Wallis Simpson's Diary

'Wallis was a gold-digger or prospector of the evening, who never used a fossicking dish or pick to pan her pay dirt.' (written at the time of the Abdication by a contemporary of Wallis from her home town of Baltimore, as recorded in MEPO/10/35 file 17098 in the Public Records Office.) The Public Records Office recently released certain confidential files relating to the Abdication from the Throne in 1936 of King Edward VIII, formerly The Prince of Wales and then to become The Duke of Windsor, which had been withheld pending the death of the late Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth. Among them were documents which appear to be diaries kept during the period by Mrs. Wallis Simpson, later The Duchess Of Windsor. Expertly edited by Helen Batting, this diary for 1934 provides a brilliantly revelatory insight into the thoughts and lifestyle of a woman who was accused of 'setting out to steal the Throne of England'. It is a fascinating glimpse at one of the most significant years in the history of the British Royal Family. Helen Batting is the nom-de-plume of a distinguished British-born historian, novelist, travel writer and freelance journalist.She should not, of course, be confused with the author of "Bridget Jones' Diary", Helen Fielding. Similar editions are now being prepared of the diaries for the years 1935 and 1936, taking them up to the month of the Abdication itself.