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Ernest Simpson
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Ernest Aldrich Simpson (6 May 1897 – 30 November 1958) was an American-born British shipbroker and former captain in the Coldstream Guards. He was the second husband of Wallis Simpson, who later married the former King Edward VIII following his abdication. After his military service, Simpson joined the family shipbroking firm, Simpson Spence & Young (SSY)
Key Information
Background
[edit]Ernest Aldrich Simpson was born on 6 May 1897 in New York City. He was educated at The Hill School before attending Harvard University. Simpson was commissioned in the British Army, serving as a captain in the Coldstream Guards during World War I. His father, Ernest Louis Simpson, a British citizen of Jewish background whose original surname was Solomon, co-founded the global shipbroking firm Simpson, Spence & Young,[n 1] trading since 1880.[1] His mother, Charlotte Woodward Gaines, was American, daughter of a New York City attorney.
His elder sister and only sibling, Maud Simpson (1879–1962), married, in 1905, Major Peter Kerr-Smiley MP.
Simpson became a British subject during World War I, shortly after graduating from Harvard and renouncing his United States citizenship.[1]
"In his younger years he was described as tall, with blue eyes, blond, curly hair, a neat blond moustache and a fastidious dresser," according to an article in The New York Times.[2]
First marriage
[edit]His first wife, whom he married in New York City, on 22 February 1923 and divorced in 1928, was Dorothea Dechert (died 1967), the former wife of James Flanagan Dechert (died 1968), a Princeton University alumnus,[3] whom she married in May 1916 and divorced in April 1920. Born Dorothea Webb Parsons, she was a daughter of Arthur Webb Parsons,[n 2] a lawyer, and his wife, the former Frances Margaret Graves.
Dorothea and Ernest Simpson had one child, Audrey C. C. Simpson (born 1924), who married firstly on 5 October 1945, American journalist Murray Rossant (died 1988, brother of architect James Rossant) and, secondly on 1 April 1949, New York advertising executive Edmund Hope Driggs III.[4][5] Audrey Simpson Driggs died at Calgary, Canada on 2 November 2013.
Simpson also had a stepdaughter by this marriage, Cynthia Josephine Dechert (born 1916).[6]
Second marriage
[edit]Simpson's second wife was Wallis Warfield Spencer (1896–1986), the Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania-born former wife of Earl Winfield Spencer Jr. and the only child of Teackle Wallis Warfield. They married in London, England, on 21 July 1928, and divorced on 3 May 1937. As his obituary in The New York Times noted, the publicity over his second wife's remarriage to the Duke of Windsor and her subsequent fame thrust him into the role of "the forgotten man".[7] The two remained friends, however, the newspaper noted, with the now Duchess of Windsor sending him flowers when he was in hospital for surgery and Simpson offering advice and clarification when his former wife was working on her memoirs.[7]
Third marriage
[edit]
His third wife was Mary Raffray (née Mary Huntemuller Kirk, 1896–1941),[n 3] a daughter of Henry Child Kirk, proprietor of the Kirk Silversmith Co. of Baltimore, Maryland[8] and his wife, the former Edith Huntemuller,[9] who dedicated her book Her Garden Was Her Delight to her memory. Mary Simpson's letters, along with her sister's, are held at Harvard University Archives.
A girlhood friend of Wallis Simpson's, Mary Kirk was a bridesmaid at her first wedding and introduced her to Ernest Simpson in 1925; she also was the "other woman" with whom Simpson took a hotel suite in Bray, Berkshire, in order to give his wife evidence of adultery, so that she could bring divorce proceedings against him.[n 4] Ernest Simpson and Mary Raffray were married in the Diamond Jubilee ballroom of the Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Connecticut on 19 November 1937, six months after the groom's divorce from Wallis Simpson and three weeks after the bride's divorce from Jacques Raffray, a French aviator (son of French explorer Achille Raffray), whom Mary had married on 29 July 1918.
Mary and Ernest Simpson had one child, Ernest Henry Child Simpson, born in 1939, and christened at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London. In June 1940, the Simpsons sent their infant son to the United States to escape the Second World War, in particular the Blitz. However, a month before Mary's death, he returned with her to England. Mary Simpson died of cancer on 2 October 1941, at the couple's home – Stanton House, Stanton Fitzwarren, Wiltshire.[citation needed] Ernest (the son) changed his name to Aharon Solomons in 1958 before being commissioned as an officer in the Israeli Army.[10]
Fourth marriage
[edit]Simpson's fourth wife was Avril Leveson-Gower (née Avril Joy Mullens, 1910 – 28 November 1978), the former wife of Brigadier-General Hugh Nugent Leveson-Gower and Prince George Imeretinsky. She was the younger daughter of Sir John Ashley Mullens, of Manor House, Haslemere, Surrey, by his wife, the former Evelyne Maude Adamson. Simpson and Avril Leveson-Gower were married in London on 12 August 1948. By this marriage Simpson had a stepdaughter, Lucinda Gaye Leveson-Gower (born 1935, married Sir Spencer Le Marchant in 1955). Avril Simpson was killed in a car crash in Mexico in 1978.[citation needed]
Death
[edit]Simpson died in London on 30 November 1958, aged 61.[11]
In popular culture
[edit]He was played by Charles Keating in Edward and Mrs Simpson (1978).
