When Edward VIII abdicated the throne, he sacrificed any hopes of moving into the British monarch's grand primary residence, Buckingham Palace. But that doesn't mean he and his bride, Wallis Simpson, had to live in squalor.
The pair, known as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor following the abdication, soon settled into a 14-room manse in the Parisian park Bois du Boulogne, which they rented for a small sum from the city. The Duke and Duchess knew it by its address, 4 Route du Champ d’Éntraînement; a later resident, billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, father of Princess Diana's boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed, would rename it the "Villa Windsor."
Now, those looking to take a peek into the royal past will have the opportunity to enjoy the property when the house opens to the public for the first time as a museum in 2024. In March 2023, the Paris city council reportedly signed a 32 year lease on the property to Fondation Mansart, a charitable foundation which preserves French heritage sites. The organization plans to refurbish the property, with an aim toward opening to coincide with the 2024 Olympics.
In addition to serving and a permanent exhibition, the renewed space will also, reportedly host events.
The edifice was originally designed as a summer home for Paris's famed urban planner, Georges-Eugéne Haussmann, back in the mid-1800s. It would go on to become an event venue, and a home a residence Charles de Gaulle in his pre-presidential days, before coming under the Windsors' purview in 1952.
The Duchess soon put her own stamp on the building with the help of Stéphane Boudin, a legendary interior designer who would go on to help Jackie Kennedy with some rooms in the White House. He'd also assist with the renovation of the Duke and Duchess's home in the Parisian suburbs, Le Moulin de la Tuilerie.
At Villa Windsor, Boudin created a swirl of French and English aristocratic styles. Eighteenth-century panelling and "Wallis blue" (a shade invented in 1937 to match the duchess's wedding dress to her eyes) paint framed treasures like a Venetian Rococo console table and Japanese screen, purported to be a gift from Emperor Hirohito. Simpson, who once noted that "the possession of beautiful things is thrilling to me," was pleased. She also added her own touches, including copious sketches, photographs, and portraits of her many pugs; pug-themed trinkets also abounded.
When Vogue photographer Horst P. Horst went to shoot the home in 1963, he seemed impressed most of all by its pristine condition. "It is hard to believe that there can ever have been an interior more surpassingly clean," Horst said, per Architectural Digest, "where crystal was more genuinely scintillating and porcelain more luminous, or where wood and leather, polished to the consistency of precious stone, could more truthfully be said to shine."
It was in this environment that the Windsors hosted their famous dinner parties. The likes of Marlene Dietrich, Aristotle Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, and the Aga Khan. Once, Villa Windsor's future resident Al Fayed was invited. He later told the New York Times in 1986 that he remembered "the way they danced and their sense of fun."
Later on, Al Fayed would sign a 50-year lease of the property, with the intent of restoring the home to its former splendor. (After the Duke died, the Duchess resided in Villa Windsor alone for 13 years as it progressively fell into disrepair.) "It’s like a mausoleum," Al Fayed told People in 1990, after completing a $12 million renovation. "It sometimes gives you the creeps—both of them having died here. But it’s still a happy place, a great fantasy which I love to live in."
And an accurate fantasy at that. "This is how it used to be," the couple's former footman, Sidney Johnson, told the Times in 1989. "Except there are no dogs around."
According to Fondation Mansart president Albéric de Montgolfier, Al Fayed ultimately gave the villa back to the Parisian government four years ago. Montgolfier also told CNN, "Al Fayed originally intended it as a home for his son Dodi and had planned an engagement lunch there for [his son] Dodi and [Princess] Diana," however the couple died in a tragic car crash the day before the lunch was scheduled. (Though Al Fayed has maintained, over the years, that Dodi and Diana were engaged, those close to Diana at the time of her death have denied those claims.)
Chloe is a News Writer for Townandcountrymag.com, where she covers royal news, from the latest additions to Meghan Markle’s staff to Queen Elizabeth’s monochrome fashions; she also writes about culture, often dissecting TV shows like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Killing Eve.
