- 31 May -30 June 2024
- This event has passed.
- The History Books
Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
Sunday Times bestselling author, Andrew Lownie examines the years following the abdication of Edward VIII.
Drawing on extensive research into unused archives it makes the case that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were not the naïve dupes of the Germans but actively intrigued against Britain in both war and peace. Lownie also shines a light on the assumed love story of the Windsors with extraordinary revelations.
Venue: Layer Marney Tower, Near Colchester, Essex, CO5 9US
Date and time: Sunday 26th June, 4.00pm
Tickets: £14 (includes entrance to Layer Marney Tower, usually £10)
Ticket deal: All three History Day events for £36, including entrance to Layer Marney. The discount will be applied at checkout when all three History Day events have ben added to the basket.
Box Office: Buy online or via Mercury Theatre, 01206 573948
History Day Events:
11.00am Julia Abel Smith – Forbidden Wife
2.00pm Tracy Borman – Crown & Sceptre
4.00pm Andrew Lownie – Traitor King
Traitor King: The Duke and Duchess of Windsor in Exile by Andrew Lownie
Sunday Times bestselling author Andrew Lownie, examines the years following the abdication of Edward VIII when the former king was kept in exile, feuding with his family over status for his wife, Wallis Simpson, and denied any real job.
Drawing on extensive research into hitherto unused archives and Freedom of Information requests, it makes the case that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were not the naïve dupes of the Germans but actively intrigued against Britain in both war and peace.
Traitor King reveals the true story behind the German attempts to recruit the Duke as a British Pétain; the efforts, by Churchill in particular, to cover this up; the reasons why the Duke, as Governor of the Bahamas, tried to shut down the investigation into the murder of a close friend, and shines light on the relationship between the Duke and Wallis, revealing it to be far from the love story it is often assumed to be.
Andrew Lownie said: ‘Few books tell the story of what happened to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, after they supposedly walked into the sunset, even though Edward had another 36 years to live and his wife 50. It is a game of two halves and often assumed that all the drama was in the first. Traitor King focuses on the years following the Abdication, which are arguably the more dramatic.’’
About the Author
Andrew Lownie was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he was Dunster History Prizeman and President of the Union, before taking his Masters and doctorate at Edinburgh University. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he later returned to Cambridge as a visiting fellow at Churchill College. He is now a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Buckingham and a Visiting Professor at the Ulster Literary Biography Research Centre.
He has been a bookseller, publisher, journalist , writing for the Times, Telegraph, Wall Street Journal, Spectator and Guardian, and since 1988 has run his own literary agency specialising in history and biography.
He is President of the Biographers Club, sits on the board of Biographers International Organisation and is a Trustee of the Campaign for Freedom of Information.
You can follow Andrew on Twitter @andrewlownie and Facebook @Andrew.lownie.7
Website: traitor king.com
