L O C A L HIST O R Y
A royal scandal right on our doorstep Caroline Aston reveals how Leicestershire and Rutland played a pivotal part in King Edward VIII’s abdication from the throne.
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N 10th December it will be eighty years since the short-reigned Edward VIII abdicated. To say that his subjects were shocked is an understatement: unlike today the newspapers had largely kept silent as the King’s romance with twice-divorced Mrs Wallis Simpson was played out against a backdrop of night clubs and luxury yachts. Not until the reluctant monarch was about to step away from the throne and into a future of glossy oblivion did the British people fully realise what was happening – and both Rutland and Leicestershire played their own parts in one of the most famous (and scandalous) love affairs of the 20th century. Born in 1894 while his greatgrandmother Queen Victoria was still on the throne, Prince Edward (known as David in his family) was the first child of George V and his wife Queen Mary. His upbringing was the same as many of his ancestors, his life lived largely apart from his parents to whom he was exhibited by nannies at set times. He grew up to fear his father’s wrath and, sadly, to loathe what he called ‘the stunt’ of royal duty. Kept at a distance from any real action during the 1914-18 War he emerged into high society once the guns had fallen silent as an uberglamorous star. Looking far younger than his years, dressed in the height of fashion, Edward was a Prince Charming who foxtrotted the nights away with satin-clad lovelies, usually married and sometimes American. He adored everything modern, everything his father (who had become King George V in 1910) detested – the scene was set for conflict. Both David and his brother Albert, Duke of York (the future George VI) loved hunting and the fine foxhunting country around Market Harborough was well known to them. The two princes often based themselves at Pitsford Hall, about 13 miles from the town when hunting with the Pytchley. Melton Mowbray, set in the middle of country hunted over by the Quorn, Belvoir and Fernie, along with Rutland’s Cottesmore, was another favourite haunt – all four of George V’s surviving sons stayed in luxurious apartments there which were known as the Craven Lodge Club. And, naturally, there was a rich social life to be savoured along with the pleasures of hard riding to hounds…… One of the most prized local invitations was to Burrough Court, near Melton, home of Lord Pitsford Hall and Lady Furness. Thelma (always pronounced
Telma) Furness had been the Prince of Wales’ mistress of choice for some time; she was a darkly glamorous American who sparkled like the champagne she loved to serve and delighted in assembling witty, attractive people for her lover to enjoy on his visits. On January 10th 1931 one of those people was a certain Mrs Wallis Simpson with whom Thelma shopped, lunched and played bridge when in London. Mrs Simpson and her stolid, reliable second husband Ernest, were actually substitutes for Thelma’s sister and brother-inlaw on that occasion. There were no fireworks, no love at first sight, no bolt of sexual chemistry lightning - and Wallis had a streaming cold as well! Thelma’s royal affair continued along its predictable, undemanding course for some years to come. But slowly and surely the Simpsons became part of the Prince’s ‘inner circle’, enjoying numerous party invitations and weekends at Fort Belvedere, his retreat in Windsor Great Park. With Thelma acting as hostess, the guests drank cocktails, swam in the outdoor pool, danced to the latest tunes and discussed the latest love affairs (and indulged in more than a few of their own!). And then fate stepped in and the whole course of royal history was changed. Early in 1934 Thelma set off on an extended visit to her sister Gloria in America. By now the Simpsons were at the heart of David’s social set….. especially Wallis. Before Thelma departed the two ladies lunched at the Ritz and Lady Furness spoke the words she would never, ever forget. Afraid her royal lover would languish in her absence, she turned to Wallis and asked her to ‘look after the little man’ while she was gone. Fateful words indeed! Three months or so later, when she returned, Thelma found that Wallis was now in pole position and her own reign as mistress in chief had come to a chilly end. Two years later, so had the reign of the uncrowned King Edward VIII who swapped the lush greenness of our counties for a nomadic exile of rootless high society life. And it all began here – if only the walls of Craven Lodge and Pitsford Hall could talk! And as for Burrough Court, where Mrs Simpson met her nemesis and Lady Furness rode a zebra (yes, really!), sadly it burnt down in the 1940s, taking with it the ghosts of a romance born here in the heart of our beautiful countryside. RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING DECEMBER 2016
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