The Duchess Of Windsor (56 page)
Read The Duchess Of Windsor Online
Authors: Greg King
The British government formally announced the Duke of Windsor’s appointment to the governor-generalship of the Bahamas on July 9. Neither the Duke nor Duchess made much secret of their displeasure over the situation, and surrounded as they were by spies, this news leaked back rather quickly to Berlin. From his ambassador Baron Oswald von Hoyningen-Huene in Lisbon, Joachim von Ribbentrop soon received a further report on the Windsors: “As Spaniards from among those around the Duke of Windsor have informed us confidentially on visits to the Legation, the designation of the Duke as Governor of the Bahama Islands is intended to keep him far away from England, since his return would bring with it very strong encouragement to English friends of peace.” The report speculated on the Duke’s state of mind and contained one of the most damning assertions ever made against him: “He is convinced that if he had remained on the Throne war would have been avoided, and he characterizes himself as a firm supporter of a peaceful arrangement with Germany. The Duke definitely believes that continued severe bombing would make England ready for peace.”
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It is this last line which has become rather infamous. The difficulty with assuming the face value of the remark, however, is somewhat more complex. First, it was not attributed to the Duke as a direct quote—a fact which seems to have escaped those critics who have seized upon it as proof of his supposed treachery. Assuming for the moment that the sentiment, if not the remark itself, is correct, one would be advised to consider not only the context in which it may have been made but also the source through which it became known.
The Duke, as Weddell’s account makes perfectly clear, continued to believe, despite his active participation in the war, that the conflict might somehow reach a negotiated peace. Undoubtedly, at times he expressed this desire in terms easily misinterpreted. Because David was, as Weddell also noted, a realist, it is not difficult to imagine that he may indeed have made some vague remark regarding England’s ability to survive a prolonged bombing campaign. That the Duke would have expressed himself in terms which suggested he supported a bombing campaign, however, is exceptionally unlikely. This becomes even more probable when one considers not only the fact that any communication with Ribbentrop was prone to optimistic expression; Hitler hoped that the Duke might prove amenable to German overtures, and Hoyningen-Huene, career diplomat that he was, undoubtedly would have been clever enough to shade his reports to reflect his efforts in the most favorable light imaginable. Michael Bloch points out that the Duke of Windsor’s “every utterance was liable to be picked up and repeated and exploited for enemy purposes.”
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The Germans swung into action. Ribbentrop reported:
In our opinion, haste is accordingly required. From here it would seem best if close Spanish friends of the Duke would privately invite him, and of course his wife, for a short one- or two-week visit to Spain on pretexts which would seem plausible both to him, to the Portuguese, and to the English agents. That would mean, therefore, that the Duke and Duchess, as well as the English and the Portuguese, must believe that Windsor in any event is going to come back there.... After their return to Spain, the Duke and his wife must be persuaded or compelled to remain on Spanish territory. For the event of the latter alternative we must reach an agreement with the Spanish Government to the effect that by reasons of the obligations of neutrality the Duke will be interned, since the Duke as an English officer and a member of the English Expeditionary Force must be treated as a military fugitive who has crossed the frontier.... At any rate, at a suitable occasion in Spain the Duke must be informed that Germany wants peace with the English people, that the Churchill clique stands in the way of it, and that it would be a good thing to hold himself in readiness for further developments. Germany is determined to force England to peace by every means of power and upon this happening would be prepared to accommodate any desire expressed by the Duke, especially with a view to the assumption of the English Throne by the Duke and Duchess. If the Duke should have other plans, but be prepared to cooperate in the establishment of good relations between Germany and England, we would likewise be prepared to assure him and his wife of a subsistence which would permit him, either as a private citizen or in some other position, to lead a life suitable for a King.”
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This report contained a brief outline of the plot. On July 11, Ribbentrop conveyed further details to Gestapo counterespionage chief Walter Schellenberg:
The crux of the matter is that, since his abdication, the Duke has been under strict surveillance by the British Secret Service. We know what his feelings are: it’s almost as if he were their prisoner. Every attempt that he’s made to free himself, however discreet he may have been, has failed. And we know from our reports that he still entertains the same sympathetic feelings toward Germany, and that given the right circumstances he wouldn’t be averse to escaping from his present environment—the whole thing’s getting on his nerves.We’ve had word that he has even spoken about living in Spain and that if he did go there he’d be ready to be friends with Germany again as he was before. The Führer thinks this attitude is extremely important, and we thought that you with your Western outlook might be the most suitable person to make some sort of exploratory contact with the Duke—as the representative, of course, of the Head of the German State. The Führer feels that if the atmosphere seems propitious you might perhaps make the Duke some material offer. Now we should be prepared to deposit in Switzerland for his own use a sum of fifty million Swiss francs—if he were ready to make some official gesture dissociating himself from the maneuvers of the British Royal Family. The Führer would, of course, prefer him to live in Switzerland, though any other neutral country would do so long as it’s not outside the economic or political influence of the German Reich.If the British Secret Service should try to frustrate the Duke in some such arrangement, then the Führer orders that you are to circumvent the British plans, even at the risk of your life, and, if need be, by the use of force.Whatever happens, the Duke of Windsor must be brought safely to the country of his choice. Hitler attaches the greatest importance to this operation, and he has come to the conclusion after serious consideration that if the Duke should prove hesitant, he himself would have no objection to your helping the Duke to reach the right decision by coercion—even by threats or force if the circumstances make it advisable. But it will also be your responsibility to make sure at the same time that the Duke and his wife are not exposed to any personal danger.Now, in the near future the Duke expects to have an invitation to hunt with some Spanish friends. This hunt should offer an excellent opportunity for you to establish contact with him. From that point he can immediately be brought into another country. All the necessary means for you to carry out this assignment will be at your disposal. Last night I discussed the whole matter again thoroughly with the Führer and we have agreed to give you a completely free hand. But he demands that you let him see daily reports on the progress of the affair.”
