[West Ender]

Though sometimes accused of over-familiarity with the Nazis, the late Duke of Windsor (Edward VIII) was, in my opinion, a decent sort and would have been an excellent king. Almost all the aristocracy, in the 1930s, had fascist leanings though most changed their minds when Hitler came to power. His biggest fault was that he was stubborn and he would not give in to pressure from The Government not to marry Wallis Simpson (whose greatest crime was not being twice-divorced but being - horror of horrors - an American). She gets the blame for being the instrumental force behind the abdication but I don't think it was down to her. David, as he was known in the Royal family, was the one who wouldn't back down and insisted on marriage and nothing less.

When I lived just outside Melton Mowbray, where he spent a lot of time hunting when he was Prince of Wales, there were still a lot of people there who remembered him. Rich and spoilt he undoubtedly was but, never the less, the locals liked him as he was never aloof with anyone and always had time for ordinary folk. He was "ahead of his time" in his attitude to Monarchy and that was what upset the Establishment.

There was more contact between the Windsors and the rest of the family than was ever made public, after the war, though Queen Mary would never "receive" the Duchess and the title Royal Highness was denied to her (quite illegally as it turns out). David and Wallis often came over from Paris and stayed with his friend Fruity Metcalf and there were occasional private visits to Paris by members of the family. After the Duke died they ignored Wallis and treated her like a pariah - except for Prince Charles who rather liked her.

Their story is fascinating, not so much as a great romance but in its insight into how things were 70 years ago, morally, socially and politically.