A twice-divorced American commoner was viewed as a totally unacceptable candidate as queen-consort, and the resulting abdication crisis shook the monarchy and the British Empire to its rafters. Often described as the “greatest love story of the 20th century,” except, as this book makes clear, while Wallis was in love, it was not with her hapless third husband, Edward Windsor. “There was never anything between Herman and me,” Wallis replies (despite their love, they always denied any physical relationship). “Wallis, you got the king but I got your Herman.”That exchange neatly captures the rich material Morton mines in Wallis In Love. Frankly, Edward was weak; when he announced his intention to shirk his royal responsibilities by abdicating the throne, his younger brother, the Duke of Gloucester, slapped him across the face.

Source: thestar February 16, 2018 11:26 UTC