Operation Willi
Encyclopedia
Operation Willi was the German
code name
for the unsuccessful attempt by the SS
to kidnap
Edward, Duke of Windsor
in July 1940 and induce him to work with German dictator Adolf Hitler
for either a peace settlement with Britain
, or a restoration to the throne after the German conquest of Great Britain
.
assumed the throne on January 1936 when his father died. But it was already clear by then that he wanted to marry the American
Wallis Simpson, and since the Church of England
proscribed the marriage since she was divorced
, he stunned the world by abdicating his throne in favour of his brother Albert, the Duke of York
, who became George VI
.
The ex-king and Mrs. Simpson were married in France
, and as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
, in October 1937 toured Nazi Germany
as personal guests of Adolf Hitler, fanning speculations that they were sympathetic to Nazism
. The trip was paid for by the Nazi government, which believed that the duke was a potential ally.
When World War II
broke out in September 1939, the Duke became liaison officer with the British military mission with the French Army High Command. He actually served as an agent for British military intelligence
, which wanted information on French defences, specifically the Maginot Line
. (While his reports gave a very accurate assessment of French unpreparedness, they were generally ignored.)
After the fall of France in June 1940, the Windsors made their way to neutral Spain
through Biarritz
to escape capture by the Germans.
to Madrid
, Eberhard von Stohrer
, a career diplomat, telegraphed Joachim von Ribbentrop
, the Nazi Foreign Minister
that the Spanish Foreign Minister, Colonel Juan Beigbeder y Atienza, was inquiring on how to deal with the Duke who was on his way to Lisbon
, with the possibility of detaining him.
Ribbentrop instructed von Stohrer the following day to forward the suggestion that the Duke and Duchess be detained for two weeks, but not let it appear that the suggestion came from him. Stohrer replied that Beigbeder would do as Ribbentrop asked. The Spanish Foreign Minister then wired Ribbentrop on July 2 that he met with the Duke and reported the Duke's alleged antagonism against the Royal Family due to the treatment meted to his wife, as well as criticising Winston Churchill
and his wartime policies.
The Windsors then proceeded to Lisbon in early July. The British government got wind of the Duke's alleged indiscreet remarks with Beigbeder, and as a result Churchill sent the Duke a telegram, ordering him back to Britain. Churchill pointed out that the Duke was under military authority, and unless he obeyed, he would be subjected to a court-martial
. (The Duke had the temporary rank of major general
.) Then came another telegram designating him as Governor
of the Bahamas, and ordered him to assume this post at once. Nevertheless, the Windsors stayed a month in the villa of Ricardo do Espirito Santo Silva, a banker said to have pro-Nazi sympathies.
The German minister to Lisbon reported this to Ribbentrop on July 11 and added the Duke "intends to postpone his departure as long as possible... in hope of a turn of events favourable to him," and basically reiterated what was reported by Minister Beigbeder.
Ribbentrop took this as an encouraging sign, and cabled the German embassy in Madrid to try to prevent the Duke from going to the Bahamas by being brought back to Spain — preferably by his Spanish friends — and be persuaded, even compelled to remain in Spanish territory. He further intimated that the "British Secret Service" was going "to do away" with the Duke as soon as he arrived in the Bahamas.
, Spanish Minister of the Interior, who promised to get his brother-in-law Generalissimo Francisco Franco
in on the plot and carry out the following plan. The Spanish government would send a friend of the Duke, Miguel Primo de Rivera, leader of the Falange
and son of Miguel Primo de Rivera
, a former dictator, as an emissary. Rivera would invite the Duke to Spain for a hunting trip and also to discuss Anglo-Spanish relations. There he would also be informed of the "plot" by the British secret-service to liquidate him. If the Duke would agree to stay, he would be given financial assistance to permit him in maintaining a lifestyle befitting his station. (Reportedly 50 million Swiss francs were set aside for this.)
Rivera agreed to the task, although he was not told of German involvement in this. He visited the Windsors on July 16 and presented the offer to the Duke; while he was receptive to the offer, the Duke also expressed reservations for several reasons, not least of which were the telegrams from the British government urging him to leave for the Bahamas. Another visit on July 22 gave similar results.
It was during the time of the last visit by Rivera that the Nazis were drawing up the plan to kidnap the Windsors. Hitler personally assigned Walter Schellenberg
to handle the operation.
for his role in the Venlo Incident
the year before, flew from Berlin to Madrid, conferred with von Stohrer, then went on to Portugal to begin work. The final plan would be to entice the Windsors over the border to Spain (with the collusion of cooperative border officials since they did not have passports) and keep them there to "protect them from plots from their lives, specifically the "British Intelligence Service".
