Sorry, not sorry, but I don’t really care much about the royals. Unless it’s Wallis Simpson. Then it’s a train wreck that I can’t turn away from. The story has such intrigue; why does a man give up the throne for the empire upon which the sun never sets for the love of a woman? Especially one considered unsuitable as a friend, disreputable as a mistress and unthinkable as a queen. Perhaps it was fortunate that they found each other, as the Nazi plan to launch him as a world ambassador for a peace movement, i.e., a semi-fascist comeback in England, was thwarted.
While 17 Carnations was good, it went way into the weeds with details and dates on the Marburg Files, and became repetitive in its telling. This was well-researched, but much more a historical and political than personal view of the couple. For the more personal view and a glimpse of Wallis’ jewelry, check out The Windsors at War: The King, His Brother, and a Family Divided by Alexander Larman (see my review here).
candysplanet 