PARA PAR@ ` 1TEXT ` #Windsor, Wallis Warfield, Duchess of
1896╨1986
socialite
Born in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, on June 19, 1896, Bessie Wallis Warfield, known as Wallis, grew up there and in Maryland. She attended the Oldfields School in Cockeysville, Maryland. During World War I she married Earl W. Spencer, a navy pilot; they were divorced in the early 1920s. After living for a time in Warrenton, Virginia, she traveled to England, where she met Ernest A. Simpson, a U.S.-born British subject. They were married in 1928 and lived near London, where she became acquainted with many of the leading personalities of the day. In June 1931 she was introduced to the Prince of Wales; over the next few years they were frequently seen together at social gatherings. After his accession to the throne as Edward VIII in January 1936, the possibility of romance between them became more than an occasion of social comment. In October 1936 Wallis Simpson filed for divorce, and it soon became apparent that the King intended to marry her.
This situation initiated an unprecedented constitutional crisis, for the Church of England and other conservative factions adamantly opposed such a union, even a morganatic marriage or one that denied her the dignity of queen consort. On December 11, 1936, Edward VIII renounced his throne, and the next day he made the famous radio address to the nation which included his simple explanation: ╥I have found it impossible to carry on the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge the duties of king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.╙ Immediately after his abdication, upon which he was created the Duke of Windsor by his brother, now George VI, he left England to live on the Continent. Simpson╒s divorce became final in May 1937, and she had her name changed legally to Mrs. Wallis Warfield. Mrs. Warfield and the Duke were married in France on June 3, 1937. They lived in France and traveled frequently until World War II broke out. In July 1940 King George VI named the Duke governor of the Bahama Islands, where the Duke and Duchess remained through most of World War II; he resigned his post in early 1945 and moved back to France. The couple were among the most prominent, exclusive, and newsworthy members of the ╥international set╙ of socialites and celebrities. For decades their lives consisted largely of traveling, entertaining, and being entertained a great deal. In 1956 the Duchess of Windsor published her autobiography, The Heart Has Its Reasons. The Duke of Windsor died in Paris on May 28, 1972, and the Duchess continued to live at her Paris home in declining health and increasing isolation. She died on April 24, 1986, in Paris and, at her husband's request, was buried beside him in the royal cemetery at Frogmore, England, near Windsor Castle