He carried out scare tactics to induce the Duke's willingness to leave the villa while trying to pin the blame on the British. Schellenberg arranged for some stone-throwing against the windows of the villa while circulating rumours among the servants that the British were responsible. A bouquet of flowers was also sent to the Duchess warning her of "the machinations of the British intelligence service". Another scare tactic, the firing of shots resulting in the harmless breaking the windows scheduled on July 30, was not carried out due to possible psychological effects on the Duchess.
On that same day, Schellenberg reported that Sir Walter Monckton
, an old friend of the Duke, had arrived, evidently tasked by the British government to speed the Windsors toward the Bahamas as soon as possible. Moreover, the German ambassador reported that the Windsors would be leaving on August 1 for the small British possession. According to Schellenberg in his memoirs, when Hitler learned of this, he urged Schellenberg to take away all pretence, and abduct them outright.
Nevertheless, the Windsors departed that evening. While Schellenberg blamed the failure of the plot on Monckton, the collapse of the Spanish plan and the alleged "English mentality" of the Duke, it was also probable that Schellenberg deliberately refused to carry out the plan, which seemed doomed from the start. Even he admitted in his memoirs that his role in the affair was a ridiculous one.
As for the Duke of Windsor himself, upon the release of the German papers pertinent to the plot in 1957, he denounced the communications between Ribbentrop and his ambassadors as "complete fabrications and, in part, gross distortions of the truth", while the British government issued a formal statement declaring the Duke's unwavering loyalty during the war.
But the question persisted: did the Windsors have any pro-Nazi sympathies? Both the Americans and the British had suspicions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
initiated an investigation on Mrs. Simpson when President Roosevelt expressed concern over the political leanings of the Windsors. This investigation suggested that their pro-German leanings were stronger than previously thought.
This investigation, based on a combination of surveillance, informants and hearsay, alleged that the Windsors, especially the duchess, had been passing secrets to the Nazis to wreck the Allies'
war effort, primarily through Ribbentrop, who was said to be Mrs. Simpson's lover. Ribbentrop was the ambassador to the Court of St. James's
at the time of the abdication prior to becoming Foreign Minister. Ribbentrop himself tried to curry Edward's favor by using the Duke of Coburg
, Edward's cousin and Nazi party member as an emissary, the latter brazenly attending the funeral of George V in his SA
uniform.
Moreover, there was a memorandum by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
that the British government had known for some time that Mrs. Simpson had pro-German sympathies. This, among other reasons, made her so obnoxious to the government that they would not permit the King to marry her.
In addition, according to files released in 2003 by the British Public Records Office, there were rumours that Mrs. Simpson had been passing information to Germany. Edward, being notoriously lax in security, often left top secret government files sent to him unguarded in his Fort Belvedere
residence, giving Mrs. Simpson every opportunity to do so.
This was probably the reason why the Duke was appointed to the Bahamas post: to keep them as far away as possible from the war and to prevent Mrs. Simpson from having any contact with Ribbentrop as well as to make it easier for the FBI and the British to keep them under surveillance.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
for the unsuccessful attempt by the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
to kidnap
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
Edward, Duke of Windsor
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
in July 1940 and induce him to work with German dictator Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
for either a peace settlement with Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, or a restoration to the throne after the German conquest of Great Britain
Operation Sealion
Operation Sea Lion was Germany's plan to invade the United Kingdom during the Second World War, beginning in 1940. To have had any chance of success, however, the operation would have required air and naval supremacy over the English Channel...
.
Background
Edward, the son of George VGeorge V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
assumed the throne on January 1936 when his father died. But it was already clear by then that he wanted to marry the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Wallis Simpson, and since the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
proscribed the marriage since she was divorced
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, he stunned the world by abdicating his throne in favour of his brother Albert, the Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
, who became George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
.
The ex-king and Mrs. Simpson were married in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
Duke of Windsor
The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for Prince Edward, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is...
, in October 1937 toured Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
as personal guests of Adolf Hitler, fanning speculations that they were sympathetic to Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. The trip was paid for by the Nazi government, which believed that the duke was a potential ally.
When World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out in September 1939, the Duke became liaison officer with the British military mission with the French Army High Command. He actually served as an agent for British military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
, which wanted information on French defences, specifically the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
. (While his reports gave a very accurate assessment of French unpreparedness, they were generally ignored.)
