#Freda Dudley Ward

[george-the-good]

My brother took me to supper with some R.A.F. friends where we sang & danced & told dirty stories in their mess till 2:30. . . this last week has been a sort of course for ‘how to get old quickly’ & my brother & I needed a cheery evening badly!!

The Prince of Wales, letter to Freda Dudley Ward, December 8, 1918

(The Prince of Wales and his brother, Prince Albert, were in Lille, France, at the time.)

[spiritundaunted]

“I see that old Bertie has become 'Duke of York' though I'll never get used to it; personally I think he's an ass to accept the title as he's universally known as P.A., which is what he was in the war & who cares a —-- about 'The D. of Y.? However that's his own look-out, though I personally loathe addressing him D. of Y. as I've just done in a cable!!”

Edward, Prince of Wales in a letter to Freda Dudley Ward on 6 June 1920

Mean!!!!!

[kingedwardviii]

was edward bipolar??

I am not a psychiatrist and thus not qualified to diagnose people, but my laywoman's opinion is probably.

He definitely suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts, particularly in his younger years.

He wrote about these feelings at length in his diary and in letters to his girlfriend Freda Dudley Ward and equerry Godfrey Thomas. Just to give a small sampling...

In early 1917 he wrote in his diary:

"I feel quite ready to commit suicide and would if I didn't think it unfair on Papa." (Source: King Edward VIII by Philip Ziegler p. 66)

In May of 1919 he wrote to Freda:

"I just can't cheer up somehow darling, everything & still more the future does look so hopelessly black & I'm so hopelessly despondent about it all..." (Source: Letters from a Prince by Rupert Godfrey p. 147)

According to Dickie Mountbatten, on a long journey by shit to Australia David would "shut himself in his cabin for days, alone, face drawn, eyes brooding." (Source: King Edward VIII by Philip Ziegler p, 143)

You have to read between the lines more to deduce if he experienced periods of mania because he wasn't venting to people about that as he did with his depression, but there are definitely accounts suggesting manic behavior. During certain time periods he seemed to have an excessive amount of energy, including during his 1924 tour of the United States where he had an extremely packed schedule of engagements but still made time to stay up dancing and partying every night. There's also plenty of evidence he was prone to acting impulsively, and that he would start various projects with great enthusiasm only to later abandon them.

And while I don't think this speaks to any particular diagnosis it's also worth mentioning that most of the courtiers surrounding him during the abdication crisis believed he was "mad." Clive Wigram, a private secretary, said: "I did not think the King was normal, and this view was shared by my colleagues at Buckingham Palace. He might any day develop into a George III, and it was imperative to pass the Regency Bill as soon as possible, so that if necessary he could be certified." (Source: King Edward VIII by Philip Ziegler p. 239) Most of the other statements I've read from courtiers were equally vague as to what specifically convinced them, so it's hard to say to what extent it was due to David's genuine mental illness and to what extent it was just that they seemed to believe no sane man would want to marry Wallis Simpson.

Thanks for asking!

[eolewyn1010]

Downton Abbey Fashion 43 - festive occasions in 1922

We have a few more special occasions this season that require some extra fashion – very extra in the case of Rose’s debut in society, but I’ll save that for last. Except for the debutante presentation, none of this is really festive, per se, but it is this a little fancier than usual day wear level. And I have an established naming scheme to my posts that I’m too lazy to change at this point.

I’m trying to remember for what Cora wore that initially. I think it is her fancy London afternoon outfit for receiving her mother and the whole shebang? She does keep it into season 5 though. It’s one of those shapeless rectangle numbers, but the ensemble altogether is quite nice. The shirt is just a thing that’s there, but the skirt has a delicate lilac print or embroidery that’s quite charming. The coat matches in color and thankfully gives the outfit some drapery to work with. But, you know, I really don’t like that the hats rolled back on the Edwardian decoration style so much. Just a ribbon? When you could have flowers and feathers and all the stuff?

