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Traitor King

The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor

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Traitor King

By: Andrew Lownie
Narrated by: Andrew Lownie
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About this listen

 FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ENTITLED, 'THE MOST DEVASTATING ROYAL BIOGRAPHY EVER WRITTEN', DAILY MAIL
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

A Daily Mail Royal Book of the Year, 2021

'Darkly compelling...hundreds of eye-popping details...Gripping ... damning portrait of the Windsors' Daily Mail 'Book of the Week'

'Briskly written and compulsively readable...' - A.N. Wilson, TLS

'Meticulously researched' - Spectator

'Entertaining... convincing... timely. Urgent reading for royals' - Evening Standard


December 1936. The King of England, Edward VIII, has given up his Crown, foregoing his duty for the love of Wallis Simpson, an American divorcée. Their courtship has been dogged by controversy and scandal, but with Edward's abdication, they can live happily ever after. But do they?

In Traitor King, bestselling historian Andrew Lownie draws on hitherto unexplored archives to uncover the dramatic world of the Windsors post-abdication. Lownie reveals a couple obsessed with their status, financially exploiting their position and manipulating the media. Filled with treachery and betrayal, this is a story of an exiled Royal and the Nazi attempts to recruit him to their cause. And of why the Royal family never forgave the Duke for choosing love over duty.©2021 Andrew Lownie (P)2021 Bonnier Books UK Europe Great Britain Politics & Activism Royalty

Critic Reviews

"Darkly compelling...hundreds of eye-popping details.... Gripping...damning portrait of the Windsors." (Daily Mail, Book of the Week)

"Briskly written and compulsively readable...." (A.N. Wilson, TLS)

"Meticulously researched." (Spectator)

"Entertaining...convincing...timely. Urgent reading for royals." (Evening Standard)

All stars
Most relevant  
Edward and Wallis were spoiled childish and stupid. This is a great insight into tragedy

Interesting study of a many dimensional man.

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A good weighty case for the cessation of inherited titles and any vestiges of the ‘ruling classes’ in power.

Marriages into the same bloodlines must inevitably produce what it had done.

Wallace got what she hadn’t bargained for and he got a Mummy - to entertain and boost his confidence at all times.

A terrible thought that this man could have possibly sat on the throne as King.

Weakness, Entitlement and Power

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Very well written and the story flowed. An astonishing life of two very sad and degenerate people. I don’t think anything has changed over the years. Elites protecting their own. If only the public had known what these two were doing during the war years. Looking forward to reading the next book about Mountbatten.

A great insight on how this man wasted his life!

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I found this book extremely interesting. The author painted an excellent portrait of a damaged man caught in the thrall of an equally compromised woman. They were a vacuous couple with no real talents or interests. Edward’s meddling in foreign affairs was a constant worry to the British government. The author makes a compelling case using UK, American and German sources to justify the title of the book. One of the things I found most striking was Edwards character and mindset was inherited by his royal descendant the current Prince Harry. Likewise Wallis has an uncanny resemblance to Harry’s wife. They all share the same flaws.

What a damaged man.

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A fascinating and well researched listen of Edward and Wallis.
What a thoroughly horrible couple they were. Two wasted lives - with all that money, they could have helped so many folk.
Ugh!! Fancy trying to win WW2 and having to deal with their ridiculous antics at the same time!!
Beautifully narrated by the author.
I’m looking forward to listening to The Mountbattens

Loved it!!

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An interesting history that pulls back the superficial outer layer of the lives of the former king and his wife.

Terrifying to think what could have been had he not abdicated.

Well researched and fascinating story

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Very interesting into the history of the times and the implications for some and not for others

Interesting

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A great insight into a thoroughly flawed character. One can only thank Wallace Simpson in attracting the very weak and underdeveloped boyish English Royal to resign as King. We may now be living in a very different world if this had not occurred. This biography may not be the last and, as Lownie indicates more damning evidence of Edward and Simpson’s fascist inclinations may yet surface.

Really Excellent.

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Lownie's book allows us entre into the world of this pathetic man and his concubine.
Both David and Wallis emerge as trivial and wanton.
If Royalty is one's 'thing' the abdication of this dullard king must be the very best thing that has happened to the monarchy in 200 years...
To imagine that David and Wallis were permitted to reign conjures only horror.
An intriguing listen..
One tiny annoyance in the reading is the pronunciation of 'women'...
perhaps it is my device but it constantly ones across in pronunciation as 'woman' and not 'wimmen'

A Riveting read for social history enthusiasts.

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Great read, well researched and read. What a despicable couple! All I can say is bring on the republic!

Great read

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