EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN: Wallis Simpson

They seemed to have it all – glamour, power, wealth and adoration. Grace Kelly, Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn, Indira Gandhi, Madame Chiang Kai-shek... they were worshiped, loved and sometimes even feared by millions the world over. These were the pioneers who showed that a woman could be the equal of any man. But behind the public success, there was so often private heartache and personal tragedy. Featuring archive, interviews and dramatic re-enactment, this series reveals the price these extraordinary women paid for their achievements. Yet in the end, they overcame all adversities to emerge as triumphant, inspirational icons of the 20th century.

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The Duke of Windsor marries American divorcee Mrs Wallis Simpson at the Château de Condé, France, much to the Royal family’s disapproval. (Agency reference 2665979)

Courtesy of © Hulton Archive/ Getty Images (1937)

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The Duke of Windsor and Wallis Warfield (formerly Mrs. Simpson) posing next to a floral arrangement after their scandalous wedding, in the Château de Condé, near Tours, France. (Agency reference 3231646)

Courtesy of Jack Benton/ © Hulton Archive/Getty Images (1937)

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On 10th December 1936, Edward VIII, King of England, became the first monarch to abdicate in over 800 years. As the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, his desire to marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson caused a constitutional crisis and marked the beginning of a deep family rift. (Agency reference 72386760)

Courtesy of © Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images (1941)

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The nation’s charismatic monarch, King Edward VIII renounced his throne, not for a woman of royal blood, but for twice-divorced American socialite, Wallis Simpson. (Agency reference 53027815)

Courtesy of Thomas D McAvoy/ © Time & Life Pictures/ Getty Images (1940)

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American socialite Wallis Simpson became Duchess of Windsor in June 1937 after her marriage to Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor. (Agency reference 2639219)

Courtesy of FAYER/ © Hulton Archive/Getty Images (1936)

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After the controversy surrounding King Edward VIII’s abdication from the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, their reputation was further tarnished due to a pre-World War II meeting with Adolf Hitler in Germany, branding them as Nazi sympathizers. (Agency reference 2667221)

Courtesy of © Keystone/Getty Images (1937)

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The Duke and Duchess of Windsor host the annual inspection of the Bahamas branch of the Red Cross at Government House in Nassau, 1942. They were exiled from Britain after the former King of England gave up the throne to marry American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. (Agency reference 103627596)

Courtesy of © Hulton Archive/Getty Images (1942)

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A grudging reconciliation between Queen Elizabeth II and Wallis, Duchess of Windsor at the funeral of Edward, Duke of Windsor. The Royal family found it difficult to forgive Wallis for her part in the abdication of her husband Edward VIII, the former King of England. (Agency reference 2664736)

Courtesy of Reg Birkett/ © Hulton Archive/Getty Images (1972)

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From a first floor window of Buckingham Palace, a frail Wallis Simpson struggles to mourn the death of her husband Edward, the Duke of Windsor, who had died in Paris in 1972. (Agency reference 51115652)

Courtesy of © Hulton Archive / Getty Images (1972)

"Wallis Simpson"

Brandished a frivolous socialite, a gold digger and even a Nazi-sympathizer, Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American, became embroiled in a deep constitutional crisis when she embarked upon one of the most talked-about marriages of the 20th century. To the horror of the British government and the Royal Family, on 10th December, 1936, King Edward VIII gave up the British throne to marry her.

As a young lady, Wallis was a die-hard socialite - and lived for the parties, the champagne, the dances and the men. But she made bad choices. Her first husband, Win Spencer, was a dashing American pilot, whose drunken rages left her beaten and abused.

Her second husband, Ernest Simpson, took her to London where she felt bored and isolated - that is, until she broke into the aristocratic social scene. Wallis Simpson soon caught the roving eye of the charismatic playboy and the future King of England, Prince Edward.

With Edward's accession to the throne, the British government and the Church of England were adamant the King could not marry a divorcee. And so, in a move that shocked the nation, Edward VIII abdicated - to marry the woman he loved. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, as they were then titled, were forced to live in exile and endure relentless snubs from the Royal Family for the rest of their lives. But, they made the best of it. It was not the life they wanted but hey had each other.

Throughout the Second World War they worked tirelessly for the war effort; they established charitable institutions during their posting to the Bahamas; they created a happy, social life for themselves in Paris in the years that followed, and Wallis became known as one of the world's best dressed women. But, for all that, Wallis Simpson's reputation remained forever tainted - she was the woman who caused a much-loved King to abdicate.

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