In a stunning revelation that peels back the layers of a decades-old royal scandal, declassified FBI documents have exposed a clandestine operation ordered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt against the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
The files, meticulously compiled by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, detail an intense surveillance programme initiated over fears the former King Edward VIII and his American wife, Wallis Simpson, were Nazi sympathisers actively working against British and Allied interests.
The President's Direct Order
The operation was not a minor intelligence gathering exercise. It was a top-level directive from the White House itself. President Roosevelt, concerned by reports from European allies, personally mandated the FBI to place the couple under a microscope.
Their every move was watched, their communications intercepted, and their associates investigated. The FBI's brief was clear: uncover any evidence of treasonous plots or collaboration with the enemy.
A Web of Suspicion and Alleged Treason
The core of the FBI's suspicion lay in the couple's actions and associations both before and during the war. Their infamous 1937 tour of Germany, where they met and were photographed with Adolf Hitler, was a significant red flag.
Further intelligence suggested the Duke, bitter over his abdication, might be a pawn in a dangerous Nazi scheme. The most alarming alleged plot involved the Germans planning to reinstate him as a puppet king following a successful invasion of Britain, using the Duchess's alleged influence over him.
The Duchess's Controversial Communications
Surveillance heavily focused on Wallis Simpson. The documents reveal the FBI closely monitored her communications, believing she maintained contact with high-ranking Nazi official Joachim von Ribbentrop during his time as German Ambassador to Britain.
One intercepted cable, sent from Lisbon in 1940, allegedly contained a chilling message from the Duchess that spoke of the couple being willing to return to England and "do everything in our power to bring about peace" – a statement interpreted by intelligence agencies as code for negotiating a surrender to Germany.
A Legacy of Distrust and Enduring Fascination
These declassified dossiers confirm the deepest fears of the British establishment and transform a story of royal romance and abdication into a darker narrative of suspected betrayal. They reveal the profound distrust that existed at the highest levels of power towards the Windsors.
While the full extent of their dealings may never be known, these files provide a compelling and troubling glimpse into a chapter of royal history where personal allegiance and duty to the crown were called into question under the shadow of global war.
