The search for by Andrew Lownie often leads to the dark, true story of a king who didn't just give up his throne for love, but for a much more dangerous obsession. The Real Story Behind "Traitor King"
: Far from being a fairy tale, the book describes a marriage riddled with infidelity and disdain. Wallis is depicted as feeling "trapped" with a "pathetic and suffocating husband," leading her to take multiple lovers, including a gay playboy and potentially German officials.
: Post-war, the couple lived as "the most glamorous exiles in the world," flitting between mansions in France and Palm Beach. However, the book portrays them as selfish and spoiled figures who financially exploited their status while the rest of Europe struggled to rebuild from the war they had nearly sabotaged.
While the world remembers Edward VIII as the romantic hero who abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson, Andrew Lownie’s historical account, Traitor King , exposes a far more sinister reality.
: Lownie draws on previously classified documents and private archives to argue that Edward was not just a "naïve dupe" of the Germans. He reveals active intrigue between the Duke and Nazi agents, including a plot by Hitler to reinstate Edward as a "puppet king" after a planned German victory over Britain.
: During his time as Governor of the Bahamas—a post meant to keep him out of the way during the war—Edward is accused of attempting to shut down the investigation into the high-profile murder of his close friend, Sir Harry Oakes, to hide his own questionable financial dealings.