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Heh, okay, Mary has some plumage on her hat for a visit to the gallery. I don’t love these semi-translucent hats with the brims so deep I’m wondering how they can even still see a thing from underneath, but there’s no arguing with design because it’s the only point of interest in what is a pretty plain outfit. This dress is largely chiffon in a very nice color; why doesn’t it do any cool draping on the hips or sleeves? Note also that she’s the only one wearing sleeves among the three ladies we’re looking at for this occasion.

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Freda Dudley Ward is also at the same gallery exhibition, and she stole one of Edith’s dresses. Okay, no, Edith never wore this, but it’s her color. Like Mary’s dress, this is kept quite simple; unlike Mary’s, it at least has a little beading on the armscyes and neckline. She’s using the plain dress as a backdrop for a somewhat playful necklace design, whereas Mary who goes with more classical pearls. Also, Freda’s hat has a lace brim which looks rather nice.

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Rose’s dress for the occasion is cream and finally giving me something to look at. It’s all tone-in-tone, but I rather enjoy the flower motif piping. Different than the previous two dresses that just go down all the way unbroken, this one has a visible drop waist seam, and an honest-to-god collar. Such novelty! A collar that carries over the piping; I approve. And the hat looks to be pieced together of something like wavy scale elements? It’s not boring, I’ll say that much. It also has a bundle of small pink flowers, which is adorable.

For a date, Rose puts on that particular shade of pink again that I so love to see on her (until it’s basically all she wears). Pretty simple dress; the upper layer seems to be chiffon, but because she’s Rose, she has some white floral decoration on it, beading this time that shapes flowers and these little spiral meanders. A simpler hat for a change, but I guess considering who her date is, she is calling enough attention as is.

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And now we’re on Rose’s debut! I’m grateful it’s Cora who brings her out; can you imagine how Susan would have looked in Fancy™ with their constant dressing her down? Anyway, the first we see of their presentation outfits are these capes matching the colors of their dresses, dusty purple velvet for Cora and white velvet for Rose, albeit with a tad less volume, a cleaner, smoother collar, and a vertical line structure. Also, it seems that, though she has to forgo the ruffle game Cora’s collar has, she gets a bit of fur instead. I like Rose’s cape better in the overall look, but Cora does have a pretty brooch going for her.

Once in the palace, Cora sticks with the dusty Crawley purple, and the upper part of her dress is just a mass of glittering rhinestones on beige, plus a little favorite of mine – lil’ tassels on the sleeves. I mean, the rest of the dress is just plain fabric and a drop-waistband (which I guess is velvet) and a bit of a train, so it’s not like the outfit is cluttered. But I am wondering why Cora also has to wear a veil and ostrich feathers; I thought this was the code for the debutantes. Also, diamond tiara. She can afford one.

Let’s look at Rose’s outfit for the occasion. And her friend Madeleine’s, for good measure. Note that Madeleine wears a white dress of a similar making as Rose’s, but it’s not decorated the same (love the beading down the side of Madeleine’s dress though). So there is a dress code, but not a uniform. Said dress code includes big-ass ostrich feathers and a veil because, virginial bridal symbolism? And we need to talk about the skirt shape. It’s so weird to look at the drop waist combined with a hoop skirt. Reminds me of when regency style did something similar with the leftover paniers, just nonsensically high on the waist instead of low. This isn’t quite as bad, but I’ll admit it looks unbalanced to me and as though tradition had outlived its use. Ah well. I love the silver embroidery on Rose’s dress, and the delicate double headband is nice. I’m so mad that Sybil’s debut season was entirely offscreen; I would have loved to compare this with an Edwardian debutante dress.

[ladygoehnio]

Was David a funny guy?

I always thought that Bertie was more funnier👁👄👁

Yas bertie is of course the funnier and friendlier! They had a good time together during childhood, but 🎶as time goes by🎶 they gradually parted ways, david often wrote in his diary how he and his brothers had fun and entertained their dear grandmama alix.

