"Mrs Simpson: Secret Lives of the Duchess of Windsor" --Charles Higham

Mrs Simpson: Secret Lives of the Duchess of Windsor
By Charles Higham
2005 PanMacmillan
576 pages

Higham's Mrs Simpson was an interesting follow-up after reading Vicker's Elizabeth. For those who do not know, it was Edward VIII's famous abdication to marry the American divorcée Mrs Simpson that put Elizabeth's husband George VI on the British throne and arguably sent him to an early grave.

This was a wild and adventurous investigation of the life of Mrs Wallis Simpson, who upon marrying the abdicated Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor in exile, became the Duchess of Windsor. Higham alleges that Wallis worked on occasion for US intelligence services, and more seriously, was a Nazi spy in the 1930s. The claims are based on the speculations and conclusions of recently released intelligence files. According to Higham, what the world regarded as the most romantic story in royal history was actually quite tragic, if Wallis supposedly did not love the Duke at all, and loved jewels and a luxurious lifestyle more. Tragic, too, was the sad end to Wallis' life. She spent the last years of her life 1980-86 not leaving her house, senile, a veggie. However, the subsequent Sotheby's auction of her unbelievably extensive collection of jewellery alleviates such pathetic feelings somewhat. She undoubtedly led an extremely comfortable life - that of royalty.

Although I was often seriously sceptical about the claims of the Duchess of Windsor's mysterious "other life," it was nonetheless an entertaining read.

"Elizabeth: The Queen Mother" --Hugo Vickers

Elizabeth: The Queen Mother
By Hugo Vickers
2006 Arrow
656 pages

Having received so much critical acclaim, I was unfortunately disappointed in this read. Expecting a profound insight into her experiences and feelings, the work was more descriptive of the various activities in the different stages of her life. I was expecting a more emotional examination of the Queen Mum. As someone who witnessed the entire 20th century, the age of extremes (as described by Eric Hobsbawm), one would expect her to have several relating opinions and emotions.

The Queen Mum of Vickers' description has as little personality as her public image displays. She remains a dowdy doll with surprisingly conservative attitudes. A relic of a time before even her own.

Vickers clearly admires her and holds her in the upmost esteem, and justifies much of his writing through his personal acqaintance with the Queen Mum herself. But, the Queen that Vickers admires is a outright BORE for me. Whether this was really the case or not is difficult to say. Perhaps a more revealing biography written in min. 50 years time will be able to provide a more revealing account of the Queen, and might change my opinion. For now, it reads "old cow."