Possessions of Edward VIII & Wallis Simpson
[quote]In all, Sotheby’s will sell 3,200 lots of household possessions and keepsakes that belonged to Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson
[quote]In a freakish twist, the collection’s owner is Mohamed al Fayed, father of the man now rumored in British tabloids to be romantically involved with Princess Diana, Dodi al Fayed.
In 1997, the possessions of Edward & Wallis were sold at auction. Does anyone know how Mohamed al Fayed got them? Did he purchase the entire collection from someone else or did he buy it piece by piece? Did he try to sell any of the items at Harrods, which he owned at the time?
Was anything of Edward's sold that Queen Elizabeth would have wanted to have?
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | April 29, 2021 9:47 PM
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Poor al Fayed was so desperate to be accepted by the Brits.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | April 27, 2021 2:23 PM
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Lord Mountbatten retrieved many many items from Wallis prior to her death.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | April 27, 2021 2:47 PM
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They led sad, rather pathetic, lives. After their flirtation with Hitler, then the war and the fall of France, the British government shunted them off to the Bahamas to avoid further embarrassment. After the war, their lives became increasingly self-centered, meaningless, and devoted to their pugs, the next cocktail party, dinner, or ball.
Hey -- guess who's going to imitate his great great uncle?
Saw the possessions at Sotheby's in NY. Faded glory comes to mind.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | April 29, 2021 2:44 PM
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"Hey -- guess who's going to imitate his great great uncle? "
The future King Prince Baldilocks after the monarchy falls?
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | April 29, 2021 2:49 PM
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Al-Fayed owned the home Wallis lived in when she died, and he purchased the contents of the home after her death, planning on creating a museum. He also apparently bought some items at a Sotheby's auction in 1987. Most of Wallis's estate was sold and the proceeds given to the Pasteur Institute. The Wikipedia article claims al-Fayed tried to buy her jewels for a fraction of the price prior to the auction but the estate said no, then the jewels alone raised $45M.
Here's an article on the 1998 auction with a few details. I didn't realize he had been planning on selling these items before Dodi and Diana died, the auction had to be postponed after their deaths. I remember some in the media making it sound like he did this BECAUSE Dodi had died, but apparently not.
[quote]Mohamed al-Fayed, who owns Harrods in London and the Ritz Hotel in Paris, leased the house and bought its contents after the duchess's death and spent the next three years restoring it as a private museum. Then last year, he suddenly announced that he and his family needed more room _ specifically that occupied by the Windsors' oddments.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | April 29, 2021 3:00 PM
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If I had unlimited money, I'd buy a few little things and send them to Harry and Meg.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | April 29, 2021 5:25 PM
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They didn't live unhappily and didn't need to hustle Spotify and Netflix to pay the security, mortgage, and lights, did they?
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | April 29, 2021 9:47 PM
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