When dickie accompanied David on a royal tour in 1920, he soon realised that his cousin was not as happy as he thought, "under the delightful smile which charmed people everywhere, and despite all the fun that we managed to have, he was a lonely and sad person, always liable to deep depressions... How I wish he wasn't The Prince of Wales and then it would be so much easier to see lots and lots of him! He is such a marvellous person and I suppose the best friend I have ever had."

(undoubtedly he suffered from severe depression for life and often fell into hysterics, dickie also described how the fits would come upon him like a flash and "he'd shut himself in his cabin for days, alone, face drawn, eyes brooding". so that's why he needed a motherlike partner so much)

Tho he was generally seen as always had been melancholy and moody (but frivolous), he still possesses a sarcastic we could call it dry sense of humor... it was absolutely from his parents. when 6-years-old david asked george how did henry come into this world, george said the baby had flown in at the window during the night, and when david asked where his wings were george said they had been cut off😅😂 during a visit to Australia in 1920 when the train suddenly derailed, david was said "to have nonchalantly emerged from the wreckage holding official papers in one hand and a cocktail shaker in the other", it remains me of some britcoms...🙈

(When he fell in love with Mrs Freda Dudley Ward, he seemed to be trying to amuse freda with swear words, puerile jokes and rhymes, luckily she doesn't fond of them very much🤣omg how could she stand these)

[defilededandies]

Freda Dudley Ward, hubby 9.7.1913

[dressedwonderfully]

Janet Montgomery as Freda Dudley Ward in Downton Abbey (2010)

[theroyalhistory]

Freda Dudley Ward (later Marquesa de Casa Maury), paramour of the Prince of Wales (King Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor), 1916

[anneboleyns]

[aryburn-trains]

The Prince of Wales with Freda Dudley Ward - opening Union Station. (Toronto, Canada). 6 August 1927

[mysterious-secret-garden]

Federico Beltran Masses - Mrs Freda Dudley Ward, later Marquesa de Casa Maury, 1921.

[kingedwardviii]

Why do you think George V didn't force David to marry someone "appropriate"? I know by the end he seemed to have hoped David would never marry and have heirs. But surely there would've been a time? Also how do you think David would've handled that?

Thanks for reaching out! This is a very interesting question.

The fundamental issue was that by the time David came along the era of forced marriage among royalty had mostly died out. By the late Victorian era even 'arranged' marriages only took place after the two involved parties had met and both consented to be married. Even if George V had had the desire and ability to force David into a marriage, he would've struggled to find a girl who's family would go along with it; that sort of thing just wasn't done anymore.

George V did pursue introducing David to suitable princesses starting around 1911, when David was seventeen. He was introduced to Princess Victoria Louise, daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm, and Princess Caroline Matilda of Schleswig-Holstein, the latter of which David expressed some interest in. But the plan was never for him to get married as a teenager, and by the time he was old enough for firm plans to be made World War I had started. There were also widespread rumors of a possible marriage with Grand Duchess Olga of Russia; no serious negotiations were ever made but had the war never happened it's likely he would've been reintroduced to the Romanov children at some point after 1914 to see if there was any attraction there. The one time he did meet the Romanovs, in 1909, they were all two young to see each other in a romantic light but by some accounts he got along much better with Olga's younger sister Tatiana. I actually think personality wise Tatiana would have been a pretty good fit for him, as good of a fit as any suitable royal bride probably could've been.

But by the end of World War I, pretty much all of the potential brides who had been in consideration had lost their titles, lost their lives (in the case of the poor Romanov girls), or married men closer to home. There were still some Protestant monarchies that had marriageable princesses, but the list had gotten much, much shorter. George V and Queen Mary were aware of this, and weren't entirely sure themselves what the best course of action would be in regards to David. So they didn't really push the issue and instead focused on sending David on a series of royal tours that wouldn't have left him with much time to find a wife (much less plan a royal wedding) anyway.

