15/12/2021
Traitor King - Andrew Lownie
Join us in the Library at 7pm on Wednesday 15th December, when guests can meet author Andrew Lownie and hear about his latest book, Traitor King, over a drink in this relaxed and elegant room.
11 December 1936. The King of England, Edward VIII, has given up his Crown, foregoing his duty for the love of Wallis Simpson, an American divorcée. Their courtship has been dogged by controversy and scandal, but with Edward's abdication, they can live happily ever after. But do they? Bestselling historian Andrew Lownie will reveal to us the dramatic lives of the Windsors post-abdication. This is a story of a Royal shut out by his family and forced into exile; of the Nazi attempts to recruit the Duke to their cause, and of why the Duke, as Governor of the Bahamas, tried to shut down the investigation into the murder of a close friend. It is a story of a couple obsessed with their status, financially exploiting their position, and manipulating the media to portray themselves as victims.
Drawing upon hitherto unexplored archives, Andrew Lownie will show how their glittering, brittle world was riddled with treachery and betrayal, and why the Royal family never forgave the Duke for choosing love over duty.
"Darkly compelling...hundreds of eye-popping details...Gripping ... damning portrait of the Windsors" Daily Mail 'Book of the Week’
"Briskly written and compulsively readable..." A.N. Wilson, Time Literary Supplement
"Entertaining... convincing... timely. Urgent reading for royals" Evening Standard