He was played by Tom Wilkinson in The Woman He Loved (1988).
He was played by Anthony Smee in Bertie and Elizabeth (2002).
He was played by David Westhead in Wallis & Edward (2005).
He was portrayed by David Harbour in W.E., a 2011 romantic drama film about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's courtship; the movie was co-written and directed by Madonna.[12]
Notes and references
[edit]- Notes
- ^ In 1880 two shipbrokers Ernest Louis Simpson an Englishman and Lewis H Spence an American founded the firm of Simpson and Spence and set up an office in New York. This was an era of great change with world trade increasing in volume and steam gradually supplanting the clipper ships and schooners. In 1882 Captain William M Young was invited to join the partnership and open an office in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England. From then on the firm was known as Simpson Spence & Young.
In the following years, offices were opened in London and for a time in other United Kingdom cities in order to service local principals, but it was New York and London that remained the focal points of worldwide shipping for several decades. In these two centres Simpson Spence & Young built up specialist teams of brokers and back-up staff, which were later to form the springboard for future development and expansion.
Extract from SSY brochure, 1986 - ^ This first wife was a great-granddaughter of Theophilus Parsons, a Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and President of Harvard University.
- ^ Raffray was the former wife of Jacques Achille Louis Raffray, a French-born New York insurance broker. He died on 5 March 1971.
- ^ As they were married in England they were required to be divorced under English law, where tight restrictions on divorce applied at that time.
- References
- ^ a b "Revealed: Wallis Simpson's Jewish secret". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- ^ "Ernest Simpson Dead in London", The New York Times, 30 November 1958
- ^ Princeton Alumni Weekly, Volume 51. Princeton, New Jersey: Library of Princeton University. 29 September 1950. p. 22.
- ^ Fowler, Glenn (29 June 1988). "Murray J. Rossant Is Dead at 65; Journalist Led 20th Century Fund". The New York Times.
- ^ "Mrs Rossant is bride of Edward Driggs III, The New York Times, 2 April 1949
- ^ Who wed Robert Harold Baker (married 1937, annulled 1938) and James Imbrie Jr. (married 1950)
- ^ a b "Ernest Simpson Died in London", The New York Times, 30 November 1958
- ^ Kirk Silversmith Co.
- ^ [Mary Raffray was the sister of author E. Buckner Kirk Hollingsworth Kirk-Hollingsworth Papers
- ^ Sebba, Anne (18 August 2011). "Revealed: Wallis Simpson's Jewish secret". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ "Simpson (Unknown Man of the Abdication) dies at 61". Daily News. London, England. 1 December 1958. p. 5.
- ^ "W.E.: Full Cast and Crew". IMDb.
