Kerry Taylor Auctions
Lot 204
The Villa Lou Viei Guest book, used also to record guests at the wedding of the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Warfield on June 3rd, 1937, with gilt-tooled leather binding, the internal pages dating from 1927-1950, approx.120 annotated pages bearing the signatures of Katherine and Herman Rogers' house guests and with signatures of those attending the wedding of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor at the Chateau de Candé, 13 1/2 by 18cm, 5 1/2 by 7in
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Katherine and Herman Rogers remained close, supportive friends to Wallis, through two failed marriages and her secret romance with the heir to the British throne. Mr & Mrs Rogers accompanied the couple on the infamous Nahlin cruise in August 1936 and also the happy interlude spent at Balmoral Castle in September 1936 before news of the relationship finally became known in the UK and all hell broke loose.
This remarkable book accurately logs the courtship, the resulting abdication and eventually the marriage of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor.
June 23rd 1928. Wallis first appears as a guest at the Rogerses villa in Cannes - 'Lou Viei' - and signs herself 'in the guest book Wallis Warfield Spencer' (i.e still bearing the name of her first husband Earl Spencer whom she had disastrously married in 1916).
December 23rd 1929. Wallis again appears as a guest but this time with her new husband Ernest and she signs herself as 'Wallis Warfield Simpson' with an address of '12 Upper Berkeley Street'.
It is not until July 21st, 1931 that she visits again and signs 'Wallis W. Simpson'. She is not accompanied by her husband.
September 12th 1934. Wallis visits for first time with Edward, Prince of Wales. They visit again September 7th 1935 and sign 'Wallis W. Simpson' and 'Edward P'.
December 4th 1936. The entry reads simply 'Wallis Simpson'. She has fled from Britain for refuge at the height of the abdication crisis after being hounded day and night by the press. She was accompanied by Lord Brownlow, the King's friend and 'Lord in Waiting' to give her moral support and advice. In her memoirs she records listening to the abdication speech on December 11th:
'As the moment approached, everyone at Lou Viei, including the domestic staff, gathered around the radio in the sitting room. David's (the informal given name for Edward) voice came out of the loudspeaker calmly, movingly. I was lying on the sofa with my hands over my eyes, trying to hide my tears. After he finished, the others quietly went away and left me alone. I lay there a long time before I could control myself enough to walk through the house and go upstairs to my room'.
Mr and Mrs Rogers assisted with the wedding preparations at the Chateau de Candé, which had been loaned to the Windsors by American millionaire Charles Bedaux. The ceremony was to take place on June 3rd and the Rogerses decided to take their guest book along to record the historic event.
A page dated March 9th, 1937 is altered to read 'Chateau de Candé, Monts (Lanol)' - the day of their arrival. Importantly, Herman had been chosen for the important role of giving Wallis' hand in matrimony at the ceremony.
March 26th-30th 1937, records guests arriving at the Chateau including Lord Brownlow and Fern and Charles Bedaux, the owners of the castle. Bedaux was rumoured to be linked to the Nazi regime in Germany. Bedaux sardonically notes 'There are a few things we could criticize on the appointments of this place'.
May 4th 1937. 'Wallis Warfield' and 'Edward' sign the book - presumably visiting the castle in advance, to discuss preparations for their impending wedding. Wallis' aunt, 'Bessie L. Merryman', arrives on May 22nd to assist.
June 3rd, 1937. On the wedding day itself, twenty-eight people autograph the guest book including the married couple who simply sign themselves 'Edward' and 'Wallis'. Other signatures include the society florist Constance Spry (who arranged the flowers), R. Anderson Jardine (the rebel vicar who officiated at the ceremony without the consent of the Church of England, which was to cost him his job), E.D. Metcalfe (known as Fruity to his friends and who acted as best man) and his wife Lady Alexandra (Baba), the Bedaux's, Randolph S.Churchill, Walter Monkton. The wedding was a relatively low-key, muted affair. Edward was used to the pomp and ceremony of large Royal occasions, with crowds of flag-waving patriots lining the streets. Most British aristocracy and establishment now shunned the couple and disapproved of the marriage. Poignantly, not one member of the Royal Family attended despite the Duke's heartfelt pleas. Edward VIII had chosen to follow his own personal desires rather than putting duty and his country first - something that was not to be forgotten or forgiven by the British establishment. Cecil Beaton's photographs of the event show the couple looking rather strained, with forced smiles. There was a large battalion of reporters and cameramen camped outside the gates. Local villagers were filmed raising a toast to the newlyweds and seemed to be having more fun than the couple within.
By June 21st, 1937 the book is returned to the Rogers' villa - Lou Viei, in Cannes.
December 21st 1937. The married couple return for a Christmas visit and sign themselves 'Edward' and 'Wallis Windsor'. They both visit again 1st April 1938. In January 1939 Wallis returns with her aunt Bessie and this is the last entry made for the Windsors. CONDITION REPORT: Exterior green leather binding is generally good. Slight scuffing to upper and lower edges of spine and front panel and spine have faded compared to the back. Slight fixing on inside marbled pages. Approx 13 pages with brown spot stains at the bottom of the pages. An additional page is added in using Lou Viei stationery May 31st 1946 and June 1st.
