Wallis Simpson was seen by the establishment as a “scarlet woman” who “bewitched” Edward VIII into renouncing the throne.
Now, an auction of some of the Duchess of Windsor’s most intimate possessions reveals she actually wore nightdresses of the same colour in the bedroom. They are part of a collection of her sumptuous lingerie, luxury handbags and luggage and other items that will be auctioned next week in central London.
An official for Kerry Taylor Auctions said: “The sublime bias-cut confections that were her nightwear give an intimation of the sensuousness and secret allure of the duchess.”
She added: “Always a stickler for perfection, she insisted that even her bed linen was ironed and replaced on her bed twice a day.”
A scarlet chiffon nightdress from the 1940s to early 1950s, complete with a capelet and full length cape, is estimated to fetch up to £1,000
King Edward rocked the nation when he abdicated in 1938 in order to marry Mrs Simpson, an American divorcee. The pair later went to live in France and were made the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Writing about her sense of style, the duchess said: “My husband gave up everything for me... I’m not a beautiful woman. I’m nothing to look at, so the only thing I can do is dress better than anyone else.
“If everyone looks at me when I enter a room, my husband can feel proud of me. That’s my chief responsibility.”
Another star lot is a Christian Dior black crocodile handbag from 1964, worth up to £8,000 and engraved with a special date for the couple.
The accessory’s clasps have the initials of Wallis and Edward and the date “30 X 1934”. In October 1934 the royal took his future wife on a romantic holiday to Italy, accompanied by her aunt Bessie as token chaperone.
The duke and duchess owned more 118 travelling trunks and one of Wallis’s vanity cases, made by Louis Vuitton in the 1960s and worth up to £10,000, will also go under the hammer.
Former Harrod’s owner Mohamed al Fayed bought the contents of the Windsors’ home on the Bois de Bologne in Paris when the duchess died in 1986 and later sold much of it in 1998.
Some items were held back and later donated to a charity set up in memory of his son Dodi – who died with the Princess of Wales in a 1997 Paris car crash.
The proceeds of the sale will go to the Dodi International Charitable Foundation, which helps children in need of medical care and their families in Egypt, UK, France and US.