Prior to the war, David was still very immature and sheltered and in many ways looked to his parents for guidance. It's very likely that he would've been open to a royal marriage at that stage in his life. But by the time the war ended, David had become more independent from the rest of his family. During the war he had expressed an interest in marrying Rosemary Leveson-Gower, who was deemed unsuitable despite her aristocratic background because of a rumored history of mental illness in her family and because one of her aunts was a socialist who had had an affair with Edward VII and then attempted to blackmail the royal family to raise money for leftist causes. David himself would later insist he never seriously contemplated marrying anyone prior to Wallis, but he was probably at least on the verge of seriously contemplating it with Rosemary before his parents shut him down and after that point he got it into his head that anyone he really wanted would probably be unsuitable. Then, near the end of the war, he fell in love with Freda Dudley Ward who was legally married to someone else and David had no desire to marry anyone else while he still had feelings for her.

As time went on, George did become more concerned by David's unmarried status, but he had very little leverage to try and make anything happen. In similar cases throughout history, money had been used as an incentive to coerce wayward royal sons into making a suitable marriage. But thanks to his income from the Duchy of Cornwall, David wasn't financially dependent on his parents. He had been given his own household as a bachelor after the war, unlike his younger brothers, so that wasn't an incentive that could be offered either. Because George lacked any real carrot or stick he could use to manipulate David into marriage, when he lectured him it was usually focused around his disapproval of the women David was dating rather than any sort of ultimatum about who he should settle down with. And because David had so little interest in pursuing a suitable marriage anyway, he never even asked what exactly the rules were in terms of who was suitable. David spent much of his life under the impression that only a royal princess would be acceptable because that probably had been the case prior to the war decimating the royal marriage market. Even after David's siblings Mary and Bertie married into the aristocracy, David wasn't sure that would be permissible for him as heir to the throne. It wasn't until 1932, when David was thirty-eight that his father even told him it might be possible for him to marry a non-royal if she was a "well-born English girl." The fact that it took so long for that conversation to happen to me indicates that neither David nor George were pressing very hard on the marriage issue.

As to how David would've reacted if he had somehow been coerced into a royal marriage, that's hard to judge. He didn't think his parents or grandparents had particularly happy marriages which probably played a role in his aversion to seeking out something similar for himself. As much as he adored his grandfather Edward VII, he didn't like how his grandfather's affairs impacted his grandmother or the family as a whole. I think his intention was always to only marry if it was someone he was in love with and could be faithful to. Which makes me wonder, if he'd been coerced into a royal marriage at a young age with someone he liked but perhaps wasn't completely in love with, would he have been able to remain faithful? Would he have been like his grandfather? Or would he have managed to make the best of it, as some other royals did, and eventually fallen in love with his wife? Would Wallis Simpson have still entered the picture at some point? There's really no way of knowing. I think it would all come down to the personality of the wife in question, whether they had any common interests, and how she treated David.

Thanks for asking and have a nice day!

[corallapis]

I don't know whether you're still fascinated by Prince George, the Duke of Kent anymore, but you cannot imagine how relieved I was to find your blog and discover that I wasn't the only person who had P.G. on my mind. Bit of a mess as a person, but very interesting

i'd like to direct you to the diary entry chips channon wrote on the 6th september 1942:

A lovely sunny morning. I woke refreshed, replenished with energy. I have been thinking about the poor Duke of Kent: his death is a loss to me and to the country. Nobody knew him better than I of recent years — particularly the past six or seven . . . Fundamentally frivolous, he was fitful, fretful, both moody and unreliable in small matters. Yet his painstaking kindness was immense and equalled, even surpassed, by his surface treachery. For he could be very treacherous: no man was ever more disloyal in conversation, and no man was a better friend in action, or at heart (this curious and often disturbing contradiction in his complex character was the reverse of the habits of the Prince of Wales who always ferociously resented conventional condemnation, or even gossip, about his friends yet was never known to do anything for anyone except the reigning favourite, whether it was Freda Dudley Ward, Audrey Field, Fruity Metcalfe, or Wallis Simpson). But it was this puzzling trait to the Duke of Kent's Franco-Semitic make-up which first stopped people from loving him wholeheartedly, for as one began to be fond of him, he would do, or say, or commit some small little act that chilled one, and again, just as one began to mistrust or be indifferent to him, he would be so thoughtful, affectionate and disarming that one would genuinely like him more . . . unstable, sensitive, volatile he had beauty, wit and worldly wisdom as well as considerable culture. He read, collected and was a musician, but only people were of real importance to him. He was good and gracious with people, and avidly interested in their morals, incomes, food and vices. (He happened to sit next to old Mr Bland, the Guinnesses' trustee, at a banquet in Swansea and spent an hour trying to find out my exact income.)

