, but he would like to see her flat another time.14

  Wallis did not hear from the prince for the rest of the year, but in January 1932 the Simpsons received an unexpected invitation to Fort Belvedere for the weekend; from then on, the Simpsons became regular guests. It was largely due to Thelma that Mrs Simpson saw the prince so often. At first, when Thelma had suggested Wallis and Ernest should be invited to the Fort the prince had resisted the idea. He did not find Ernest Simpson stimulating company as he was a reserved, bookish man. However, Edward eventually gave in thanks to Thelma’s persuasive powers.15 Thelma considered Wallis to be one of her best friends. Mrs Simpson later played down the friendship, saying that although they often lunched together at the Ritz or Claridge’s it was usually with other women. They were not intimate and did not exchange confidences.16 However, they were close enough to spend Christmas together and Thelma gave her an expensive present of three rings: one sapphire, one ruby and one of diamonds. Sometimes, Wallis would come to the Fort without Ernest, to act as chaperone to Thelma for the weekend. Thelma collected her friend in her car and then they would dr
ive down to the Fort together. After dinner Thelma, Wallis and the prince would have coffee together in the sitting room in front of a roaring fire. While Thelma and Edward embroidered, Wallis would read to them.17 In her letters to her confidante, Aunt Bessie, Wallis painted a less harmonious picture; she complained about the experience when Thelma read aloud, saying that she could not stand ‘the Morgan voice’. To escape from it, she made an excuse to write a letter in the dining room.18

  It seems that initially Thelma encouraged Edward to invite Wallis because she feared that she was losing her power over the prince. She tried to find witty guests outside of his usual circles to keep him amused. Perhaps at first Thelma did not see Wallis as any threat. Although the two American women had a similar style, wearing their dark hair in the same sleek chignon and dressing immaculately, Thelma noted that Mrs Simpson was not beautiful or even pretty; she had large hands which she used too much to emphasise points. Nor was she as thin and chic as she was later to become.19 Perhaps Thelma also felt secure because Wallis was supposed to be one of her best friends. At this stage, Wallis wrote that if the prince was at all attracted to her she was not aware of it.20

  However, Wallis’s sharp wit and repartee piqued the prince’s interest more than his mistress had intended.21 Perhaps the first sign that Edward was attracted to Wallis came in June 1933, when he gave a dinner party for her at Quaglino’s for her birthday. The restaurant had been started by the two Quaglino brothers, one short and plump, the other tall, slim and intellectual. Situated just off Jermyn Street, it had become one of the most fashionable places to eat. The Prince of Wales frequently dined in the grill where snipe, woodcock, grilled sole, roast chicken and caviar were on the menu. Every year the two Quaglino brothers would travel abroad looking for new ideas to keep their restaurant fresh and exciting. On one trip they bought exclusive eau de Cologne for the finger bowls; another tour led to white truffles being added to the menu. As special patrons entered the restaurant, Van Straten’s dance orchestra would play their favourite tune. Lady Furness was known to particularly like the accordion and tango tunes.22

  At Wallis’s birthday party, the prince gave her an orchid, which he assured her would bloom again within a year. The following month, Wallis organised a dinner at her flat for the Fourth of July. She prepared a special American menu of black bean soup, grilled lobster, fried chicken and a raspberry soufflé for ten guests including the prince, Thelma and Consuelo. The prince was placed at the head of the table, Ernest at the foot.23

  In 1933 Thelma divorced Duke on the grounds of adultery with a woman called Helene Griselain in a Paris hotel. The suit was undefended.24 According to Lord Furness’s stepdaughter, Duke did not divorce Thelma for her infidelity because he would not have wanted to cite a member of the royal family as correspondent. However, he was very angry about the situation and never forgave Thelma.25 As with Freda’s divorce, there was no suggestion that this was to make Lady Furness available to marry the prince. Thelma admitted to dreams of living permanently with the man she loved, but she knew deep down that it was just a fantasy.26 There was still great stigma attached to divorce and nowhere more so than at court. In Edward VII’s reign no divorced person, even if they were the innocent party, would be received at court. This rule was relaxed slightly as divorce became more common after the First World War. During George V’s reign the innocent party could be invited to court, but except for a few rare exceptions the guilty party continued to be excluded.27 As divorced women, Thelma and Wallis were only able to be presented at court because they were the innocent parties. The Prince of Wales did not approve of such old-fashioned conventions and he had decided that once he was king he would try to end this form of social ostracism.28 However, while such rigid rules were still in place, the chances of a twice-divorced woman like Thelma marrying the heir to the throne seemed extremely remote.

