Governor of the Bahamas
by habituallychic
02 . 08 . 11
Whether you like them or not, you have to admit that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor had style. During the Second World War, Winston Churchill installed the Duke of Windsor as the Governor of the Bahamas to keep him quiet so to speak. So in 1940, Wallis and Edward sailed to Nassau. Apparently Government House was in nearly derelict so the Windsors rented private homes until it was rebuilt. Most of these photos were taken in 1941 by photographer David E. Scherman and give you a glimpse into their Bahamian life. I’m not sure Stefan and I will look quite as chic on our sojourn to Nassau (I wonder if Stefan owns a pink jacket) but I hope to visit Government House among other historic sites while we are on the island. The Windsors also spent time in Miami just as we are planning to do after the cruise. Too bad I don’t also have a fabulous collection of Goyard luggage like Wallis. Those were the days.
The view from Government House
Crown emblem in place of a lisence plate on Nassau.
The Duke of Duchess of Windsor in Miami, 1941
The Duchess of Windsor in Florida 1955
20 Comments
The Duchess had the walls of Government House (inside) painted to match the color of her face powder. Actually padded some of it on the walls so the painters could match it.
Great Pics!!!
lovely
xx
http://www.ilovenystyle.blogspot.com
Funny…those Union Jack pillows are back in style.
Lovely photos! I think the Royal Family is so entertaining sometimes haha I love the history and all the stories 🙂
You know she hated Nassau. Called it “our St. Helena”. She was such an interesting, somewhat tragic figure, I think.
What a stylish flashback! Love that luggage.Lovely post.
Love that Cairn. When did they switch to Pugs?
Interesting post!
xo
Luciane at HomeBunch.com
Post of the Day: Interior Canadian Designer Sarah Richardson.
I can hardly wait for the book on Wallis by Anne Sebba to be published later this year!
Oh, I love, love, love these pictures! I guess this is when the Bahamas became chic… well, after the war. I had never thought about their roles in WW2. They would definitely be targets so getting the waaaaay out of the way makes sense.
They also spent time on Coronado Island in California. There is now a cottage on the grounds of the Hotel del Coronado that they stayed in.
Thank you.
can’t get enough of their luggage! amazing!
http://nauticalwheelerjewelry.blogspot.com/
Ace biography Hugo Vickers is publishing a new book about the Duchess this spring.
And the wicker furniture is just fabulous. Reminds me of Babe Paley’s house at Round Hill. Gorgeous!
It’s interesting to see how they signed their official photograph, (of their arrival), he using the signature of a prince and she not of a princess, which as we know rankled him till his dying day.
The use of the crown in place of a number plate applies/ied to all gubernatorial cars within the colonies.
As Megan noted, she loathed Nassau – found it all too provincial. There are several quite lengthy biographies of them, and as individuals. I can’t imagine much new in the forthcoming book by Anne Sebba.
great photos…I just saw the King’s Speech which was wonderful. They all deserve to win Oscar’s ..the whole movie was amazing. love the post !!
How interesting..just watched The King’s speech last night for the second time. Can you imagine looking so formal in Bahamas these days…?
Yes, I had heard that Wallace loathed being in the Bahamas as well. They were bored and felt that they were serving no useful purpose lolling about in a resort community during the war. I guess nobody in England really liked the fact either that they had been somewhat sympathetic to Hitler before the war, so they needed to make sure he was out of the way.
Hi Heather–Great Trip. As for the Duchess: I can’t imagine how she and the Duke “managed” in The Bahamas during the War. Not enough Press. Thanks for
another great post. Mary
When I was working for Ralph Lauren, The Duke and Duchess provided so much inspiration and made their way to many “mood” boards. I think it was their love that ultimately inspired along with their rakish sense of style and appreciation for one another.
pve
Just love this post and the photographs are so full of chic detail. Thank you for posting!