The story of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor is one of the most romantic of all time-Edward VIII abdicated his throne and gave up an empire so that he could marry the woman he loved, American divorcee Wallis Simpson.Very few people suspected, and even fewer actually knew, that the Duchess cuckolded and almost gave him up for a gay playboy twenty years her junior.Blond and slender, Jimmy Donahue was the archetypal post-war playboy.He could fly a plane, speak several languages, play the piano, and tell marvelous jokes.People loved him for his wit, charm and personality.
The whole thing reads like some kind of royal soap opera, and, as such, it's absolutely riveting. It might even have been that Edward knew, but didn't mind. Edward didn't want a normal sexual relationship with Wallis, really-he got all of the satisfaction he wanted from playing with her feet-while she evidently continued to adore him, even if she found that the need for sexual satisfaction drove her into Donahue's arms. However, it was never quite so simple as this. Wilson suggests that this constituted, on Wallis's part, perhaps "the greatest betrayal in history." Edward gave up his throne and kingdom for the woman he loved, only to have her take off with another man. That didn't stop him from forming a passionate friendship with Wallis, however, that soon turned into more than mere friendship. (From the photos in the book, he looks a bit like a baby-faced bore, but maybe having those millions in the bank skewed perceptions of him, somewhat.) Donahue could fly a plane, could speak several languages, was a marvelous raconteur, and, on top of all this, was a promiscuous homosexual. Woolworth, heir to millions, and considered to be dashingly good-looking. The lover was the mad, bad, and dangerous-to-know Jimmy Donahue: grandson of Woolworth's founder Frank W. The trouble is, it's all absolutely fascinating.
It's just higher gossip about how Wallis Simpson took a younger lover after her marriage to Edward, and how she and said lover enjoyed nights of "nonpenetrative and principally oral sex." I mean, who cares? Shouldn't our minds be on higher things? It shouldn't be a fascinating read, this book-it really shouldn't.
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