Fair, with the extravagantly youthful figure and looks common to the male members of the royal family, he always looked and seemed ten years younger than he was. The Duchess and he must have been the most beautiful and dazzling couple in the world! It was only recently that deep lines began to show under his prominent turquoise eyes. And his tics nerveaux had grown: his exquisite hands knitted incessantly as he talked quickly and irritably. He was plagued by boredoms. His walk was an impressive shuffle. Being an ardent sun-worshipper, his small and trim figure was always bronzed and bleached. Naked he was magnificently gold and copper. And his head — his fair, untidy hair in the rain! — was aristocratic, even fin-de-race . . . He liked jewels, bibelots, snuffboxes, expensive china, Georgian furniture, pictures and les élégances. But more than the actual objets de vertu he collected, he liked buying, selling and exchanging them. His life was a long tussle with antiquaries; for he was a dealer at heart. He was a gourmet, even a connoisseur of food, and always personally supervised every domestic detail of his establishments. Alone of the royal family he had social sense and a flair for society and entertaining. His parties were always enjoyable and usually brilliant . . . In his off-time he would garden relentlessly, or he curled up for hours in the sun! Extremely soigné he was nonetheless unsuccessfully dressed.

Of course he had a secret of which he rarely talked and was ashamed. I was long aware of it. Later his conscience, too, tormented him about his eldest brother, whom he treated very shabbily, indeed. To lull his conscience he ended by hating the Duke of Windsor who was au fond the only person he cared for deeply. (He was even jealous of my spasmodic intimacy with Edward VIII who occasionally telephoned to me.) In his cups the Duke talked of little else, and it was a mixture of abuse and love and Schadenfreude. Latterly he was also extremely unhappy and haunted by the tragic position of Prince Paul, his brother-in-law. Except for Queen Mary, who admired him, and to whom he was devoted, the Duke had no feelings for his other relatives. From her he inherited his love of collecting, his artistic bent and his methodical habits of correspondence. He liked writing letters, which he always answered punctually, in his beautiful handwriting. He actively disliked the King, and more particularly the Queen. He said that they were little more than civic functionaries now and was sarcastic about her to anyone who would listen, calling her 'grinning Liz'. Although since the abdication crisis they were rather more intimate, he secretly resented her non-royal origin. Once he said to me, 'Do you know what Bertie does with his money? Why, he invests it!', and his high voice trembled with scorn. The Gloucesters, he thought, hopeless bores, and his sister, the Princess Royal, a somewhat pathetic turn. The more remote relatives were a constant target for his gibes and eighteenth-century malice . . . . He was flirtatious in manner and in his conversation which was always good and stimulating. He could never hide his deep and infinite desire to please and to carp. Probably he felt frustrated and cramped in his position. He hated Alec Hardinge, whom he accused of trying to poison the King against him. He said that he was not given sufficient scope for his latent and many gifts . . . He proposed himself recently to lunch with old and dying Mrs Greville (I was present). Next day he attacked her soundly in my hearing, and did not add that he had sent her a pair of white satin cushions on that very morning, which I knew to be a fact. He had many weaknesses and peculiarities: he drank to excess during the long pre-dinner interval, usually gin and fruit mixtures; at dinner and afterwards he drank nothing at all. He gave a somewhat effeminate impression by his furious knitting, his too many bracelets and rings. He was wildly extravagant in his purchases, lavish with his presents, but shrewd with finance generally. Often he exchanged or sold or passed on presents that had been given to him. Sometimes he would select his Xmas presents and send me the bill afterwards: it was the safest course.

