Ernest Aldrich Simpson (6 May 1897 – 30 November 1958) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
-born
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
shipbroker
Shipbroking is a financial service, which forms part of the global shipping industry. Shipbrokers are specialist intermediaries/negotiators (i.e. brokers) between shipowners and charterers who use ships to transport cargo, or between buyers an ...
, best known as the second husband of
Wallis Simpson
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a ...
, later wife of the former King
Edward VIII.
Simpson served as an
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
in the
Coldstream Guards
The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...
before becoming a
shipbroker
Shipbroking is a financial service, which forms part of the global shipping industry. Shipbrokers are specialist intermediaries/negotiators (i.e. brokers) between shipowners and charterers who use ships to transport cargo, or between buyers an ...
in the family firm of
SSY.
Background
Born in New York City, Simpson was educated at
The Hill School
The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...
before attending
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
. Simpson was commissioned in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, serving as a
captain in the
Coldstream Guards
The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. His father, Ernest Louis Simpson, a
British citizen
British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...
of
Jewish background whose original surname was Solomon, co-founded the global
shipbroking
Shipbroking is a financial service, which forms part of the global shipping industry. Shipbrokers are specialist intermediaries/negotiators (i.e. brokers) between shipowners and charterers who use ships to transport cargo, or between buyers a ...
firm
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...
Simpson, Spence & Young, trading since 1880.
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
Peter Kerr Kerr-Smiley (22 February 1879 – 23 June 1943) was a Northern Irish Member of Parliament.
Family background and early life
He was born at Larne as Peter Kerr Smiley, the second son of Sir Hugh Smiley, 1st Baronet. He was educated a ...
MP.
Simpson became a
British subject during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, shortly after graduating from
Harvard and renouncing his
United States citizen
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
ship.
[
"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
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''.
First marriage
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
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
alumnus, whom she married in May 1916 and divorced in April 1920. Born Dorothea Webb Parsons, she was a daughter of Arthur Webb Parsons, 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
Murray may refer to:
Businesses
* Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles
* Murrays, an Australian bus company
* Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust
* D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...
(died 1988, brother of architect James Rossant
James Stephan Rossant (August 17, 1928 – December 15, 2009) was an American architect, artist, and professor of architecture.
A long-time Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, he is best known for his master plan of ...
) and, secondly on 1 April 1949, New York advertising executive Edmund Hope Driggs III. Audrey Simpson Driggs died at Calgary, Canada on 2 November 2013.
Simpson also had a stepdaughter by this marriage, Cynthia Josephine Dechert (born 1916).
Second marriage
Simpson's second wife was Wallis Warfield Spencer (1896–1986), the Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania
Blue Ridge Summit is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States, southwest of Gettysburg in the central part of the state, adjoining Pennsylvania's southern border with Maryland. It is ...
-born former wife of Earl Winfield Spencer Jr.
Earl Winfield Spencer Jr. (September 20, 1888 – May 29, 1950) was a pioneering U.S. Navy pilot who served as the first commanding officer of Naval Air Station San Diego. He was the first husband of Wallis Simpson, who later married Prince Edwa ...
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
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' noted, the publicity over his second wife's remarriage to the Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his abdication on 11 December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, ...
and her subsequent fame thrust him into the role of "the forgotten man".["Ernest Simpson Died in London", ''The New York Times'', 30 November 1958] The two remained friends, however, the newspaper noted, with the now Duchess of Windsor
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a ...
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.
Third marriage
His third wife was Mary Raffray (''née'' Mary Huntemuller Kirk, 1896–1941), a daughter of Henry Child Kirk, proprietor of the Kirk Silversmith Co. of Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Maryland and his wife, the former Edith Huntemuller, 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
Bray, occasionally Bray on Thames, is a large suburban village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It sits on the banks of the River Thames, to the southeast of Maidenhead of which it is a suburb. The village is mentioned in th ...
