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King's Ring Fetched Millions at Record Auction
14 Jun
Summary
- Edward abdicated the throne for Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite.
- The 19.77-carat emerald engagement ring was famously inscribed.
- Simpson's jewelry collection sold for over $50 million at auction.
In a move that shocked the world, King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne in December 1936, choosing to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson. Their romance had begun in the early 1930s, and after Simpson's divorce was finalized, Edward proposed with an unconventional engagement ring. This decision led to his exile and his brother's ascension to the throne.
The distinctive engagement ring featured a 19.77-carat emerald sourced from Baghdad and was famously inscribed with "We are ours now 27 x 36," marking their October 27, 1936, engagement. Simpson, who married Edward in June 1937 in France, later had the ring redesigned in 1958.
Decades after their marriage, Wallis Simpson's opulent jewelry collection, a testament to the Duke of Windsor's gifts, was auctioned at Sotheby's in Geneva on April 3, 1987. The collection, including the iconic engagement ring, fetched an astounding sum of over $50 million. This sale set a world record for a single-owner jewelry collection and saw the ring alone sell for $1.98 million, with all proceeds dedicated to the Pasteur Institute for research.