Devoted to his attractive children, particularly to little Alexandra, to his dogs, he was often embarrassingly querulous — less so, of late — with the Duchess who idolised him. His brain was quicker, better-informed and more instinctive than hers. Somewhat out of focus for this prosaic age, he was nevertheless extremely popular and had a Perrault quality for the people at large which is lacking in other members of his family. The Duke's sad and dramatic death is the end of an epoch: London and life will be more colourless and less gay without him, that elaborate, eager, excited elf. And I shall miss his gossip, his maniacal laugh, his rich presents, his haunting personality, coral and lapis.

[msclaritea]

The Meghan Markle/Wallis Simpson Connection

Despite my best efforts, I can't seem to leave history alone. It's become a bit of a habit to look up the people I watch in true stories. Yesterday, it was The King's Speech starring Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth as King George VI. I realized I was watching the same approximate time period as on Downton Abbey and was trying to keep all of the royals straight. I put on the episode of Downton that's actually a bit of a favorite, where a private letter between Prince Edward and a lover goes missing and the Granthams engage in a little mischief to get it back. Even after having seen this episode several times, I suddenly decided to learn more about King Edward's 'intimate friend', Freda Dudley Ward, and...

...Guess who this woman is?

"Born Winifred May Birkin, she was the second child and eldest of three daughters of British Colonel Charles Wilfred Birkin (fourth son of a lace embroidery and tableware magnate of Nottingham, Sir Thomas Birkin, 1st Baronet),[1] and his American wife, Claire Lloyd Howe."

Winifred Dudley Ward was the granddaughter to Sir Thomas Birkin...ancestor to Andrew and David Birkin!

That's when I recalled the picture above I'd recently found online. It seems to depict Markle dressing like Wallis Simpson, the woman that Edward, Duke of Windsor dropped Dudley Ward for, after 16 years together. M has copied others like Kate and even Angelina Jolie, so dressing as a woman who was famous for coming between a past royal and his family was indeed an odd choice...until you look closer at Simpson and her life with Edward.

Wallis was Married twice, rumored to have had a secret pregnancy while in China but aborted the child I'm a botched operation that rendered her unable to have anymore. M is now known to have not just been married once but twice.

There were rumors that Elizabeth I was secretly in love with Edward first and chose Albert as consolation. Articles in recent years seemed to hint that Kate had a thing for Harry.

Edward was assigned to the Bahamas after abdicating.

It's odd that there were so many suggestions that Harry go to the Bahamas. Why?

Oh..and there have been persistent rumors Wallis Simpson was Intersex. This article details that theory and also that Prince Edward was Autistic.

When is a coincidence not a coincidence? If it's extremely well-planned. The public story widely known for 100 years is that Wallis Simpson lured Edward away from the throne, even as he frequently expressed not wanting to rule. But according to accounts in the above article, it was Edward who was the persistent one in the relationship.

There are other persistent similarities, such as Wallis being hounded by press and getting death threats. There also continues to be confusion on just HOW sympathetic Edward was to Nazi Germany but his role as traitor has been making a sudden resurgence, starting with the Netflix series The Crown. But if the Prince indeed was on the spectrum, not only is his deliberate involvement not clear, it IS quite possible his exile had more to do with the BRF not trusting him to be discreet on national affairs. He had infrequently revealed such things as military secrets in past love letters to lovers. In short, Edward was not manageable.

[womblegrinch]

Sir John Lavery (1856-1941) - A lady in black and green: Mrs Freda Dudley Ward

Oil on canvas. Painted in 1920. 36 x 28 inches, 91.4 x 71.1 cm.

Part of a selling exhibition at Christie’s, London, June 2021.

Born Winifred May Birkin in 1894, the daughter of Colonel Charles Wilfrid Birkin, in 1913 she married William Dudley Ward, Liberal MP for Southampton. In February 1918 she began a liaison with Edward, Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII.