  When Edward heard Thelma was divorcing Duke, he held her close and said that he was sure she had made the right decision. He was very happy about it, but he did not make any commitment to her.29 Like Freda before her, Thelma began to feel that she was trapped in an emotional dead end. She could be the prince’s mistress but not his wife. She confided in her old friend, the journalist Maury Paul, that her life was at a standstill. She did not want to be queen, and even if she had, she knew that a twice-divorced commoner would be unacceptable.30 It seems that only Thelma’s mother, the indefatigable Mrs Morgan, held out any hope for their long-term future. When someone said to her: ‘You surely don’t expect her to become Queen?’ Mrs Morgan immediately replied: ‘Stranger things than that have happened!’31

  Unlike Freda, Thelma began to trade on her royal connections. She had become a style icon whose every outfit was analysed by the newspapers. One journalist enthused that she could ‘wear a backless dress better than anyone else I know’.32 In January 1934 she appeared in an advert for Pond’s Cold Cream. The cosmetic company paid many leading socialites in both England and America to appear in their adverts. Lady Diana Cooper and Sheila Loughborough had also promoted the face cream. Pond’s used these aspirational models to change their image and appeal to middle-class women. Using cosmetics was becoming more fashionable as ordinary women wanted to bring a touch of Hollywood glamour into their own lives. During the 1920s the middle-class market had favoured more expensive European brands such as Helena Rubinstein and Chanel because they were perceived as more exclusive. Pond’s rebranding strategy worked and there was a boom in sales.33 In the advert, beneath an alluring photograph that emphasised Thelma’s dark eyes and porcelain skin, Lady Furness was described as moving ‘among the most exclusive set’. Thelma endorsed the product by telling potential buyers that she cleansed her face with Pond’s Cold Cream several times during the day. She explained: ‘It prevents the pores enlarging. I find it more effective than anything else for keeping powder on.’34 Although many society women also took part in this promotion, it certainly was not the behaviour of a potential future Queen of England. Loathing as he did women wearing make-up and any form of vulgar self-advertisement, one can only imagine King George’s reaction, if he heard about this latest venture of his son’s American mistress.

  Early in 1934, Thelma decided that she should travel to America to see her twin sister Gloria. They planned to meet in New York and then travel to California. When Thelma told the prince that she would be gone for five or six weeks, he did not try to stop her, but he said that he would miss her very much.35 A few days before she sailed she invited Wallis Simpson for lunch at the Ritz. When Wallis said that the prince would be lonely without her, Thelma asked her to look after him while she was away and to make sure he did not get into any ‘mischief’.36

  Wallis took her friend at her word. While Thelma was in America her supposed friend spent a great deal of time with the Prince of Wales. Wallis wrote to Aunt Bessie that she had ‘inherited’ him from Thelma. At first, she felt that he was just calling on her because he missed Lady Furness.37 However, although Edward was regularly in contact with Thelma by telephone or cable, gradually she was being supplanted. The prince asked Wallis to a dinner party he was giving at the Dorchester. During the evening, Wallis impressed him by showing a genuine interest in his work. He began calling regularly at Wallis’s daily cocktail parties at Bryanston Court. Although she did not have a great deal of money to spend, Wallis had exquisite taste and created an elegant home and gave her guests delicious food. She gathered around her an eclectic mixture of diplomats, politicians and intelligent women. They discussed new ideas about Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Roosevelt and Chiang Kai-shek.

  Unlike Thelma, Wallis was very well informed about politics. Like Freda and Rosemary, she had strong views and was willing to express them. Wallis explained in her memoir that she thought it was important to be interesting and that she was prepared to argue her ideas ‘spiritedly’ against men.38 The prince admired her feistiness and the fact that when she disagreed with him she stood up to him and argued with him.39 Wallis was a challenge
to the prince; Thelma was not. According to his memoir, Mrs Simpson was the most independent woman he had ever met.40 Her wit stimulated him. She was one of the few people who could make him laugh out loud. Friends said that at dinner he would lean forward waiting for one of her witticisms and then he would roar with laughter.41

  Once the parties were over the prince stayed on at the Simpsons’ flat. At first it was just for supper, but as the weeks went by he used to stay up late with Wallis long after Ernest had gone to bed. As Freda had experienced in the first stage of their affair, he was soon telephoning Wallis two or three times a day and he seemed at a loose end.42 Like Freda, Mrs Simpson built up his confidence and made him feel good about himself. She mothered him and bossed him around but, unlike Freda, with Wallis there was sometimes an edge of cruelty in her tone. She lacked Freda’s genuine warmth, kindness and integrity. The prince’s biographer Frances Dondaldson wrote that all his life Edward had been looking for a masculine woman who would dominate him. Wallis was that woman; she was made to dominate.43

  As the prince was seen with Wallis, there began to be gossip that she was his latest conquest. Wallis told her aunt that she was not in the habit of stealing her girlfriends’ boyfriends. She denied an affair had begun while Thelma was away, claiming that she just made him laugh and they liked to dance together. She added that they always had Ernest around, so it was safe.44 However, emotionally her relationship with the prince had deepened.