Classified documents from The Royal Archives may reveal the truth of claims that the Duke of Windsor was a Nazi sympathizer who gave detailed plans of Buckingham Palace that allowed it to be bombed in World War II.
Formerly known as King Edward VIII until his abdication in 1936 to marry divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson, the Duke is the subject of many letters and correspondence in the archives collected by Alan Lascelles, royal secretary to four monarchs between 1920 and 1953.
Speaking at the Oxford Literary Festival yesterday, royal expert Alexander Larman said that although he had been given access to the archives for a book about the royal family during the war, he had been surprised by the level of condemnation thrown at the duke, revealing a royal award. archivist had told him, “It is not our job to protect the reputation of the Duke of Windsor.”
He said: ‘The Nazis knew what they were doing and that’s because they had inside information [from the duke].
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth look at the aftermath of a German bombing raid on September 11, 1940 that destroyed the palace chapel
A crater created by a bomb dropped and exploded outside Buckingham Palace, London, September 14, 1940
A crater and damaged railing outside Buckingham Palace after one of the German bombings
Edward VIII encouraged the Nazis to bomb Britain into submission in World War II and crown him king. Above: The then former King Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson meet Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in 1937
‘I don’t think he wanted to see him [his brother King George VI] dead, but he was in a position where he knew exactly where everyone was in Buckingham Palace.’
During the conflict, the palace suffered nine direct bombings and one death – PC Steve Robertson, a police officer on duty who was killed by flying debris in 1941.
After a raid in September 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain, the Queen Mother wrote about the ‘terrible’ bombing of her home by the German Luftwaffe.
Referring to Buckingham Palace as ‘dear old BP’, the Queen Mother wrote: ‘We heard the unmistakable hum of a German plane.
‘We said ‘ah a German’, and before anything else could be said there was the sound of planes diving down at great speed, and then the scream of a bomb.
“It all happened so fast, we only had time to look at each other foolishly, as the scream raced past us and exploded into the quadrangle with a huge crash.”
The Queen Mother went on to describe how she and the King had to duck “like a bolt of lightning.” [sic] into a corridor, staying away from the windows for fear of flying broken glass, before calmly heading for a bomb shelter.
On her way to safety, she told her mother-in-law – whom she affectionately addresses as “cute mama” – that she saw maids giving first aid to three workmen injured in the Luftwaffe attack.
The letter ends with a PS text: “Dear old BP is still standing and that’s the most important thing.”
King George VII also documented the bombing, describing how he and the family had seen the bombs fall for themselves.
He recalled, “Suddenly we heard a plane buzz overhead, saw 2 bombs fall down the other side of the palace, then heard 2 thunderous crashes as the bombs fell about 100 feet away in the quadrangle.
“We looked at each other, and then we went as fast as we could into the hallway. It all happened in a few seconds….
‘…6 bombs had fallen. The plane appeared to be coming straight through the Mall under the clouds after diving through the clouds and dropping 2 bombs on the forecourt, 2 in the quadrangle, 1 in the chapel and the other in the garden.”
The Duke of Windsor’s Nazi affiliations are well documented.
In 1937, Edward and Wallis met Hitler and his officials while touring Germany. While there, Edward was infamously photographed giving a Nazi salute (above)
The former king, who abdicated in 1936 to marry divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson, also passed information to Germany that aided the fall of France in 1940, according to a new documentary.
During his visit, the duke was photographed inspecting German troops
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor photographed the mountainscape view while visiting Hitler’s mountain retreat
In 1937, Edward and Wallis met Hitler and his officials while touring Germany.
While there, Edward was infamously photographed giving a Nazi salute, and later also toured industrial facilities and even a concentration camp, whose watchtowers are said to have been explained to him as meat depots.
The former king is said to have said as late as 1941 that Hitler was the ‘correct and logical leader of the German people’.
The duke met and dined with dozens of senior Nazis, including Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess and his foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.
He also met Hitler’s propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels, who was so convinced of his fascist sympathies that he described him as a “tender seedling of reason.”
Edward’s wife is said to have picked up admiration and bows at every turn, with Hitler remarking of her, “She would have made a good queen.”
It is thought that the couple – who had been given the titles Duke and Duchess of Windsor earlier that year – would have been installed as puppet monarchs had Germany taken over Britain.