As an aside, did Harry & Meghan come up with the name of their latest sprog after reading Edward VIII’s Wikipedia page?

[royalpain16]

Fort Belvedere

Windsor Great Park, Surry, England

Will the Cambridges move to Fort Belvedere to be closer to the Queen?

The fort was occupied by numerous members of the British royal family and associated personages from 1750 to 1976. From 1929 Fort Belvedere was the home of Edward, Prince of Wales, who greatly renovated the house and grounds, and it was the site of Edward's abdication as King in 1936. The property remains part of the Crown Estate, and is home to private tenants. It is not open to the public.

Fort Belvedere was built 1750–1755, by Henry Flitcroft, for Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765), younger son of King George II and Queen Caroline, and was featured in an engravings in 1753 and 1754, where it was described as the "New building on Shrubb's Hill".

It was, at first, merely a folly. It was used as a summer-house, and seven counties could be seen, as now, from the top of the flagstaff tower. The triangular turreted structure was set amidst a dense plantation of trees and overlooked Virginia Water, a man-made body of water constructed by Thomas and Paul Sandby at the behest of the Duke.

Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, who was responsible, under King George IV, for the rebuilding of Windsor Castle, enlarged the house in 1828 at a proposed cost of £4000. Additions included an octagonal dining room in the north-east side, in which the King regularly had dinner. A three-storey annex was added for the accommodation of the Bombardier, with a new wall linking a heightened turret to which a large flagpole was added. The addition of further Gothic details enhanced the interior and exterior of the fort in 1829.The fort is built of brick with an applied wash that imitated the appearance of stone. Queen Victoria used Fort Belvedere as a tea house, and the fort was opened to the public in the 1860s

By 1910 the fort was occupied as a grace and favour residence by Sir Malcolm Murray, the Comptroller to the Duke of Connaught. The Duke was the owner of nearby Bagshot Park.[6] The fort was extended with a new service wing and entrance porch in 1911–12, which was subsequently demolished.[6] The dining and drawing rooms were also extended and new entrance lodges were built.[6] After the departure of Murray, the fort was described as suffering from "dust inches deep, splintered doors and sagging floors" in 1929.[6]

The ruins in the grounds can be seen from the shore of Virginia Water and are part of an ancient temple brought from Leptis Magna near Tripoli. The ruins are located between the south shore and Blacknest Road close to the junction with the A30 London Road and Wentworth Drive.

In 1929, the building became vacant, and was given to Prince Edward, Prince of Wales, by his father, King George V. The king had originally expressed surprise at Edward's request asking him "What could you possibly want that queer old place for? Those damn weekends I suppose", but then smiled and gave his permission. Edward's previous residence had been York House, part of St. James's Palace in London, which he had thought "more an office than a home."He would later write that he "created a home at the fort just as my father and grandfather had created one at Sandringham ... here I spent some of the happiest days of my life."

During Edward's occupancy, extensive renovation of the interior and grounds was carried out.

He built a swimming pool at the fort between 1931 and 1932, that replaced an old lily pond, and added a tennis court and developed stables in the grounds of the fort. Edward added modern conveniences at the fort, many of which were still rare in British homes, including bathrooms adjacent to nearly every room, a steam-room, showers, built-in cupboards and central heating. The prince initially renovated the house with the assistance of his then mistress Freda Dudley Ward. By 1959 only one room, the drawing room, had survived from Edward's renovations. The drawing room's painted walls were designed to resemble the pinewood panelling of a Scottish shooting lodge. The total cost of the redecoration including plumbing and repairs came to £21,000 (£1.49 million as of 2020).

