Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII rumoured to be behind jewellery theft

The abdicated King Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson were the victims of an “extraordinary crime” in October 1946, which may not have been all it seemed.

In the new book The King’s Loot by Richard Wallace, the author tells the tale of the theft of some of the couple’s most expensive jewellery pieces, which was rumoured to be an “inside job”.

At the time, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were on a trip to Britain staying at Ednam Lodge, the Berkshire country home of the Earl and Countess of Dudley.

The Countess later claimed that Wallis had given her a look at three trunks in her bedroom in which she kept her extensive and lavish jewellery collection.

But while the guests, their hosts and their servants were at dinner that evening the trunks were broken into, having been moved into the Duchess of Windsor’s bedroom at her orders.

Scotland Yard began investigating the crime, but before long they noticed that several things about the case did not add up, arousing suspicion.

They questioned how at the time of the burglary none of the many servants saw anything unusual, or why the dogs did not bark at signs of an intruder.

It was later established that one or two of the dogs were out being walked by the head housemaid when the theft took place, which in itself was strange as the housemaid would usually be on hand at dinner.

It soon became apparent that the thief or thieves would have had to know where to go, as they entered via an upstairs bedroom close to the bedroom where the jewels were being kept in a trunk placed right in front of the fireplace.

Two particularly significant items were saved from the burglary, one of them a brooch which Wallis was wearing at the time – the Cartier ruby and sapphire piece featured the entwined initials E and W, which Edward gave to his wife during the abdication crisis.

Another was a brooch which had been delivered by Cartier that morning, a 65-carat sapphire and diamond bird of paradise that was hidden under a vase for safekeeping.

Around 10 significant pieces were taken and never recovered, with the jewels being worth a staggering £500,000 in the 1940s, which would be around £17 million today.

However, the Duke of Windsor claimed that the loot was in fact only worth £20,000, with his evasive behaviour leading some to suggest it could have been an inside job.

The jewellery collection was insured for £400,000 (£14 million today), with the insurers paying up in full after the theft and subsequently insuring Wallis Simpson’s new jewellery collection for £800,000 (£28 million).