This mansion is located near the Bois de Boulogne The crown hosted one of the most sultry couples of the 20th century. Restored, it will open its doors to the public in 2024.
On the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, the Windsor villa is barely a fifteen-minute drive from Sarkozy and just three minutes from the Louis Vuitton Foundation. But above all, it is where one of the most charming and sultry couples of the 20th century, Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, lived until their deaths. As revealed in season 5 The crown .
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Former King of England’s Asylum
December 1936: King Edward VIII abdicates to marry Wallis Simpson, a married and twice-divorced American commoner. Soon replaced by his brother George VI, father of the future Elizabeth II, the latter forbade him to stay at Fort Belvedere, his residence in Surrey, which he adored. In exile, the former monarch is looking for a new place to fully experience his love. “Honey, I want to get out of here, I want to run my own house, I want to marry and live with you,” scrawled the cursed lover of the Crown in a letter to the man she loved in 1937. Opinion . As he writes these words, Wallis Simpson is still holed up in Cannes with friends, away from the media storm. She is eager to marry the love of her life, the Duke of Windsor (which she has become since abdicating).
On June 3, 1937, the couple finally married at Château de Candé near Tours and decided to rent Château de la Croe in Cap d’Antibes a few months later. However, the Second World War soon forced them to flee France, where they returned only at the end of the conflict. Still in Paris, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor took up residence in 1953 (after crossing Boulevard Suchet) in a mansion in the 16th arrondissement that belonged to the city of Paris; Le Bois Castle, which was later renamed “Windsor”. villa”. We whisper that the rent is symbolic, only 50 dollars a month.
Mecca of social events
In order to feel at ease there, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor entrusted the design of the area to Stefan Boudin, director of the Jansen House, who will transform the White House residences with Jackie Kennedy. The furnishings are true to form: Rococo balustrades, a wrought-iron grand staircase, ceilings painted with exotic frescoes, jewels, marble and wood paneling in the bathrooms and bedrooms… That’s right, no Windsor villa. At Buckingham Palace, however, Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson do their best to rebuild a kind of small yard, complete with about twenty servants, including a barber and a make-up artist. But also famous butler Sidney Johnson, featured prominently in Season 5 The crown.
In the dining room with posters printed with chinos, the couple organize receptions worthy of the name, where the whole of Paris gathers. There we meet Marlene Dietrich, Aristotle Onassis or Elizabeth Taylor; “Our Parisian home is a formal place, but our entertainment is very informal,” the former sovereign writes in his memoirs.
On May 28, 1972, the Duke of Windsor breathed his last at his home in Bois de Boulogne, promising his niece, Elizabeth II, that his body would be buried in his native land. As soon as the funeral service was said, Wallis Simpson left for Windsor Villa, where he would spend the last fourteen years of his life in complete solitude. When he disappeared on April 24, 1986, the mansion was emptied of furniture and memories. The entirety of this legacy is bequeathed to the Institut Pasteur, and the funds are donated to research.
Mohamed Al-Fayed’s Infinite Lease
After the Windsors, a man sets his sights on the villa. It is the Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, who at that time had an idea in the back of his head. This funny idea is worthy of convincing the Paris municipality, which in 1986 gave him the lease of the mansion for one million francs (about 150,000 euros) a year, on the condition that he also take care of its maintenance and repairs. information from Vanity Fair .
Ten years later A Royal again passes the door of the villa. And it’s none other than Lady Diana. The “princess of hearts” separated from Charles is thinking of settling there with the son of Mohammed Al-Fayed, Dodi. Sounds like a rip-off to the British royal family. On August 30, 1997, the couple landed at Le Bourget airport and took route 4, route du Champ-d’Entrainment. One hour remains there, “time to tour the great hall, the fourteen rooms and the spacious garden,” he writes. Vanity Fair, before joining the Ritz in the heart of the capital. Diana and Dodi, however, would never settle down at Windsor Castle. Both died of their injuries the following night after a car crash under the Alma Bridge. Twenty-five years have passed since that tragic night. Mohamed Al-Fayed’s loan is still in progress.
Only last week, after consulting several candidates, the City of Paris announced that it had awarded the management of the site to the Mansart Foundation, according to Figaro . The latter is committed to complete renovation of the villa, as well as all fittings, including the garage, until 2024. And this with the idea of opening it to the public.
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Source: Le Figaro
