Grifters indeed! Can we have a lift Joe?

[ThePoshUns]

H&M asked if they could have a lift home on AF1 after HMQs funeral.
Environmentally friendly sure, but makes them look grabby and entitled again. Makes for a good story though.

No, I just think that they had to have a contingency plan should Bertie not be agreeable.

Interesting. So really, there was never any decision about him being king, it was just a discussion about how the family moved forward through the crisis. I guess if the others had been unhappy it would have been a chance for them to bring it up there rather than to do so publicly later.
I know initially the public were quite anti
George VI but the war changed that and he eventually turned out to be much loved. Aw. Nice.

In a nutshell, @Millicentsparty !

It's an interesting time, I think. We sort of know so much about the abdication from Edward's point of view, the govt's pov and even Wallis's. And we know of Albert reluctance and Elizabeth's resentment. But we never really hear much about how the rest of the family reacted, though its clear they were supportive of Albert, nor their subsequent relationships with Edward. It must have been a huge shock to them all.

It would be interesting to know how that period is viewed in the current RF. Such a moment of instability in their history, I wonder if they are "over it" iykwim.

That's a good question, @pintery .
After came the war and huge social upheaval.
It must have been shocking, though. His mother Queen Mary wrote Edward a poignant letter, saying that ordinary people made huge sacrifices for the nation, yet he couldn't. Quite sad.

I think so - for King George VI, the queen mother, the queen, it was all so personal but they are gone now. With the benefit of hindsight it’s such an enormously good thing Albert was on the throne during the war and not his older brother I think the public are overwhelmingly relieved it happened, and so probably are the younger royals (I’m including the current king in that 😂)

Can you recommend a good book on the subject @Maireas? Sorry if you already have..

Philip Ziegler: King Edward VIII, a very good biography, very well researched, excellent contemporary materials.
Charles Higham: Mrs Simpson, a good biography, sheds light on her fascist sympathies as well.

Hugo Vickers: Behind Closed Doors, meticulously researched.

You're probably right @PrincessTigger. I wonder how much Charles and Anne as children picked up on the feelings of the Queen and QM, or whether it wasn't spoken of. The Windsors must have been there in the background of their childhoods I suppose, C + A were adults by the time the Duke died and Wallis lasted into the 80s.

Do royal children get schooled in the history of the family, I wonder 🤷‍♀️

Thank you @Maireas!

I remember Charles visiting The Duke of Windsor and Wallis in Paris. He was young at the time, it might have been late 60s or early 70s so maybe early 20s.

I didn’t swear. What’s wrong with quoting from rh urban dictionary anyways?

When Edward abdicated in 1936, war with Hitler was not seen as inevitable. Many people admired how he had pulled Germany together. I think David/Edward was seen generally as a loose cannon, very arrogant, didn't much like working, emotionally damaged and completely besotted with Wallis.

Anyway nobody has yet come up with an alternative explanation for Meghan wearing her Wallis outfit to the Queen's platinum jubilee..

You're right, @StartupRepair . By the end of 1937, after the Abdication, the last ditch attempt at Appeasement began.
I have no idea why Meghan would use the visual connection to link her to Wallis. Unless she's demonstrating a cut off from the royal family?
Good point, @pintery .

I think the abdication definitely had an effect on Princess Margaret and her choice not to marry Peter Townsend, so it did resonate through the generations

Yes, I agree.

I think they were all deeply affected by the abdication and Harry’s behaviour must have brought back upsetting memories for that generation. The Wallis dress was some sort of statement. You don’t do that by mistake.

100% agree with you there.

I would imagine that M is just one of those people who suit a very pared down look on her.

Tbh the choice of dress is strange. It’s not very fashionable which might lead some to think it’s been influenced by Wallis’s. But why?!

Your right it's not a fashionable look and that's why it stands out to me as a copy.

Why did she copy it, knowing it would be controversial decision? I don't think it was for happy reasons.
Did Harry realise it was a copy of Wallis outfit?
Did the RF twig it on the day?

I can't imagine someone in the press wading through every outfit looking for where its copied from.

Did they get a tip off, where to look for it?

So many questions.

This is an interesting interview to watch again, in hindsight (the hindsight of this thread!). The interviewer drives me nuts but watching Wallis is pretty interesting.