'Balmoral is a test': How the Queen Mother's snub to
Wallis Simpson at the Scottish estate proved she would NEVER be accepted by the
royal family
New three-part documentary Inside Balmoral aired on
Channel 5 last night
Reveals how visit to Scottish estate can make or break
newcomers to royal family
King Edward VII invited Mrs Simpson to host dinner at
Balmoral in 1936
Brother's wife was outraged and 'swept past', proving
she'd failed Balmoral test
By SIOFRA
BRENNAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED:
10:02 BST, 30 August 2017 | UPDATED: 10:08 BST, 30 August 2017
It's said
to be the Queen's favourite home, the only place where she can truly relax and
take stock amid the demands of public life.
But a new
Channel 5 documentary has revealed the slightly darker heart of Balmoral, the
vast 50,000 acre estate in the Scottish Highlands beloved of the royal family
since the reign of Queen Victoria.
Inside
Balmoral reveals how Wallis Simpson, the divorcee for whom King Edward VIII
abdicated, was snubbed by the Queen Mother who 'swished past' her when she
hosted a dinner at the castle in 1936.
The then
Duchess of York's refusal to acknowledge Mrs Simpson led to tension from which
family relations 'almost never recovered', and proved that Wallis had failed
the so-called 'Balmoral test'.
Sarah
Gristwood, historian explained: 'That epitomises what Balmoral has come to mean
in terms of the royal family.
'If you
like, Balmoral is a kind of test and some newcomers pass and some newcomers
fail.'
The
documentary reveals how a visit to the royal's most private residence can
determine your likelihood of being accepted into the family or not.
In 1936,
Mrs Simpson was holidaying at Balmoral as a guest of King Edward who did 'the
unthinkable' by giving her such a significant role at a family occasion.
'When the
Duke and Duchess of York came over to Balmoral for dinner, they weren't at all
pleased to find Mrs Simpson acting as hostess.
'The
Duchess of York swished past Mrs Simpson and went to look for His Majesty. It
was a complete slap in the face.
'Family
relations really almost never recovered from that evening.
Hugo
Vickers, author of Elizabeth, The Queen Mother added: 'Edward was besotted with
Mrs Simpson.
'He was
allowing her, encouraging her to act as hostess, he of course wanted her to
have the highest position in the land.'
WHO WAS
WALLIS SIMPSON?
Born in
1896 in Pennsylvania, she moved to London in 1931 after marrying her second
husband, shipping executive Ernest Aldrich Simpson.
She met
Lady Furness who was the mistress of the then Prince of Wales. Three year's
later she became the Prince's mistress.
In 1936
Edward ascended the throne after the death of his father George V. He made
clear his intentions to marry Wallis as soon as her second divorce came
through.
It caused a
national scandal and the Church of England decreed he couldn't marry a divorcee
with two living former husbands.
Wallis went
to live in exile in France to escape the pressure, and in December 1936 Edward
abdicated so they could marry, assuming the lesser title of Duke of Windsor.
The King
abdicated, signing off his brief reign with a broadcast that referred to ‘the
woman I love’.
Edward
become governor of The Bahamas between 1940 and 1945, and the couple lived out
the rest of their days enjoying the life of high society figures.
When the
Duke died in 1972, Wallis became something of a recluse and was rarely seen in
public before her death in 1986, at the age of 89.
Three months
later Edward abdicated, paving the way for his brother to become King George
VI.
The King
was to later host a young Prince Philip as a guest at Balmoral who did his best
to impress him, by employing his sense of humour.
'It was the
first time Prince Philip wore a kilt at Balmoral. To disguise his awkwardness,
he performed a sort of mock curtsy to the King,' royal biographer Philip Eade
explained.
Edward gave
up the throne in 1936, allowing him to marry Mrs Simpson at the
Chateau de Conde, near Tours, France +5
Edward gave
up the throne in 1936, allowing him to marry Mrs Simpson at the Chateau de
Conde, near Tours, France
Balmoral is
said to be the Queen's favourite residence and the one place where she can
truly escape from the spotlight +5
Balmoral is
said to be the Queen's favourite residence and the one place where she can
truly escape from the spotlight
'But it
didn't go down the way he'd hoped, the King appeared to be slightly unamused.'
However,
Philip did pass his Balmoral test when the then Princess Elizabeth accepted his
proposal, going against her parents hopes for her to marry a Grenadier
Guard.
'It's
really the only time the present Queen did something dramatically out of step,'
Eade explained.
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