''The Woman He Loved'' is a 1988 British HTV

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

romantic drama film for ITV about the abdication of Edward VIII. Directed by

Charles Jarrott Charles Jarrott (16 June 1927 – 4 March 2011) was a British film and television director. He was best known for costume dramas he directed for producer Hal B. Wallis, among them '' Anne of the Thousand Days'', which earned him a Golden Glob ...

, it stars Anthony Andrews,

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...

and

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...

was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film or Best Actress – Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television is a Golden Globe Award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It is gi ...

at the

46th Golden Globe Awards The 46th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1988, were held on January 28, 1989 at the Beverly Hilton. The nominations were announced on January 4, 1989. Winners and nominees Film The followi ...

and

Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary stage work, she received five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play. Harris debuted on Broadway in 1945, against the wish ...

was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outs ...

. Costume designer Robin Fraser-Paye was also nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special. It was partly shot at

Shirenewton Hall Shirenewton Hall, originally Shirenewton Court, is a country house and estate adjoining the village of Shirenewton, Monmouthshire, Wales, about west of Chepstow. The estate is located on a hillside, and commands views across the "Golden Valley ...

in Monmouthshire. This was

's final acting role, before her death in 2020.

Cast

* Anthony Andrews as

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

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 ...

as Aunt Bessie Merryman *

Lucy Gutteridge Lucy Kérimée Gutteridge (born 28 November 1956) is an English retired actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt in the television miniseries '' Little Gloria... Happy at Last'' (1982), for which she received a Go ...

Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness ( Morgan, 23 August 1904 – 29 January 1970), was a mistress of King Edward VIII while he was Prince of Wales. She was supplanted in his affections by Wallis Simpson, for whose sake Edward abdicated and bec ...

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 ...

Ernest Simpson Ernest Aldrich Simpson (6 May 1897 – 30 November 1958) was an American-born British shipbroker, best known as the second husband of Wallis Simpson, later wife of the former King Edward VIII. Simpson served as an officer in the Coldstream Gu ...

as Alice Warfield (Mrs Simpson's mother) *

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Sieg ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

Phyllis Calvert Phyllis Hannah Murray-Hill (née Bickle; 18 February 1915 – 8 October 2002), known professionally as Phyllis Calvert, was an English film, stage and television actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1 ...

as Queen Mary *

Evelyn Laye Evelyn Laye (née Elsie Evelyn Lay; 10 July 1900 – 17 February 1996) was an English actress who was active on the London light opera stage, and later in New York and Hollywood. Her first husband, actor Sonnie Hale, left her for Jessie Ma ...

Maud Cunard Maud Alice Burke (3August 187210July 1948), later Lady Cunard, known as Emerald, was an American-born, London-based society hostess. She had long relationships with the novelist George Moore and the conductor Thomas Beecham, and was the muse o ...

David Waller David Waller (27 November 1920 – 23 January 1997) was an English actor best known for his role as Inspector Jowett in the British television series ''Cribb''. He also appeared as Stanley Baldwin in ITV's ''Edward & Mrs Simpson'' (1978), and in ...

as Stanley Baldwin - He also appeared as Baldwin in ITV's ''

Edward & 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). * Rupert Frazer as Peregrine Francis Adelbert Cust, 6th Baron Brownlow (Equerry to the Prince of Wales) *

Charlotte Mitchell Charlotte Mitchell (born Edna Winifred Mitchell; 23 July 1926 – 2 May 2012) was an English actress and poet. Biography In the 1950s she provided lyrics, sketches, and occasionally acted in revues on London's West End. She was especiall ...

as Lady Chatfield *

Margaretta Scott Margaretta Mary Winifred ScottBrian McFarlane, "Scott, Margaretta Mary Winifred (1912–2005)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Jan 201available online Retrieved 30 August 2020. (13 February 1912 – 15 Apri ...

as Lady Wigram * Richard Wilson as

Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett, (6 September 1883 – 10 February 1962) was a British barrister, judge, politician and preacher who served as the alternate British judge during the Nuremberg Trials. Birkett received his education ...

References

External links

* 1988 films 1988 television films 1988 romantic drama films Cultural depictions of the Edward VIII abdication crisis British romantic drama films Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Harlech Television (HTV) English-language television shows Cultural depictions of Stanley Baldwin Cultural depictions of Winston Churchill Films directed by Charles Jarrott 1980s British films British drama television films {{UK-tv-film-stub