, in order to give his wife evidence of adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
, so that she could bring divorce proceedings against him. Ernest Simpson and Mary Raffray were married in the Diamond Jubilee ballroom of the Brooklawn Country Club
Brooklawn Country Club is a private country club in Fairfield, Connecticut. Founded in 1895, Brooklawn became one of the earliest members of the United States Golf Association (USGA) when it was admitted on January 22, 1896. Sited on the property's ...
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
Achille Marie Jacques Raffray (17 October 1844 – 25 September 1923) was a French diplomat, traveller, zoologist and entomologist.
He wrote:
(Partial list)
- Entomology:
* (1890) Étude sur le Psélaphides. V. Tableaux synoptiques. Notes et s ...
), 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
The Royal Military Chapel, commonly known as the Guards' Chapel, is a British Army place of worship that serves as the religious home of the Household Division at the Wellington Barracks in Westminster, Greater London. Completed in 1838 in the sty ...
, London. In June 1940, the Simpsons sent their infant son to the United States to escape the War
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
, in particular the Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
. 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. Ernest changed his name to Aharon Solomons in 1958 before being commissioned as an officer in the Israeli Army.
Fourth marriage
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.
Death
Simpson died suffering from throat cancer, on 30 November 1958 in London, aged 61.
In popular culture
He was played by Charles Keating
Charles Humphrey Keating Jr. (December 4, 1923 – March 31, 2014) was an American sportsman, lawyer, real estate developer, banker, financier, conservative activist, and convicted felon best known for his role in the savings and loan sca ...
in ''Edward and Mrs Simpson
''Edward & Mrs. Simpson'' is a seven-part British television series that dramatises the events leading to the 1936 abdication of King Edward VIII, who gave up his throne to marry the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson.
The series, made by T ...
'' (1978).
He was played by Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (born 5 February 1948)Born January–March 1948, according to the ''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is an English actor of film, television, and stage. He has rece ...
in ''The Woman He Loved
''The Woman He Loved'' is a 1988 British ITV Wales & West, HTV television film, made-for-television romance film, romantic drama film for ITV (TV channel), ITV about the abdication of Edward VIII. Directed by Charles Jarrott, it stars Anthony An ...
'' (1988).
He was played by Anthony Smee
Anthony Smee (22 November 1949), known professionally as Tony Smee, is an English theatre producer, writer, and actor who has worked in radio, theatre, television, and film since 1972.
Background
Education
Smee trained at the Rose Bruford Coll ...
in '' Bertie and Elizabeth'' (2002).
He was played by David Westhead
David William Logan Westhead (born 1 June 1963) is an English actor.
Early life
Westhead was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire. He studied drama at Bristol University before going on to RADA, from where he graduated in 1987, after which he joine ...
in ''Wallis & Edward
''Wallis & Edward'' (in Canada also known as ''Her Royal Affair'') is a 2005 British television film, scripted by Sarah Williams, dramatising the events of the Edward VIII abdication crisis. It was billed as the first scripted account of the ro ...
'' (2005).
He was portrayed by David Harbour
David Kenneth Harbour (born April 10, 1975) is an American actor. He has played supporting roles in films such as '' Brokeback Mountain'' (2005), '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008), '' State of Play'' (2009), '' The Green Hornet'' (2011), ''End o ...
in ''W.E.
''W.E.'' (stylised ''W./E.'') is a 2011 historical romantic drama film written and directed by Madonna and starring Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, Oscar Isaac, Richard Coyle, and James D'Arcy. The screenplay was co-written by Alek Keshishia ...
'', a 2011 romantic drama film about the Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
and Duchess of Windsor
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a ...
's courtship; the movie was co-written and directed by Madonna.
Notes and references
;Notes
;References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Ernest Aldrich
1890s births
1958 deaths
American emigrants to England
English people of German-Jewish descent
The Hill School alumni
Harvard University alumni
Coldstream Guards officers
British Army personnel of World War I
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Businesspeople from New York City
Shipbroking companies
Abdication of Edward VIII
Deaths from esophageal cancer
Deaths from cancer in England