Becoming a jewel once more… the palace the place Edward VIII lived together with his spouse Wallis Simpson in exile earlier than it was trashed by disgraced tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed
Once, these rooms were the glittering home of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
A gilded villa on the outskirts of Paris where, for 30 years, ex-King of England Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson lived in enforced exile, awaiting in vain for the call to return to the land he once ruled.
Today, though, Villa Windsor, with its cracked ceilings, faded paintwork and bare walls is an empty shell, shorn of the trappings of majesty.
After the Windsors passed away (the Duke died there aged 77 in 1972 and then Wallis aged 89 in 1986), it was taken over by the now disgraced Mohamed al Fayed as he built up his empire of Harrods, the Paris Ritz hotel and Fulham Football Club.
The former Egyptian street trader wanted to show the world he was a king, too. He boasted he’d spent millions of pounds refurbishing the imposing stone mansion, hidden in the wooded Bois de Boulogne, and where the Windsors glamorously held sway hosting countless star-studded parties with guests such as Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich, Aristotle Onassis and the Rothschilds.
After lording it there for a decade, Fayed flogged off the contents as if old bits of tat from his Alexandria market stall.
He paused briefly in this plan when his son Dodi hauled Princess Diana into the Al Fayed web of deceit. On the last day of her life in 1997, Diana visited the house with Al Fayed hoping they would become a couple and make it their marital home.
Bois de Boulogne Villa, France.The Villa where Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson lived
Inside the home of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor at Bois de Boulogne near Paris, France 1974
After the Windsors passed away (the Duke died there aged 77 in 1972 and then Wallis aged 89 in 1986), it was taken over by the now disgraced Mohamed al Fayed as he built up his empire of Harrods, the Paris Ritz hotel and Fulham Football Club
The princess left after the briefest of inspections. Even without her death a few hours later, it was never going to happen.
So Fayed sold the entire contents of the house at a Sotheby’s New York sale – raking in $23 million for 40,000 items, making a whopping profit on his original outlay.
He took everything – the light fittings, the chandeliers, even the door handles.
I visited Villa Windsor in 1970, and can vouch for the fact that the walls to those elegant, spacious rooms have not been painted since.
That same year, the then Prince Charles visited his great uncle Edward and said afterwards: ‘The Duchess kept flitting to and fro like a strange bat. She looks incredible for her age and obviously has her face lifted. I found footmen and pages wearing identical uniforms to the ones ours wear at home. It was rather pathetic.
Recently, I went back. The once-elegant doors now have cheap plastic handles – but such wanton destruction to a historic collection meant nothing to Fayed, who died aged 94 in August last year.
In truth, he did not care about the building. From 1998, the year of the Sotheby’s sale, until he handed back the keys to the City of Paris three years ago, he barely visited.
The ex-King of England Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson lived in enforced exile, awaiting in vain for the call to return to the land he once ruled
The former Egyptian street trader wanted to show the world he was a king, too. He boasted he’d spent millions of pounds refurbishing the imposing stone mansion
Fayed sold the entire contents of the house at a Sotheby’s New York sale – raking in $23 million for 40,000 items, making a whopping profit on his original outlay
The Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson, with her pug dogs at her home
Now, though, Villa Windsor is rising from the ashes, taken over by the respected French conservation organisation Fondation Mansart which preserves and promotes national heritage.
After a multi-million restoration project, the house is due to re-open next summer as a museum, exhibition and event centre.
The hallway to the villa, formerly used as Paris residence of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
Now, though, Villa Windsor is rising from the ashes, taken over by the respected French conservation organisation Fondation Mansart which preserves and promotes national heritage
The villa is due to reopen and will be the focus of world attention for those still captivated by the story of a king who gave away his throne for ‘the woman I love’
After a multi-million restoration project, the house is due to re-open next summer as a museum, exhibition and event centre
It will be the focus of world attention for those still captivated by the story of a king who gave away his throne for ‘the woman I love’.
What I can say for certain is that the ghosts of Edward and Wallis still hang in the air – despite all Fayed’s depredations.
Edward vs George: The Windsors at War is on Channel Four in two parts on December 8 and 15.
