Once a King

The Lost Memoir of Edward VIII

By: Jane Marguerite Tippett

Narrated by: Esther Wane, Gregory Cox

A retelling of the story of the Duke of Windsor - King Edward VIII, who gave up his throne to marry the woman he loved.

Using never before seen sources, Once a King is a fresh, revelatory and gripping insight into the Duke of Windsor - King Edward VIII - who gave up the throne to marry the woman he loved, twice divorced American Wallis Simpson.

Considering Edward VIII's travels and interests as Prince of Wales as well as his relationship with Wallis Simpson and the course of events leading up to his abdication and subsequent exile, Once a King offers a previously unexplored lens through which we encounter first-hand the hitherto concealed subtlety and raw emotion of two of the twentieth century's most iconic Royal figures: the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

©2023 Jane Marguerite Tippett (P)2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

What a find!

I very much enjoyed listening to alternative accounts of the abdication, and listening to the verbatim words from interviews with both Edward and Wallis. Very informative, well read.

A beautiful work

Most pleasant high English conversations and narrative. Respectful of the Prince and the situation. Restful and timed well. A recommended talking book.

His family was horrible!

Loved the book! Found myself so disappointed in the Royal Family every time Prince Edward suffered yet another slap in the face by them! And Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Mother) seems to have been at the heart of most of it! Ironic how her adored Grandson, Prince Charles, ended up doing the same in the end!! Imagine the head of the English church married a divorcee’ now when she was so appalled then!! A different time perhaps but it all seems so hypocritical now! Anyway, I loved the book and can’t recommend it enough!!! I couldn’t put it down!!!

Cleans out the muck.

In recent years there's been a renewed assault on the character of the Duke of Windsor. Claims of him being a Nazi collaborator are disturbing and I was beginning to wonder if I were blinded by my own bias. I'm glad Tippet records the facts, along side the Duke's own words, and let's the reader come to their own opinion.

Interesting Insights Even For Veteran Duke and Duchess of Windsor Students

I enjoyed this book because it delves deeply into the background personalities and frustrations related to the writing of “A King’s Story”. Issues such as the Duchess’s alleged extra-marital affairs are not touched. But a great deal is discussed concerning the Duke’s interested in Nazi-German politics. A lot of the facts are not new to the Windsors’ story but there is enough new material to make it worthwhile. I recommend it more to the veterans of this singular historical period in English history than to the general reader.

The male narrator is boring AF.

The story is enormously intriguing and enjoyable. The male narrator grated on my nerves. I thought I would lose my mind hearing his voice very, very, very slowly reading the book.

Highly Recommended

This book is fascinating for its newly discovered archival material. It is gripping, well written, a treasure trove of information. I couldn’t put it down. The Audible version is expertly read and easy to follow the different voices used. 5 stars on this one!

Amazing storytelling and voices

I noticed there were no other reviews, so I decided to leave one. The story is amazing and very interesting. I listen to it whenever I get any free time, would recommend!

Fascinating – Completely Upended My View of Edward VIII

I’m someone who has read hundreds of books on 20th Century British History, and a lot about the abdication & the Windsor’s life afterwards. So much of the recent historical work on them has been oriented around their Nazi slant, but this has been the most thorough criticism of that storyline that I’ve read. It’s remarkable that we’re able to read so much of the story in his own words; I can’t believe that none of this was accessible before. Edward is so much more likable in this narrative, Wallis is so much less of an operator, and the way the story has been retold is so much different from how they tell it. Once you add in the criticism of the Nazi subplot historiography in the last section, it’s really a completely new book from any other I’ve read on the subject, and brings so much more material to the table to be discussed in the historical conversation.

What stood out to me was a more correct version of Edward's abdication & the Nazi German story that blew up with sensationalism

The voice actors reading the story were excellent. I also appreciated the way this Story was laid out chronologically