Traitor King by Andrew Lowne

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One feels that this is not really “the explosive new royal biography” the cover claims – the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor have been told many times before, and this account does not reveal anything that will not have already been in the public domain.

That said Lowne provides a rich and engaging account, his real focus is on the years between the abdication and the end of the Second World War – the period when his charge of Traitor applies most acutely. This period in the lives of the Duke and Duchess reads like the more implausible moments in a Le Carre novel.

While there were many at that time seeking to avoid War, and once the War started bring it to a rapid conclusion, there were many that were naive about the true horror of the Nazi regime – and the Duke and Duchess have a times be excused their flirtations with Great Britain's armed enemy on this basis – they probably were naive but Lowne demonstrates that they were also complicit.

Lowne also suggests that, for all the pain of the Abdication crisis, the Duchess was actually a welcome excuse for the British Establishment to rid themselves of a deeply unsuitable King. And the actions of the Duke did much to vindicate the way the Royal Family ostracised them – it is difficult to imagine the couple actually living quietly in Britain, their presence would have been even more problematic than they were at a distance.

Of the pair Lowne is particularly harsh in judgement of the Duchess – concluding firmly that she never loved the Duke, and probably never loved anyone. Despite their wealth the pairs obsession with money, their sense that they lacked it while living in the highest luxury. This is placed in contrast to the best spirit of public service and duty that we attribute to the current Queen.

It is a sad story, but it is hard to feel sorry for the Duke and Duchess.