After the fall of France in June 1940, the Windsors made their way to neutral Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
through Biarritz
Biarritz
Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....
to escape capture by the Germans.
Beginnings of a plot
On June 23, the German ambassadorAmbassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Eberhard von Stohrer
Eberhard von Stohrer
Eberhard von Stohrer was a career German diplomat who served during World War I and World War II. The son of an Army General from Würtemberg, he studied at Leipzig University, receiving a Doctor of Law degree...
, a career diplomat, telegraphed Joachim von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945. He was later hanged for war crimes after the Nuremberg Trials.-Early life:...
, the Nazi Foreign Minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
that the Spanish Foreign Minister, Colonel Juan Beigbeder y Atienza, was inquiring on how to deal with the Duke who was on his way to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, with the possibility of detaining him.
Ribbentrop instructed von Stohrer the following day to forward the suggestion that the Duke and Duchess be detained for two weeks, but not let it appear that the suggestion came from him. Stohrer replied that Beigbeder would do as Ribbentrop asked. The Spanish Foreign Minister then wired Ribbentrop on July 2 that he met with the Duke and reported the Duke's alleged antagonism against the Royal Family due to the treatment meted to his wife, as well as criticising Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and his wartime policies.
The Windsors then proceeded to Lisbon in early July. The British government got wind of the Duke's alleged indiscreet remarks with Beigbeder, and as a result Churchill sent the Duke a telegram, ordering him back to Britain. Churchill pointed out that the Duke was under military authority, and unless he obeyed, he would be subjected to a court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
. (The Duke had the temporary rank of major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
.) Then came another telegram designating him as Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of the Bahamas, and ordered him to assume this post at once. Nevertheless, the Windsors stayed a month in the villa of Ricardo do Espirito Santo Silva, a banker said to have pro-Nazi sympathies.
The German minister to Lisbon reported this to Ribbentrop on July 11 and added the Duke "intends to postpone his departure as long as possible... in hope of a turn of events favourable to him," and basically reiterated what was reported by Minister Beigbeder.
Ribbentrop took this as an encouraging sign, and cabled the German embassy in Madrid to try to prevent the Duke from going to the Bahamas by being brought back to Spain — preferably by his Spanish friends — and be persuaded, even compelled to remain in Spanish territory. He further intimated that the "British Secret Service" was going "to do away" with the Duke as soon as he arrived in the Bahamas.
The emissary
The next day, July 12, von Stohrer saw Ramón Serrano SúñerRamón Serrano Súñer
Ramón Serrano Súñer , was a Spanish politician during the first stages of General Francisco Franco's dictatorship, the Spanish State, between 1938 and 1942, when he held the posts of President of the Political Junta Política of Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS , and Interior and...
, Spanish Minister of the Interior, who promised to get his brother-in-law Generalissimo Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
in on the plot and carry out the following plan. The Spanish government would send a friend of the Duke, Miguel Primo de Rivera, leader of the Falange
Falange
The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
and son of Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, 22nd Count of Sobremonte, Knight of Calatrava was a Spanish dictator, aristocrat, and a military official who was appointed Prime Minister by the King and who for seven years was a dictator, ending the turno system of alternating...
, a former dictator, as an emissary. Rivera would invite the Duke to Spain for a hunting trip and also to discuss Anglo-Spanish relations. There he would also be informed of the "plot" by the British secret-service to liquidate him. If the Duke would agree to stay, he would be given financial assistance to permit him in maintaining a lifestyle befitting his station. (Reportedly 50 million Swiss francs were set aside for this.)
Rivera agreed to the task, although he was not told of German involvement in this. He visited the Windsors on July 16 and presented the offer to the Duke; while he was receptive to the offer, the Duke also expressed reservations for several reasons, not least of which were the telegrams from the British government urging him to leave for the Bahamas. Another visit on July 22 gave similar results.
It was during the time of the last visit by Rivera that the Nazis were drawing up the plan to kidnap the Windsors. Hitler personally assigned Walter Schellenberg
Walter Schellenberg
Walther Friedrich Schellenberg was a German SS-Brigadeführer who rose through the ranks of the SS to become the head of foreign intelligence following the abolition of the Abwehr in 1944.-Biography:...
to handle the operation.