Ernest Simpson
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Early Life
Birth and Family Background
Ernest Aldrich Simpson was born on May 6, 1897, in New York City, United States, the second child and only son of Ernest Louis Simpson and Charlotte Woodward Gaines Simpson.[5][3] His father, born January 11, 1854, in Greater London, England, was a British citizen and shipping executive associated with the firm Simpson, Spence & Young, a prominent shipbroking company with offices in New York.[6][7] Ernest Louis Simpson's family background included possible Jewish ancestry, as indicated by references to an original surname of Solomon prior to anglicization.[7][8] Simpson's mother, Charlotte Woodward Gaines, born in 1855 and died in 1943, was an American from a New York family; her father was a local attorney.[4][1] The couple had an elder daughter, Maud Simpson (born circa 1885), who married in 1905.[1] The Simpson family maintained transatlantic ties, reflecting the father's British origins and the shipping industry's international scope, which positioned them in an affluent, professional milieu.[9][6]Education and Initial Career
Simpson attended The Hill School, a preparatory academy in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, prior to enrolling at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1] He graduated from Harvard, after which he renounced his American citizenship to align with his British heritage and family ties.[10] Following university, Simpson entered the shipping industry, leveraging his family's established presence in maritime trade. He became a partner in Simpson Spence & Young, a London-based firm founded in 1880 by his father, Ernest Louis Simpson, alongside Lewis Spence and Captain William Young, specializing in shipbroking and chartering services.[11] This role marked the beginning of his professional trajectory in international shipping, where he handled brokerage operations amid the post-World War I economic recovery in global trade.[12]Military Service
World War I Involvement
Ernest Aldrich Simpson, an American-born individual who later became associated with British society, traveled to England in 1918 during the final year of World War I and enlisted in the British Army. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards, one of the oldest and most prestigious infantry regiments in the British Army, known for its role in frontline combat on the Western Front.[13] Simpson's service occurred amid the Hundred Days Offensive, the Allied push that led to the war's conclusion on November 11, 1918, though specific engagements involving him are not documented in available records. He advanced to the rank of captain during his tenure, reflecting rapid promotion typical for officers joining late in the conflict when experienced leadership was needed.[4][14] His military involvement was brief, lasting only months before the armistice, after which he transitioned to civilian pursuits, including his entry into the shipping industry. No awards or casualties are recorded for Simpson in this period, consistent with the limited duration of his active duty.[4]Professional Career
Shipping Executive Role
Ernest Aldrich Simpson entered the shipping industry after his World War I service in the Coldstream Guards, joining his father's London-based firm, Simpson, Spence & Young, established in 1880 as an international shipbroking house specializing in vessel chartering, sales, and purchases.[15] The company, cofounded by his father Ernest Louis Simpson with partners Lewis Spence and Captain William Young, operated from offices in London and New York, facilitating transatlantic and global maritime transactions amid the interwar economic fluctuations.[1] As a shipbroker, Simpson handled brokerage operations, including negotiating charters for cargo vessels and managing agency services for shipowners, contributing to the firm's growth into a major player in the competitive shipping sector.[16] His role involved leveraging family connections and industry expertise to secure deals, though the business remained moderately prosperous rather than expansive, reflecting the era's volatile freight markets influenced by post-war recovery and trade disruptions.[17] Simpson's professional life centered on this maritime brokerage, which provided financial stability during his marriages, but publicity from his association with Wallis Simpson later overshadowed his career contributions.[18] The firm endured beyond his involvement, evolving into one of the world's largest independent shipbroking entities by the late 20th century.[15]Marriages and Family
First Marriage to Dorothea Dechert
Ernest Aldrich Simpson married Dorothea Webb Parsons Dechert, a previously divorced American socialite, on 22 February 1923 in Manhattan, New York City.[19][4] Dorothea, born in 1894 or 1896, was the daughter of Arthur Webb Parsons, a figure associated with Massachusetts legal circles, and had previously been wed to James Flanagan Dechert, from whom she divorced around 1920.[20][21] The couple relocated to London following the marriage, where Simpson pursued his career in the shipping industry.[19] Their union produced one child, Audrey C. C. Simpson, born in 1924.[20][13] The marriage lasted five years, ending in divorce in 1928 amid unspecified personal differences, after which Dorothea did not remarry.[4][20] Simpson retained custody arrangements allowing contact with Audrey, who later married American journalist Murray J. Rossant in 1945.[3]Second Marriage to Wallis Warfield
Ernest Aldrich Simpson, having divorced his first wife Dorothea Dechert earlier in 1928, married Bessie Wallis Warfield Spencer—herself recently divorced from Lieutenant Winston Spencer on 10 December 1927—in a private ceremony in London on 21 July 1928. The couple had met in 1926 through London's Anglo-American social circles, where Simpson, impressed by Warfield's wit and presence, proposed marriage while both were still legally tied to their prior spouses, agreeing to wed once free.[22] Simpson, a naturalized British citizen and shipping executive, provided financial stability, though the marriage reflected pragmatic ambitions amid post-World War I social mobility rather than profound romance, as Warfield later described Simpson's appeal in terms of his reliability over passion.[23] The Simpsons established their home in a three-bedroom apartment at Bryanston Court on George Street in Marylebone, near Marble Arch, where Warfield oversaw domestic affairs and hosted gatherings that blended American informality with British decorum.[24] Their union produced no children, a circumstance consistent with Warfield's prior childless marriage and possibly deliberate family planning, as no records indicate fertility issues or attempts at offspring during their nearly nine years together.[25] Simpson maintained his role at the shipping firm Simpson, Spence & Young, navigating the industry's recovery from wartime disruptions, while Warfield engaged in fashion, bridge clubs, and expatriate events, cultivating connections that elevated their status without inherited wealth.[26] By 1931, the Simpsons' social orbit expanded through house parties in Buckinghamshire and Mayfair, where Warfield's sharp repartee drew attention, though their partnership remained conventional, marked by mutual respect rather than ardor, as evidenced by Warfield's later correspondence expressing regret over its dissolution.[27] Financial strains from the Great Depression occasionally tested Simpson's brokerage ventures, yet the couple sustained a modest upper-middle-class lifestyle, free of scandal until external influences intervened.[23]Divorce from Wallis and Abdication Involvement
Wallis Warfield Simpson's affair with Edward, Prince of Wales (who acceded as Edward VIII in January 1936), strained her marriage to Ernest Simpson from around 1934 onward, leading to their separation.[12] In mid-1936, Wallis petitioned for divorce on grounds of Ernest's adultery with her friend Mary Raffray, a charge that Ernest did not contest.[28] The proceedings were deliberately scheduled at the Ipswich Assizes on October 27, 1936, rather than in London, to minimize publicity, with the public and press barred from the courtroom.[29] [30] Judge Horace Hawke granted a decree nisi that day, citing Ernest's unreasonable behavior and adultery as proven on unchallenged evidence, including hotel records and witness testimony from servants.[28] [31] Ernest's cooperation stemmed from a prior confrontation with Edward in July 1936, during which the king assured him of Wallis's financial security, prompting Ernest to agree to the divorce without opposition.[32] Private correspondence later disclosed by broadcasters indicated collusion among Ernest, Wallis, and Edward to fabricate or expedite the evidence, a practice illegal under English law at the time that risked invalidating the decree.[33] The divorce positioned Wallis as legally separable from Ernest, heightening the constitutional standoff as Edward VIII insisted on marrying her despite opposition from the Church of England, government, and empire dominions, who viewed a twice-divorced American as unfit for queenship.[31] Ernest's non-resistance facilitated this timeline, as the decree nisi's issuance in October fueled public disclosure of Edward's intentions by late November, culminating in the king's abdication on December 11, 1936, to wed Wallis upon her decree absolute in May 1937.[28] [33] While Ernest maintained a low profile during the crisis, his acquiescence—motivated by royal assurances rather than acrimony—averted a prolonged legal battle that might have delayed or derailed the abdication.[32]Third Marriage to Mary Kirk
Ernest Aldrich Simpson married Mary Huntemuller Kirk Raffray on November 19, 1937, in Fairfield, Connecticut, following her divorce from French aviator Jacques Raffray earlier that year.[19][34] Mary, born in 1896, was the daughter of Henry Child Kirk, owner of the Kirk Silversmith Company in Baltimore, and a childhood friend of Wallis Simpson, having attended school together and served as a bridesmaid at Wallis's first wedding.[35] She had introduced Wallis to Ernest in 1925, but after Ernest's divorce from Wallis in 1937, Mary became his third wife.[36] The couple resided primarily in England, where Simpson continued his business interests.[19] They had one son, Ernest Henry Child Simpson, born on May 26, 1939.[19][5] Mary Simpson died on October 2, 1941, at age 45, at their home in Wiltshire, England, from undisclosed causes reported in contemporary accounts as sudden illness.[37][34] Her death left Simpson to raise their young son alone, amid his ongoing professional and personal transitions.[37]Fourth Marriage to Avril Leveson-Gower
Ernest Aldrich Simpson married Avril Joy Leveson-Gower (née Mullens, 1909–1978) on 12 August 1948 in London, marking his fourth and final marriage.[38][39][4] At the time, Simpson was 51 years old, while Leveson-Gower, a British socialite and sportswoman previously married twice—first to Prince George Galitzine and then to Brigadier General Hugh Nugent Leveson-Gower—was 39.[39][4][3] The union produced no children but brought Simpson a stepdaughter, Lucinda Gaye Leveson-Gower (born 1935), from his wife's prior marriage.[14] The wedding was a private ceremony, with details emerging publicly several days later on 18 August 1948.[38][40] This marriage followed Simpson's contentious divorce from his third wife, Mary Kirk, in 1948, and came amid his efforts to rebuild a personal life overshadowed by his association with the abdication crisis a decade earlier.[41] Avril Leveson-Gower, known for her connections in aristocratic and military circles through her previous husbands, provided Simpson with social stability in his later years.[42] The couple remained together until Simpson's death from throat cancer on 30 November 1958 in London, after which Avril survived him by two decades until her own death on 28 November 1978.[4][3][41] No public records indicate significant controversies or separations during their ten-year marriage, contrasting with the high-profile dissolutions of Simpson's earlier unions.[41]Later Life and Death
