"She was brought in to match up with Bertie," claims author Robert Wainwright, who wrote Sheila: The Australian Beauty Who Bewitched British Society. They were joined after dinner by a further 150 guests, among them Sheila Loughborough, as the evening turned to dancing. Sheila was married, and even if she left Loughie, his parents would not approve of marriage to a divorcée. It was the same title George V had received from Queen Victoria in 1892, so it was a great honour for Bertie. Rosemary was philosophical, as by then she was in any case much more inclined towards William Ward, Viscount Ednam, later 3 rd Earl of Dudley, 1 , 2 whom she married on 8 Mar 1919. Dec 20, 2013 - Freda Dudley Ward - 1918 FREDA DUDLEY WARD - 'precious Fredie Wedie' - the married mistress of King Edward VIII/The Duke of Windsor for 5 years when he was Prince of Wales. That evening Bertie, who had travelled down from Cambridge, wrote his father a note in which he said he was proud to accept the title and hoped he would live up to it, adding ‘I can tell you I fulfilled your conditions to the letter and that nothing more will come of it.’. In the Netflix series The Royal House of Windsor, royal historians detail how in Bertie's early 20s he was heavily influenced by his elder brother. Sheila, who moved to London in 1914, was in an extremely unhappy marriage with Lord Loughborough nicknamed 'Loughie', who was an alcoholic. Queen Elizabeth and King George VI on their wedding day in 1923, The Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson on their wedding day in June 1937. While things in the establishment have now changed – as evidenced by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's marriage – at the time marrying someone who was divorced was not permitted by the Church of England. To order a copy for £12.49, with free p&p, contact the you bookshop on 0844 472 4157, you-bookshop.co.uk. Having only reigned for 11 months, the then 42-year-old gave up the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, a two-time divorcee. David sent us back in his car. Here Robert Wainwright tells the story of their little known but controversial romance and shares their previously unpublished letters, In march 1918, Sheila Loughborough and Prince Albert met at a dance at Stafford House (now Lancaster House), near St James’s Palace in London. After signing his acceptance letter, Bertie went off to dinner at the palatial home of Lord and Lady Farquhar with his mother Queen Mary, his sister Princess Mary and his younger brothers George and Henry. Portrait of Freda Dudley Ward. ‘He is going to make me Duke of York on his birthday provided that he hears nothing more about Sheila and me!!!’. Freda Dudley Dudley-Ward (born Birkin) was born on month day 1894, at birth place, to British Colonel Charles Wilfred Birkin and Claire Lloyd (Howe) Birkin DGStJ Birkin (born Howe). Claire was born in 1875, in New York. But I have not seen much of David [the name by which Prince Edward was known to his family] and Freda lately as we are moving and hunting in different places and the days do not always fit in. You & I both happen to know that neither of them really mean anything to each other at all, do they sweetheart?…From what he tells me S & L [Loughie] are living on top of a hotter volcano than ever & anyone in love with her is sitting on top with them! He and Freda had known about the relationship that had developed between ‘Sheilie and Ob [Obolensky]’ for several months – so his initial indignation on Bertie’s behalf had tempered considerably by his second letter. However, as soon as King George V caught wind of Bertie's affair with Sheila, he demanded his son end it. Edward had a passionate affair with Freda Dudley Ward (pictured) who was married to MP William Dudley Ward Freda was ‘a dream of beauty’, ‘an angelic waif’. A week later Sheila and Loughie went to Scotland for a month to try to rekindle their marriage. Her other credits include the movie Black Swan and the television shows Merlin, Spies of Warsaw (which also starred Tuppence Middleton), and Salem. Do please write again soon and tell me more about yourself, as you know how I want to know. At the end of 1918, Sheila, mother of two boys and already in despair over Loughie, met Prince Albert (Bertie), second son of George V. His elder brother, Edward, Prince of Wales, had fallen in love with her best friend, Freda Dudley Ward. The affair between Sheila and Bertie, who later took the throne when Edward abdicated, is an important part of the book. Prince Edward parted company from Freda Dudley Ward in 1934 when he met divorcée Mrs Wallis Simpson. By April 1920 the activities of Edward and Albert had reached the ears of King George and Queen Mary. Bertie, who would eventually become King George VI, was married to Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, and they had two daughters together Elizabeth, now the Queen, and Margaret. The couple were said to be a happy match and went on to have two children together, both daughters. There was a mutual attraction, and from Sheila’s perspective a welcome distraction, as her marriage to Lord Loughborough (Loughie), who was a compulsive gambler, continued to disintegrate. Among Prince Paul’s guests were the Prince of Wales’ friend Freda Dudley Ward, Sheila Loughborough, Alice Astor, Prince Serge Obolensky and Lord Cranborne. I am down here with the family for a few days for Christmas, after which I hope to get a good month hunting. Freda Dudley Ward. Does it surprise you at all? That same year, his brother Prince Albert was crowned King George VI. In 1954, Sheila married Dimitri Romanov, a Russian prince. It would come to a head on the night of 2 June 1920, when King George hosted his traditional pre-Derby male-only dinner at Buckingham Palace for members of the Jockey Club. That led to him to arn affair of his own, becoming involved with married Australian socialite Sheila, Lady Loughborough in 1919. The most devoted mistress and longest serving was undoubtedly Freda Dudley Ward, wife of Liberal MP William Dudley Ward. It was an intimate affair held at Kenwood House in Hampstead, owned by the Guinness family, its walls lined with works by the great masters – Rembrandt, Vermeer, Turner, Reynolds, Gainsborough and Constable. King George decided to confront his errant sons. This is an edited extract from Sheila: The Australian Ingenue Who Bewitched British Society by Robert Wainwright, which will be published by Allen & Unwin on 6 February at £14.99. 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