Wallis Simpson and the Curious Case of Queen Alexandra's Allegedly Missing Emeralds
While the Duke and Duchess of Windsor dined at Claridge's in 1946, her jewelry case was stolen. But what exactly was in that case, and who was responsible for the sensational crime?
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been making my way through a review copy of Alexander Larman’s Power and Glory: Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of Royalty, which will soon be published here in the US by St. Martin’s Press. While reading, I was caught up in the familiar, but still mysterious, story of an unsolved jewelry theft that took place during the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s visit to England in 1946. Today, I’m spending a little time untangling what we know–and what we don’t know–about Wallis’s missing jewels.
In the autumn of 1946, things were looking up for the British royal family. After the end of grueling years of war, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth had emerged into a golden era of public favor. And even more good news was on the horizon. At Balmoral, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark had privately proposed marriage to the heiress, Princess Elizabeth. The next year would bring a royal wedding to help boost public morale even higher.
But almost a decade after the abdication, another branch of the family was struggling. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor had not found a place to call home. In Power and Glory, Alexander Larman refers to the couple's status in 1946 as "jobless, stateless and rootless." As they groped for purpose, they were convinced that it might actually be possible to return to England. David had been agitating for a formal role within the British government, lobbying his brother and everyone from Churchill to Atlee without success. But correspondence with friends persuaded them that they might try to establish some sort of home base for themselves in the United Kingdom. They arranged for a visit that October with a pair of close friends, the Earl and Countess of Dudley, at one of their homes, Ednam Lodge in Sunningdale. The house was helpfully located near Windsor Great Park and David's former home, Fort Belvedere.
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