The relationship between Edward and Wallis Simpson blossomed at Fort Belvedere; the couple spent their first weekend at the fort at the end of January 1932, and by early 1935 two rooms had been combined at the fort for her use.  Notable interior decorators to work on the fort under Edward included Sybil Colefax, Lady Mendl, Maison Jansen, and Herman Schrijver. Edward and Wallis entertained most weekends at the house; guests present included 'courtiers and diplomats, American men of affairs and English Society, garnished with a sprinkling of statesmen, soldiers and sailors'. Giles Gilbert Scott added a guest wing to the fort after Edward's accession as king in 1936. In 1936 Wallis moved permanently to the fort after receiving threatening anonymous letters, and left Fort Belvedere for the final time on 3 December 1936, a week before Edward's abdication.

Cabinet Office files released in 2013 revealed that during December 1936, the Home Secretary, Sir John Simon, had ordered the General Post Office to intercept Edward's telephone communications between the fort and the European continent.[16] Government officials were caused further alarm by Edward's habit of leaving his official "red boxes" unguarded around the fort.

Following opposition to the potential of Edward's marriage to Wallis Simpson from the British government and autonomous Dominions of the British Commonwealth, the fort became the final setting of Edward's abdication as king. He held several meetings with Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin at Fort Belvedere during the crisis, and on 10 December 1936 signed his written abdication notices at the fort, witnessed by his three younger brothers: Prince Albert, Duke of York (who succeeded Edward as George VI); Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester; and Prince George, Duke of Kent. The following day, it was given legislative form by special Act of Parliament: His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936.[18] Following his abdication at the fort, Edward described himself as feeling "like a swimmer surfacing from a great depth ... I left the room and stepped outside, inhaling the fresh morning air." He retained the visitor's book from the fort, and it would be used at all the subsequent homes he and Wallis Simpson would share.

Edward continued to pay for the gardeners, insurance and upkeep of the fort in the initial years following his abdication, because it was his wish that he would return there. His possessions from the fort were transferred to the Château de la Croë in the south of France (where he had named the sitting

room "The Belvedere") in the spring of 1938, but many were damaged in transit. Edward was informed in March 1940 that the fort was no longer in his possession as his warrant to occupy the grace and favour residence had expired on the termination of his reign and was not to be renewed by the present sovereign, his brother, now George VI.  Edward was greatly upset by this, writing in 1940 that "It is crystal clear that this proposed reserving of the Fort by the use of Crown Lands is nothing more than a piece of bluff, and the first excuse that the king has been able to find to deprive me of my right to occupy the place should I ever desire to do so ..." Edward believed that the incident was an example of his 'brother's failure to keep his word to me' after the fort had apparently been reserved for him if he should reside once more in England.

In 1977 the fort was used extensively for the filming of Edward & Mrs. Simpson, an ITV serialisation of Edward and Wallis's relationship.

Edward VIII signed his abdication  at Fort Belvedere, Windsor.

Fort Belvedere Grounds

The grounds of Fort Belvedere are about a hundred acres in size and include forests and a lake. The gardens of Fort Belvedere, Virginia Water and the nearby Clockcase are Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Edward said of the fort that "By the time I came upon it, it had become a pseudo-Gothic hodge-podge. A profusion of yew trees kept one side of the house in perpetual shadow, staining the wall with green acidulous mould. But the half-buried beauty of the place leaped to my eye."

Edward's subsequent passion for landscaping and horticulture briefly eclipsed golf and hunting in his affections, and he would often get his weekend guests, including his brother Bertie, the future George VI, to assist him in the landscaping of the fort. The garden designer Norah Lindsay also worked on the fort's garden at the behest of Edward, he would later describe how her "unusual use of roses in the herbaceous border" had justified her payment. Edward planted roses and irises along the walls of the battlement. Prime Minister Baldwin complimented Edward on the beauty of the garden; commenting on the "silvery radiance of the birch trees and the delicacy of the autumn tints" in late 1936. Edward also mowed hay on the fort's estate in the summer months and built a rock garden with cascading water pumped from Virginia Water.

The Westons have carried out substantial landscaping at the fort, and recruited Rosemary Verey to help with the design of the gardens at Fort Belvedere in the early 1980s. Verey's designs for the rose garden and the 120 ft long borders along the battlement remain, and have been reworked and maintained by garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith.