norman201057 One can only describe this rubbish as, well rubbish, the writer must have been a relative of Mrs. Simpson to write this drama in such a fashion. I note the decimation of Balomoral Castle was omitted, it would have been called sacking in days of old, but she cleaned out a few rooms, mind you stripping rooms was mild by her other favourite hobby, jewel collecting. Then we have them doing what could be called a state visit to the Nazi party, I thought only the head of state carried out official state visits, and what about the deal they both did with Hitler to put him on the throne as king and her as Queen is Hitler had invaded Britain. What about them dining with Nazis in Portugal while the British Government were trying to get them away from possible Nazi capture, they tried every way possible to get captured. Then we have them as governor of the Bahamas during the war, and hating every day of the post, because the residence was not big enough for their needs, and not enough servants allocated. This was pure and simply a load of rubbish, if the author had went for the truth instead of complete fiction, it might have made it even slightly less boring, but I decided to watch to the end, oh how I wish I'd turned it off after the credits at the start It was an exercise in nothing, as it was no where near to the truth, the only part that was remotely truthful was the abdication speech, well done to the author for that.

climbingivy Wallis and Edward was a fascinating excursion into the history of Edward the VIII and Wallis Warfield Simpson Windsor.It was refreshing to see a version that did not make Wallis out to be the meanest woman in the world.There is a reviewer who I totally disagree with that blames Wallis for the downfall of Edward the man and as king until he abdicated.None of us will ever know whether Wallis really adored Edward the way he adored Wallis.Edward was absolutely in love with Wallis the American who was a twice divorced woman.Oh my how can that be?Edward did not want to be king to begin with.He was disinterested in the monarchy as a whole I believe because Edward did not have a good example to follow because his parents were jerks.His father George V was an ogre and his mother did not help matters at all.They should not have been parents and I feel the same way about Prince Charles,Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth.Princess Diana suffered horribly because of Prince Charles,Camilla and the entire royal family who are just downright mean people.I have heard that Edward and Wallis were Nazi sympathizers and that is probably true.That is unfortunate.But as far as Edward the man and as king deciding that he wanted to marry Wallis,I personally think he had a right to as long as he did not make her queen.The "Morgnatic" way would have solved that problem.Terrific movie for lovers of royal history.

pawebster This would have been OK if only they had chosen a more suitable actor for Edward. Stephen Campbell Moore is 14 years too young for the role of Edward as he was in 1936. He comes across as the nice boy next door who made everyone proud by winning a scholarship. He does not seem at all like a playboy prince of doubtful brainpower. Campbell Moore's Edward would have been intelligent and dutiful and would never have given up the throne for an American divorcée. This comes over very strongly in the scene where his father, George V, tells him "You disgust me". Not even the most crusty old Victorian could have said that to clean-cut Campbell Moore. Ms Richardson is good as Wallis, except that she is rather better looking than the original. Actually, I preferred the old version with Edward Fox and Cynthia Harris.

benbrae76 Yet another Mills & Boon type foray into the unfortunate love affair between the "traitor king" (Edward VIII...David to the family) and his American paramour, but this one was all a bit one-sided and wishy-washy.Wallis Simpson was a woman of questionable character and a chequered past. The suggestion bandied about that she had been a whore in a Chinese brothel, was I'm sure pure fiction, but the feeling that (as quoted in the film) "there's no smoke without fire", gave impetus to the general consensus of the day (although there was a certain popular sympathy with Edward's predicament), that the woman of his choice should not become queen.Although obviously not as black as the media of the time painted her, she was certainly a woman of the world, and I don't believe for a moment that she hadn't really got designs on becoming Edward's consort. If she had known at the outset that she would never become queen, I doubt if the romance would ever have gone the distance. As it was, and I suppose to her credit, the future marriage (if not the passion) did last, but she lived it in disappointment and disillusionment, and after him giving up everything and bringing the whole British Empire into turmoil, probably felt she couldn't leave him. Anyway, she may not be a king's consort, but she had gained a certain status, and wealth. And who knows...? But as everyone does know, the fairy tale turned into a pointless, roundabout existence, including a hopeful collusion with the Nazis, (in particular von Ribbentrop, a close friend of Mrs Simpson) who wanted to put Edward back on the throne as a puppet king to prevent any interference from Britain to Hitler's nasty little designs in Europe. I wonder how world history would have changed had the plan succeeded.There is no doubt that Edward and Wallis were sympathetic to this aim, and even before their marriage they both had friends in, and an admiration for, the Nazi regime, and he especially for everything German.Given Winston's anti-Nazi views, Churchill surprisingly had supported the intended nuptials, but maybe as he was still in his "wilderness years" at the time, could have had his own agenda in mind. However, the bulk of the British Establishment must have been extremely jittery.Apart from the actual Constitutional crisis, which of course was the primary concern, I believe this underlying factor was one of the unsaid objections to the marriage, and why the couple were eventually exiled to far off domains. Objections due to Wallis's background, her divorces, her foreign nationalism etc., were valid, but could have been overcome (unless she was a Roman Catholic, which she wasn't) and let's face it, the British royal families have been dealing with situations like that for centuries. But in view of increased European tensions and possible and impending hostilities, a potential Nazi collaborator on the throne could have been a little awkward to say the least. That Edward was besotted with the influential Wallis is well recorded and being a puppet on a woman's string is one thing, but to be the puppet of a psychotic dictator is quite another. So in hindsight, the abdication was perhaps a blessing in disguise.Of course, none of the treacherous and treasonable qualities of "Romeo" Windsor and "Juliet" Simpson were shown to any great extent in this somewhat insipid and inferior re-telling of "Edward & Mrs Simpson", and why it was ever made is beyond me, but if you're a fan of the likes of "Brief Encounter" or Barbara Cartland, you'll probably love it. And I suppose it might just encourage the modern generation to delve into the history books.The dialogue was slow and laboured at times and was only dragged along by the experience of an impressive cast, of which the acting honours have to go to Margaret Tysack as Queen Mary, the veteran Richard Johnson as Stanley Baldwin, and the ever excellent David Calder as a refreshingly look-alike Churchill.Apparently the main attribute of Wallis Simpson was not so much her beauty, but her charm. Sad to say an irritating Joely Richardson exuded no charm whatsoever, nor for that matter, very many of her acting skills either, and her terribly contrived American accent grated on the nerves. (Why couldn't an American have been awarded the part? Seems logical to me.) Stephen Campbell Moore as the love-lorn and beleaguered prince looked so wooden and listless throughout most of the proceedings, that I wasn't sure he'd even make it to the abdication, let alone the wedding. However, he livened up a bit towards the end.When I saw the preview on this production and its subject matter, I thought "Oh Lord, not again", but then considered that maybe it would shed a different light on the events. It didn't. Nevertheless I struggled gamely through it, but overall the boredom of this over-trodden story was only relieved by the commercial breaks, and of course it's conclusion.I hope this is the end, for surely enough has been sung of the whole dismal song, about this sorry little Merryman and his Maid. As it happened Edward was not really missed. King George VI (Bertie to the family), unlike Edward, was loved by everyone, and without him we wouldn't have had the present queen.I must conclude by saying that my father used to proudly wear a "Windsor" knot in his necktie. From the day of Edward's abdication he never wore that style of knot again, and his subsequent comments on the real Wallis and Edward are unrepeatable.NB. Eduncan-1 is misinformed. Ernest Simpson was American-born, naturalised-British, but certainly not English. Eduncan-1 should also get his facts right.