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Schellenberg asked for further details about his possible use of force. “Well,” Ribbentrop answered, “the Führer feels that force should be used primarily against the British Secret Service—against the Duke only insofar as his hesitation might be based on a fear psychosis which forceful action on our part would help him overcome.”
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Obviously, if the use of force against the Windsors was being discussed, the Duke could not have known in advance of such plans. Nor would it seem, from this discussion, that the Nazis expected him to be fully cooperative; had he been vocally sympathetic to the Nazis, as critics have alleged, the Germans would certainly have known this, with their well-placed spies, and realized that there was no need to prepare for possible arm-twisting. Ribbentrop also explained that the “fifty million Swiss francs by no means represents the absolute minimum. The Führer is quite prepared to go to a higher figure.” Hitler himself discussed the ideas on the telephone with Ribbentrop and said, “Schellenberg should particularly bear in mind the importance of the Duchess’s attitude and try as hard as possible to get her support. She has great influence over the Duke.”
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Schellenberg hurried to Madrid, where he met with German ambassador Stohrer. Stohrer himself reported that he had talked with Spanish interior minister Ramón Serrano Suner, a brother-in-law of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, and asked for his and Franco’s personal support in the Windsor project. Franco arranged to send the Marques de Estella, Miguel Primo de Rivera, a friend of the Duke’s, as an agent to Portugal.
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Rivera would personally invite the Duke and Duchess to a hunting trip in Spain.
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Rivera would personally invite the Duke and Duchess to a hunting trip in Spain.
Next, Schellenberg traveled to Lisbon and recruited a Japanese friend to get precise information about the Windsor residence in Cascais. He wanted to know how many entrances it contained, how many floors, where windows stood, and other details which would make his job easier. “Within two days, I had drawn a close net of informants round the Duke’s residence,” said Schellenberg. “I had even managed to replace the Portuguese police guard with my own people. I was also able to place informants among the servants, so that within five days I knew of every incident that took place in the house and every word spoken at the dinner table.”
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By the middle of July, Rivera had arrived at Cascais and called on the Windsors. “His designation as Governor of the Bahamas was made known in a very cool and categorical letter from Churchill with the instruction that he should leave for his post immediately without fail,” Rivera reported back to his superiors. “Churchill has threatened W. with arraignment before a court martial in case he did not accept the post (this appears to have been communicated orally only to the Duke).”
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Rivera next reported that the Duke had received a postponement, since he was awaiting some of his effects and objects from his house in Paris. He further transmitted to Ribbentrop:
The Duke expressed himself very freely. In Portugal he felt almost like a prisoner. He was surrounded by agents, etc. Politically he was more and more distant from the King and the present English Government. The Duke and Duchess have less fear of the King, who was quite foolish, than of the shrewd Queen who was intriguing skillfully against the Duke and particularly against the Duchess....The Duke was considering making a public statement and thereby disavowing present English policy and breaking with his brother....The Duke and Duchess were extremely interested in the secret communication which the Minister of Interior promised to make to the Duke.... The Duke and Duchess said they very much desired to return to Spain and expressed thanks for the offer of hospitality. The Duke’s fear that in Spain he would be treated as a prisoner was dispelled by the confidential emissary, who in response to an inquiry declared that the Spanish Government would certainly agree to permit the Duke and Duchess to take up their residence in southern Spain (which the Duke seemed to prefer), perhaps in Granada or Malaga, etc.
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Schellenberg, in the meantime, tried to exert his final influence:
I therefore arranged for a high Portuguese police official to tell the Duke that the Portuguese guard would have to be strengthened because they had information that the Duke was being watched. . . . That same night I staged an incident in the garden of the Duke’s villa; stones were thrown at the windows, and as a result an intensive search of the whole house was made by the Portuguese guard which caused a considerable disturbance. I then started rumours among the servants at the villa that the British Secret Service had been behind the incident. They had orders to make the Duke’s stay as uncomfortable as possible and thus make him readier to leave. . . .
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Schellenberg also had a note inserted in a bouquet of flowers which was delivered to the Duchess: “Beware of the machinations of the British Secret Service—a Portuguese friend who has your interests at heart.”
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In addition, Schellenberg informed the police and the Duke, through mutual friends, that the British Secret Service intended to plant a bomb on the ship the Windsors would take to sail to the Bahamas, explode it before their arrival, and blame it on the Germans. He hoped this news would help persuade the Duke to accept the overtures being made on behalf of the Germans. Rivera repeatedly urged the Duke not to accept the British government’s offer of a ship to leave; the Germans were desperate to keep him in Portugal, where they could more easily kidnap him and take him to Spain.
Schellenberg had one last measure. He planned to have shots fired at the Duchess’s bedroom window; he eventually decided against this, “since the psychological effect would only have been to increase her desire to depart.”
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Instead, he contented himself by dispatching another note, warning that the British Secret Service was planning to assassinate them the moment they left Portugal.
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Instead, he contented himself by dispatching another note, warning that the British Secret Service was planning to assassinate them the moment they left Portugal.
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