Rome — Love letters, evening dresses and two bottles of 1811 cognac that belonged to Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson were among items in a sale Thursday of memorabilia from an affair that created an international sensation.
Included in the auction at Christie's in Rome were some 14 letters and notes exchanged by Edward and Simpson spanning the period from their turbulent courtship in the 1930s, to their marriage after he abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry the twice-divorced American.
The letters from Edward to Simpson sold for $18,000 (U.S.); the bottles of cognac went for $10,500.
Christie's officials were still counting the sales Thursday night but it appeared the sold items fetched about $245,000, said Milena Sales, head of marketing and public relations for Christie's Italy. That was short of the expected $360,000.
One note from Edward to Simpson, apparently written shortly before their wedding in 1937, reads: “You'll never know how much I love you Wallis or how much it's helped seeing you in the middle of all this...I will need you more and more sweetheart and it's so lovely to think WE will be able to be married soon now.”
The note, which does not carry a date, was delivered by hand to Simpson at the house in London she shared with her second husband, Ernest Simpson, before eloping with Edward. “WE” was the signature, representing the initials of the couple's first names, that marked much of their correspondence.
Also put up for sale was a framed photo of Simpson and the future king in 1935 — the first known photo of the couple — on holiday in the Austrian mountain resort Kitzbuhel. The letters “W.E.” are stamped in gold at the top of the black leather frame.
The abdication of Edward to marry a divorcee and a commoner created a sensation worldwide.
After Edward stepped down after 325 days as king — the only British monarch to give up his throne voluntarily — the pair became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and spent the rest of their lives based in France.
Edward died in 1972 and Simpson in 1986.
The couple left the items to their head butler and his Italian wife. The butler's nephew put them up for sale.
“We've had a lot of international interest, mainly from American collectors and a lot of English collectors, too,” said Ms. Sales.
Other correspondence in the auction included letters from Simpson's correspondence with her first two husbands, Earl Spencer and Ernest Simpson and letters from Elsa Maxwell, Eleanor Roosevelt, Somerset Maugham to Wallis Simpson. Two thank-you letters from Winston Churchill to Edward fetched about $11,350. Fourteen letters from Ernest Simpson to Wallis went for $13,400.
Also put up for auction were a pendant given as a christening present to Edward by his grandmother Queen Victoria; a matching set of playing cards marked with the names “Edward” and “Wallis;” and a collection of Edward's sports jackets and Simpson's evening dresses.