Schellenberg's role
Schellenberg, who was awarded the Iron CrossIron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
for his role in the Venlo Incident
Venlo Incident
The Venlo Incident was a covert German Sicherheitsdienst engineered capture of two British SIS agents on 9 November 1939....
the year before, flew from Berlin to Madrid, conferred with von Stohrer, then went on to Portugal to begin work. The final plan would be to entice the Windsors over the border to Spain (with the collusion of cooperative border officials since they did not have passports) and keep them there to "protect them from plots from their lives, specifically the "British Intelligence Service".
He carried out scare tactics to induce the Duke's willingness to leave the villa while trying to pin the blame on the British. Schellenberg arranged for some stone-throwing against the windows of the villa while circulating rumours among the servants that the British were responsible. A bouquet of flowers was also sent to the Duchess warning her of "the machinations of the British intelligence service". Another scare tactic, the firing of shots resulting in the harmless breaking the windows scheduled on July 30, was not carried out due to possible psychological effects on the Duchess.
On that same day, Schellenberg reported that Sir Walter Monckton
Walter Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley
Walter Turner Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, GCVO, KCMG, MC, PC was a British politician.-Early years:...
, an old friend of the Duke, had arrived, evidently tasked by the British government to speed the Windsors toward the Bahamas as soon as possible. Moreover, the German ambassador reported that the Windsors would be leaving on August 1 for the small British possession. According to Schellenberg in his memoirs, when Hitler learned of this, he urged Schellenberg to take away all pretence, and abduct them outright.
Departure and failure
Even while the Spanish ambassador to Lisbon was prevailed upon to make a last-minute appeal to the Windsors, the automobile carrying the ducal baggage was "sabotaged", according to Schellenberg, so the luggage arrived at the port late. A bomb threat on the liner Excalibur was also spread by the Germans, which further delayed its departure while Portuguese officials searched the ship.Nevertheless, the Windsors departed that evening. While Schellenberg blamed the failure of the plot on Monckton, the collapse of the Spanish plan and the alleged "English mentality" of the Duke, it was also probable that Schellenberg deliberately refused to carry out the plan, which seemed doomed from the start. Even he admitted in his memoirs that his role in the affair was a ridiculous one.
As for the Duke of Windsor himself, upon the release of the German papers pertinent to the plot in 1957, he denounced the communications between Ribbentrop and his ambassadors as "complete fabrications and, in part, gross distortions of the truth", while the British government issued a formal statement declaring the Duke's unwavering loyalty during the war.
But the question persisted: did the Windsors have any pro-Nazi sympathies? Both the Americans and the British had suspicions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
initiated an investigation on Mrs. Simpson when President Roosevelt expressed concern over the political leanings of the Windsors. This investigation suggested that their pro-German leanings were stronger than previously thought.
This investigation, based on a combination of surveillance, informants and hearsay, alleged that the Windsors, especially the duchess, had been passing secrets to the Nazis to wreck the Allies'
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
war effort, primarily through Ribbentrop, who was said to be Mrs. Simpson's lover. Ribbentrop was the ambassador to the Court of St. James's
Court of St. James's
The Court of St James's is the royal court of the United Kingdom. It previously had the same function in the Kingdom of England and in the Kingdom of Great Britain .-Overview:...
at the time of the abdication prior to becoming Foreign Minister. Ribbentrop himself tried to curry Edward's favor by using the Duke of Coburg
Carl Eduard, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the fourth and last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, two duchies in Germany , and the head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1900 until his death in 1954...
, Edward's cousin and Nazi party member as an emissary, the latter brazenly attending the funeral of George V in his SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
uniform.
Moreover, there was a memorandum by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
that the British government had known for some time that Mrs. Simpson had pro-German sympathies. This, among other reasons, made her so obnoxious to the government that they would not permit the King to marry her.
In addition, according to files released in 2003 by the British Public Records Office, there were rumours that Mrs. Simpson had been passing information to Germany. Edward, being notoriously lax in security, often left top secret government files sent to him unguarded in his Fort Belvedere
Fort Belvedere, Surrey
Fort Belvedere is a country house on Shrubs Hill in Windsor Great Park, England, very near Sunningdale, Berkshire, but actually over the border in the borough of Runnymede in Surrey. It is a former royal residence - from 1750 to 1976 - and is most famous for being the home of King Edward VIII. It...
residence, giving Mrs. Simpson every opportunity to do so.
This was probably the reason why the Duke was appointed to the Bahamas post: to keep them as far away as possible from the war and to prevent Mrs. Simpson from having any contact with Ribbentrop as well as to make it easier for the FBI and the British to keep them under surveillance.