Edward VIII: The Escape Artist
O n December 11, 1936 King Edward VIII of England renounced his throne to marry Mrs. Wallis Simpson, a still-married American. Their affair was the worst kept secret in England; nevertheless, the abdication stunned the nation and the world. King Edward VIII would be the first British monarch to voluntarily relinquish their power.
With his younger brother firmly established on the throne, it was time to get out of town. (By most accounts, the duke’s mother was not his biggest fan during this period in his life, and by all accounts the duke’s mother was never a fan of Mrs. Simpson, whom she famously referred to as “That woman.”)
David and Wallis, as they were known to family and friends, had no idea whether or not Wallis’s divorce would be successful. While they waited, she went to France and he traveled to Austria.
In 1936, maintaining the illusion of propriety was of the utmost importance — especially when attaining a divorce. What good are separate bedrooms when separate countries will do?
The duke stayed with Baron Eugene and Baroness Kitty de Rothschild at the Rothschild castle in Enzesfeld, Austria. Enzesfeld is a small town just outside of Vienna. The castle has a long history going back as far as the fourteenth century, but it didn’t come into the family until 1880 when Nathaniel Rothschild purchased it for restoration.
The duke arrived to snowy Austria on the night of December 13, 1936 — just two days after his official abdication. Reporters swamped the train as it arrived at the station in Vienna. The exhausted duke headed toward the car but then turned back, “‘I want you to let the photographers come along,’ he said. ‘They had a very tough journey and they deserve some pictures.’”
The duke stayed tucked in the castle for the next several weeks knitting for his beloved and making long distance phone calls to France.
His hostess, Kitty de Rothschild was a friend of Mrs. Simpson’s. In fact, both women were American divorcées and allegedly in love with European nobility. She sympathized with the duke’s predicament. After a fairly depressing Christmas, the Enzesfeld villagers decided to cheer up the former king with an Austrian New Year’s tradition.
In Austria, it is good luck to encounter a hog at midnight. It is even luckier if you happen to see a hog in the company of a chimney sweep. So, come midnight of January 31, 1936, a band of thoroughly smudged chimney-sweeps led a large pig up to the castle so that the newly-minted duke might have some good luck. (One wonders the consequences associated with orchestrating your own pig/chimney sweep sighting.)
Apparently not particularly superstitious, the duke “Smilingly declined the sweeps’ suggestions he get acquainted with the pig.” He remained perched on the castle balcony, despite attempts to get him to come down and touch the pig’s snout. However, Baroness de Rothschild took pity on the chimneysweeps and did join in the fun.
Mrs. Simpson and the Duke of Windsor were finally married six months after his exile to Austria, and they remained married until his death in 1972.
Further Reading
That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor by Anna Sebba
Duke to Buy Enzesfeld Castle? via National Library of Australia
Baron Rothschild’s Son Marries American Divorcee via JTA
Wallis and Edward: Anti-Romance of the Century? by Liz Ronk
Edward VIII Abdicates Throne (Abdication speech) via The History Place
Edward VIII Abdicates via The History Channel
Duke of Windsor in Austria via The Guardian
Edward is Greeted by Chimney Sweeps via the Associated Press
Reichenau & Rothschild Castle
