Car Dealer Was Wallis Simpson’s Secret Lover

Wallis Simpson kept a secret lover – a Ford car salesman – while (1) _______________ (to conduct) a passionate love affair with the future King Edward VIII, according to a special branch files that reveal she (2) _______________ (to be) under close surveillance.

Long before the abdication crisis broke in 1936, detectives (3) _______________ (to trail) Mrs Simpson through London high society in an attempt to discover more about the American woman who (4) _______________ (to capture) the Prince of Wales’s affections.

The papers do not substantiate long-held rumours that the government (5) _______________ (to compile) the so-called China dossier on Mrs Simpson’s sex life in the 1920s. Nor they (6) _______________ (to confirm) that the Queen Mother was instrumental in forcing the couple out of the country.

Deep inside a Metropolitan police file are several reports, stamped “secret”, that record officers’ pursuit of vicious gossip about the already twice-married Mrs Simpson. One of the first police reports, (7) _______________ (to date) June 25, 1935, opens on a note of frustration: “The identity of Mrs Simpson’s secret lover yet (8) _______________ (not to ascertain). Mrs Simpson is very jealous of a woman who POW (Prince of Wales) (9) _______________ (to meet) on his recent visit to Australia. This woman since (10) _______________ (to be) in London and (11) _______________ (to spend) time with POW. Mrs Simpson is, in consequence, apprehensive of losing the affection of POW, which she is very anxious to avoid for financial reasons. She is therefore extremely careful and (12) _______________ (to spend) as much time as possible with POW.”

By that time Mrs Simpson already (13) _______________ (to be) a frequent visitor to Fort Belvedere, Price Edward’s private residence near Windsor. The report notes that her then husband, Ernest Simpson, the heir to an Anglo-American shipping fortune, (14) ________________ (to be) well aware of her affair with the prince and (15) _______________ (to hope) to profit by it. “Mrs Simpson has mentioned that he expects (16) _______________ (to create) a baron. He is very talkative in drink.”

A later report, (17) _______________ (to date) early July 1935, opens with a triumphant revelation: “The identity of Mrs Simpson’s secret lover now (18) _______________ (to ascertain). He is Guy Marcus Trundle, now (19) _______________ (to live) at 19 Britton Street.”

The 36-year-old Trundle, the report said, (20) _______________ (to be) a charming adventurer, good-looking, well-bred and an excellent dancer. “Trundle is a motor engineer and a salesman and (21) _______________ (to say) (22) _______________ (to employ) by the Ford Motor Company. Trundle claims (23) _______________ (to meet) POW through Mrs Simpson. He (24) _______________ (to say) (25) _______________ (to boast) that every woman falls for him.”

(From ‘The Guardian’, abridged)

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