The most brutal royal feud in modern history: The Queen Mother and Wallis Simpson's infamous 'ruthless' shared hatred explained
The hatred ran deep...
It is well known that the Queen Mother resented the burden of the crown placed on the shoulders of her husband King George VI’s shoulders following King Edward VIII’s abdication.
Thus, sparking her reported dislike for the woman who King Edward gave it all up for…Wallis Simpson.
But why did the two women share such animosity for so many years? And why didn’t they ever work it out?
It seems the disapproval ran deep.
We’re unpacking all the details about arguably the most brutal royal feud in modern history. Buckle up…
Inside The Queen Mother and Wallis Simpson’s royal feud
In 1936, Edward VIII gave up the crown to marry Wallis Simpson, a double divorcee and American socialite, who was deemed an inappropriate match for the man who was meant to rule.
Divorce was not approved of by the Church of England at the time, of which Edward VIII was the head of.
This meant Wallis Simpson was not seen as the appropriate fit as the future Queen of England.
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Choosing love over duty, King Edward made an unprecedented move – he abdicated the throne and passed the burden on to his younger brother, King George, known as Bertie to his loved ones, and changed the monarchy forever.
Edward renounced the throne on December 10, 1936, just shy of a year after he became King, in order to marry Wallis Simpson.
Not only did this totally shake up the line of succession, it quickly changed the life of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Bertie’s wife – transforming her from a aristocrat whose priority was her children, socialising and country life, to queen and devoted senior royal.
This unbelievable change rocked The Firm to it’s core and created a life-long face off between Elizabeth, later known as the Queen Mother, and Wallis Simpson.
“The two people who have caused me the most trouble in my life are Wallis Simpson and Hitler,” the Queen Mother is said to have once remarked.
The Queen Mother’s ‘punishments’ for Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII
Reports suggest that the Queen Mother laid down several punishments for Edward (also known as David) and Wallis, given their romance.
Elizabeth was said to have been a big influence when it came to ensuring Wallis would not be addressed or styled as Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Windsor.
She was also said to have been part of the decision to keep the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in France after the abdication.
Edward said of his decision to give up the throne: “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.”
He then fled the country with Wallis and they lived in Europe in Exile.
Writing for the Daily Mail, author Michael Thornton claimed the Queen Mother told him herself: “A country can only have one King at a time.”
The Queen Mother’s ‘hatred’ allegedly influenced Queen Elizabeth II
Anne Sebba, author of Wallis Simpson biography That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, explained just how deeply the Queen Mother resented Wallis Simpson. So much so, it influenced her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
She told The Express about Queen Elizabeth II’s approach to family feuds after watching her own mother’s dislike of Wallis Simpson, stating: “She saw how her mother was really bitter and damaged by what happened, and I think she’s going to do whatever she can, maybe beyond her powers, to try and limit the damage.”
According to reports, it may not have just been Edward’s shirking of his duties that triggered Elizabeth’s distaste for the American socialite.
Speculation has also swirled alleging that the Queen Mother once had feelings for Edward.
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon’s alleged ‘feelings’ for Edward VIII
The 2016 BBC documentary-drama Royal Wives At War, apparently based on letters and memoirs, claimed Elizabeth wanted the future king for herself and not King George.
Historians have since squashed the claims.
Leading historian Andrew Roberts previously told The Mail on Sunday: “The relationship between these two women (Elizabeth and Wallis) is dramatic and extraordinary, without the BBC inventing rubbish of this kind.
“No reputable historian believes the Queen Mother was ever in love with the future Edward VIII, let alone tried to marry him.”
Despite this, author and socialite Lady Colin Campbell said of Elizabeth: “She tried to Marry David (Edward VIII). David was not interested in her”.
Elizabeth was said to have once shared a fond relationship with Edward VIII, prior to his abdication.
She is said to have once written to him: “Darling David, you are very, very naughty, but delicious”.
Meanwhile, David was allegedly very keen on distancing himself from the royal circle altogether. Explaining his decision to abdicate.
The Queen Mother’s biographer Hugo Vickers once described: “The King (Edward VIII) saw a route of escape in Wallis, even though I don’t think he actually articulated that”.
‘The most dangerous woman in Europe’
Hitler, when rallying troops in World War II, was said to have described the Queen Mother as “the most dangerous woman in Europe”.
And when Wallis was portrayed by Gina McKee in BBC’s Royal Wives At War, writers echoed a similar sentiment from Wallis’s lips.
Although this wasn’t known to be a direct quote from the socialite, it highlighted the frosty climate between the two women perfectly: “Behind that great abundance of charm lies a shrewd, scheming and extremely ruthless woman,” Wallis was depicted stating of Elizabeth’s character.
Author Michael Thornton previously wrote for The Telegraph that even in the 80s, over forty years after Edward’s abdication, Elizabeth was still not ready to discuss her animosity towards Wallis.
“There isn’t a hope, dear boy, of getting The Boss to talk about that. It’s the one subject she never discusses with anyone, even with us. Sorry,” Elizabeth’s private secretary, Sir Martin Gilliat, allegedly told Thornton.
The Queen Mother refused to talk about Wallis Simpson
Writing for the publication, Thornton explained that Clarence House did in fact have a change of heart.
“But a day later, Sir Martin called me back from Clarence House: The Boss, it seemed, had had an unexpected change of heart.’I mentioned your project upstairs,’ he said. ‘We’ did not like the idea at all at first and said, ‘Oh no, I couldn’t possibly’. Then ‘We’ thought about it for a while and finally said, ‘Well, if he talked to the right people perhaps …’. So, dear boy, ‘We’ think you should go on with it, and I will send you a little list of people who will be authorised to talk to you’.”
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s cruel nicknames
Although Elizabeth’s fury with Wallis is often discussed, Wallis’s own dislike of Elizabeth is less spoken of. However, it reportedly did run both ways.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor allegedly described the Queen Mother as a “plump” cook, nicknaming her Cookie.
This also alluded to rumours that Queen Elizabeth was actually the daughter of a cook, rather than Scottish aristocracy.
The duo were also said to have had a nickname for Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II).
They were said to have nicknamed her “Shirley” or “Shirley Temple,” due to her appearance at the time.
Meanwhile, the Queen Mother was said to have referred to Wallis as: “That woman.”
Few royal feuds rival Elizabeth and Wallis’s
When it comes to royal feuds, few rival the Queen Mother’s and Wallis Simpson’s.
Michael Thornton once illustrated this, previously writing: “But for sheer virulence and long-lasting antipathy no royal feud in living memory quite measures up to the steely and implacable ostracism practised for 50 years by the late Queen Mother against her despised and twice-divorced American sister-in-law, Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor.”
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