Inside Wallis Simpson’s second marriage before wedding to husband King Edward that changed the monarchy forever
The controversial socialite was married twice before she fell for King Edward
King Edward’s romance with Wallis Simpson is a well-known part of royal history. But what about Wallis’ husband before she fell for Edward?
After all, the socialite was deemed an unsuitable match for King Edward due to her status as a double divorce. But Simpson’s second husband, dubbed her “stepping stone”, Ernest Simpson, isn’t often spoken about. Here is everything we know…
Inside the life of Wallis Simpson’s second husband
Ernest Simpson has often been written off as dull and boring. Largely due to the misconception that he sat back and allowed his wife to be wooed by a future King.
However, journalist Rachel Trethewey explains that Mr Simpson was far from a push over. In fact, he was quite a catch.
Ernest was said to be an attractive man, who was married four times to worldly women.
In fact, when Wallis was falling for Edward, nicknamed David by those close to him, Ernest was embroiled in a passionate romance with Wallis’s best friend.
Mr Simpson was the son of a wealthy British ship-broker and an American mother. Trethewey details that Ernest was “good-looking, well-connected and chivalrous”.
Mr Simpson’s older sister, Maud, married a British politician, Peter Kerr-Smiley. The couple were known to host lavish parties in Belgrave Square, where even the likes of the then Prince of Wales rubbed shoulders with celebrities and politicians.
Ernest Simpson’s romances
It is unsurprising then that Maud had her own ambitions for her handsome brother. Maud hoped he too would marry well.
Ernest was once described as a “fastidious dresser” with a “neat blonde moustache,” in the New York Times. Consequently, who garnered a lot of attention from women.
Romantic fiction author Barbara Cartland was one of Ernest’s most notable early conquests. Cartland was said to have written to her mother about how he had tried to kiss her in the back of a taxi.
The Cruel Count author penned as per MailOnline: “He said some very flattering things but I don’t think he is seriously interested in me. Especially as his sister keeps saying to all the girls: ‘It’s no use your falling in love with Ernest, he’s got to marry money!'”
Ernest went on to wed Dorothea Webb Parsons. He later welcomed a daughter with her and their marriage went on for five years.
Until the then Wallis Warfield caught his eye…
When Ernest met Wallis
Ernest and Wallis met in 1926 and their connection was allegedly instant.
Wallis reportedly spoke of his “quiet wit,” describing him as “always well-dressed, a good dancer, fond of the theatre, and obviously well-read”.
The couple tied the knot just two years after laying eyes on each other, in 1928.
When Wallis was first involved with David, Ernest was said to have encouraged the flirtation and was not intimidated by the immature royal.
Wallis was even said to have written to her Aunt Bessie that if her husband raised any objections, she would end her friendship with the price.
Although, we now know Ernest was ultimately cast aside when Wallis and David’s relationship did indeed become more serious.
A year before Wallis would inevitably marry Edward upon his abdication of the throne, Ernest wrote to her: “I know that somewhere in your heart there is a small flame burning for me. Guard it carefully my darling, and don’t let it go out – if only in memory of all the sacred lovely things that have been.”
Mr Simpson’s affair with Wallis’s best friend
Despite his heartache, Mr Simpson was quick to move on.
He turned to none other than Wallis’ best friend since childhood, Mary Kirk Raffray.
The pair had become acquainted with when Wallis invited her to move into The Simpson’s flat upon the breakdown of her own marriage.
Wallis was said to have encouraged Mary to distract her husband whilst she was courting David – but it seems Mary and Ernest’s bond flourished into much more than a distraction.
The pair later met up on a business trip and their affair ensued. Evidently later blossoming into a long-term union with a promising future.
Ernest and Wallis’s marriage was dissolved in May 1937. By the November, Ernest had married Mary.
Ernest Simpson’s heartbreak
In her book The Other Mrs Simpson, Mary’s sister Anne described their “ecstasy with each other,” implying that it wasn’t just Wallis and David who had discovered their great love, Ernest and Mary were also head over heels.
Ernest and Mary went on to move into a town house in Kensington and welcomed a baby together in 1939.
Tragically, Mary died of breast cancer in 1941.
Ernest was devastated, describing his wife as “the bravest of the brave,” following her battle with cancer.
Mr Simpson gushed to his sister-in-law that “everyone adored Mary,” for “her charm, her kindness, her staunchness”.
In 1948 Mr Simpson married for the fourth time. He wed Avril Leveson-Gower who had been married twice before, first to a Georgian prince.
Avril’s sister, Elvira Mullens, was a well-known socialite, notorious for shooting dead her lover.
Ernest and Avril were married for a decade.
Sadly, Ernest died from throat cancer in 1958 aged 61, ten years after tying the knot with Avril.
Wallis Simpson’s friendship with second husband
It is safe to say Wallis’s second husband was far from dull and boring.
In fact, the famous romance that went down with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, also saw Mr Simpson fall in love twice over.
Ultimately, Wallis and Ernest went on to uphold a firm friendship. In fact, she described him as a wonderful friend and “a strong and noble character.”
Mr Simpson appeared to also know Wallis very well. He reportedly once wrote to his ambitious ex-wife: “Could you possibly have settled down to the old life and forgotten the fairyland through which you had passed? My child, I do not think so.”
Read more: Why ‘shy’ King George VI was allowed to marry the Queen Mother despite ‘royal snobbery’
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