Post-Divorce Activities
Following the finalization of his divorce from Wallis Warfield Simpson on 3 May 1937, Ernest Simpson returned to his established career as a British shipbroker, continuing operations in London within the shipping industry tied to his family's longstanding business interests.[4] In the lead-up to and during World War II, Simpson prioritized family safety amid escalating threats; in June 1940, he and his third wife, Mary Kirk Simpson, arranged for their infant son, Henry, then approximately nine months old, to be evacuated to the United States alongside nearly 400 other British children under age 10 to shield them from the anticipated intensification of German air raids, including the Blitz.[37] Simpson sustained cordial personal ties with former social circles, including ongoing contact with the Duchess of Windsor, who later described him as a "strong and noble character" and a reliable friend post-divorce.[22] His post-war years remained low-profile, centered on professional duties in shipbroking until health issues emerged later in the decade.[4]Illness and Passing
Simpson developed throat cancer, which progressively worsened in the years before his death.[4][43] He died from the illness on 30 November 1958 in London, England, at the age of 61.[19][3] Some accounts specify esophageal cancer as the precise form affecting him.[44] His passing occurred quietly, with no public ceremonies noted in contemporary reports, reflecting his retreat from prominence after earlier personal upheavals.[4]Legacy and Cultural Depictions
Historical Significance
Ernest Aldrich Simpson's principal historical significance stems from his role in the marital dissolution that catalyzed the 1936 abdication crisis of King Edward VIII, marking the most severe constitutional challenge to the British monarchy in over two centuries. Married to Wallis Warfield on July 21, 1928, Simpson's union with her integrated her into elite Anglo-American social circles, facilitating her introduction to Edward, then Prince of Wales, around 1931. By mid-1936, as Edward's attachment to Wallis intensified following his January ascension to the throne, the couple's relationship rendered their marriage untenable, prompting Wallis to initiate divorce proceedings against Simpson on the grounds of his alleged adultery. This action, culminating in a preliminary decree granted by the Ipswich Assizes on October 27, 1936, exposed the King's intentions to wed a twice-divorced American, igniting opposition from the government, Church of England, and dominions, who deemed it incompatible with the sovereign's role as head of state and church.[30][45] Simpson, a shipping executive with a conventional background including service in the Coldstream Guards during World War I, played a passive yet enabling part by not contesting the divorce, which proceeded on fabricated evidence of his infidelity to shield Wallis—and by extension, Edward—from direct scandal under prevailing English divorce laws requiring proof of adultery. The decree absolute, finalized on May 3, 1937, legally freed Wallis to marry Edward shortly thereafter, but only after Edward's abdication on December 11, 1936, via the Abdication Act, which averted a potential clash between crown and parliament while thrusting his brother Albert (George VI) onto the throne. This sequence profoundly altered the succession, influencing Britain's wartime leadership under George VI and solidifying the monarchy's apolitical stance amid rising European fascism.[13][46] Beyond this pivotal entanglement, Simpson's life held negligible broader impact; his career in family shipping firms and subsequent remarriages did not intersect with major historical currents. Nonetheless, his inadvertent facilitation of the abdication underscored the fragility of monarchical institutions to personal scandals, reinforcing precedents against morganatic unions and emphasizing the crown's subordination to constitutional norms—a lesson echoed in subsequent royal crises.[47][48]In Popular Culture
Ernest Simpson has been portrayed in several biographical dramas centered on Wallis Simpson's relationships and the 1936 abdication crisis. In the 1978 ITV miniseries Edward & Mrs. Simpson, which dramatizes the events leading to Edward VIII's abdication, actor Charles Keating played Simpson as a resigned husband facilitating his wife's divorce.[49] The production, spanning seven episodes, depicts Simpson's role in the social circles that introduced Wallis to the future king.[50] Simpson appeared in the 1988 CBS television film The Woman He Loved, directed by Charles Jarrott, where Tom Wilkinson portrayed him amid Wallis's (played by Julie Andrews) entanglements with Edward.[51] The film covers Simpson's marriage to Wallis from 1928 until their 1937 divorce, emphasizing his shipping executive background and acquiescence to the royal affair.[52] In the 2011 feature film W.E., written and directed by Madonna, David Harbour depicted Simpson during the early stages of Wallis's affair with Edward, highlighting the strain on their marriage.[53] The narrative interweaves historical events with a modern storyline, portraying Simpson as a peripheral yet enabling figure in the scandal.[14] Fictional literary treatments include the title story in Stephen Maitland-Lewis's 2020 collection Mr. Simpson and Other Short Stories, which imagines Simpson's post-divorce reflections and friendship with Wallis decades later.[54] Such works often frame him as the "forgotten man" overshadowed by the royal drama.[55]References
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4201984