17 Carnations: The Royals, the Nazis, and the Biggest Cover-Up in History

by Andrew Morton

Overview

For fans of the Netflix series The Crown, a meticulously researched historical tour de force about the secret ties among Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, the Duke of Windsor, and Adolf Hitler before, during, and after World War II.

Andrew Morton tells the story of the feckless Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor, his American wife, Wallis Simpson, the bizarre wartime Nazi plot to make him a puppet king after the invasion of Britain, and the attempted cover-up by Churchill, General Eisenhower, and King George VI of the duke's relations with Hitler. From the alleged affair between Simpson and the German foreign minister to the discovery of top secret correspondence about the man dubbed "the traitor king" and the Nazi high command, this is a saga of intrigue, betrayal, and deception suffused with a heady aroma of sex and suspicion.

For the first time, Morton reveals the full story behind the cover-up of those damning letters and diagrams: the daring heist ordered by King George VI, the smooth duplicity of a Soviet spy as well as the bitter rows and recriminations among the British and American diplomats, politicians, and academics. Drawing on FBI documents, exclusive pictures, and material from the German, Russian, and British royal archives, as well as the personal correspondence of Churchill, Eisenhower, and the Windsors themselves, 17 CARNATIONS is a dazzling historical drama, full of adventure, intrigue, and startling revelations, written by a master of the genre.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781455527090
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	03/10/2015
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	22,743
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Andrew Morton studied history at the University of Sussex, England, with a focus on aristocracy and the 1930s. Morton has written biographies featuring the British Royal Family as well as celebrities, including Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, and Madonna. His bestselling biography of Princess Diana, Diana: Her True Story, met with international acclaim as "the closest we will ever come to her autobiography."

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

1 The Peter Pan Prince 1

2 Adolf Hitler, Royal Matchmaker 17

3 Sex, Drugs, and Royal Blackmail 33

4 Seduced by von Ribbentrop's Dimple 51

5 Courting the New King 67

6 Edward on a Knife Edge 83

7 Love in a Cold Climate 102

8 Hitler's Good Queen Wallis 126

9 The Game of Thrones 148

10 Plot to Kidnap a King 172

11 A Shady Royal in a Sunny Place 196

12 Tropic of Rancour 218

13 The Hunt for Pirate Gold 235

14 Sovereigns, Secrets, and Spies 259

15 Fight for the File 275

16 Burying the "Hot Potato" 290

17 Traitor King or Duped Duke? 308

Source Notes 329

Select Bibliography 357

Index 363

Editorial Reviews

Today the British royal Edward (1894-1972) is remembered less as King Edward VIII, a title that he kept for less than a year, than as Edward, Duke of Windsor, the name he was given after he abdicated the throne so that he might marry American socialite divorcee Wallis Simpson (1896-1986). The story of his relinquishing the throne for love quickly gained the aura of mythos; less well known was the couple's entanglement with Nazi officials and plans. In this impressive revisionist history, royal watcher Andrew Morton (Diana; Inside Buckingham Palace) uncovers telling evidence of the naïve Duke's collaboration with Hitler, even as plans for a German takeover of England began to unfold. 17 Carnations also reveals the more literal entanglement of Mrs. Simpson with the Nazi foreign minister. Headline-making allegations.

"Morton offers a nuanced, intimate, and psychologically incisive understanding of a troubling royal, and arguably, his even more troubling wife. Sorting through myths and conspiracy theories with great skill, he explores their relationship to Hitler and the Nazis. Morton is fearless in his observations and convincing in his conclusions. He vividly illuminates a dark corner of royal history, exposing events which Churchill, Eisenhower, and others tried to conceal."—Jonathan Petropoulos, author of Royals and the Reich: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany

"A vivid...racy narrative...moves breathlessly."
—The Wall Street Journal

"Filled with delicious tidbits...a fun book, filled with spice about a time that shocked the world."
—The Owen Sound Sun Times

"Explosive revelations...shocking."—Globe

"[17 CARNATIONS] provides plenty of fresh dope on the Windsors' cozy dealings with Adolf Hitler."—The Advocate

"A very readable sequel to his seeming ongoing series about the wars of the Windsors."—Toronto Star

From the Publisher

02/01/2015
Edward VIII, son of George V and great-grandson of Queen Victoria, was perhaps the "first royal sex symbol of the modern age." His life and exploits were a source of fascination owing to his volatile emotions, relationships with seemingly unsavory characters, and unwillingness to become the royal that the public expected. Historian Morton (Diana: Her True Story) explores Prince Edward's most famous relationship: that with Wallis Simpson (later stylized Wallis, Duchess of Windsor), a twice-divorced American socialite whom he abdicated his throne to marry. Not only does the work look at this relationship, as well as others involving Wallis and Prince Edward it also examines their association with Germany in the years before and during World War II. Morton captures the interest (and scandals) of the era in a way that makes the book hard to put down. VERDICT This tale of British history, cover-ups, and surprising connections to the Nazi party truly intrigues. It provides a closer look into the world of royals during the first half of the 20th century when there was still so much being kept secret. [See Prepub Alert, 9/14/14.]—Rebecca Kluberdanz, GB65 Lib., New York

Library Journal

2014-12-15
Morton (William & Catherine: Their Story, 2011, etc.) takes a break from his unauthorized biographies of the rich and famous to dig into the archives regarding the incompetent King Edward VIII and his American wife, Wallis Simpson.The story is well-known: The Prince of Wales fell for a twice-married lady from Baltimore and eventually abdicated his throne for her. Edward was effectively banished by the new king, George VI, to avoid comparisons to his much more charismatic brother, and made the Duke of Windsor. This story is really about Edward and Simpson's close ties to the Nazis, including a visit with Hitler. While still in England, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler's special deputy who was mad for Wallis, became a fixture in their set. He convinced the king of Germany's good intentions, strengthening Edward's support of Hitler's economic success. But Edward overstepped his position as king when he interfered in foreign relations, attempting to forestall war. The meat of the book doesn't arrive until halfway through, during the duke's stay in Spain and Portugal in 1940 on the way to his gubernatorial term in the Bahamas. Under Operation Willi, Germany planned to install Edward as a puppet dictator after England's defeat, which nearly occurred as the British were evacuating Dunkirk. Edward was surely aware of the plan. He was indiscreet, irresponsible, defeatist, childish and naïve. Days before the end of the war, copies of communications among the Germans, Spanish and the Windsors were discovered in the Russian zone and quickly spirited away by the British. This evidence of his clear knowledge of the plan would have done irreparable damage to the British monarchy. Morton insists that Edward never really wanted to be king and implies that Simpson never wanted to marry him. A better book would begin in Spain and focus on the damning papers, saving readers all the silly bits and innuendo of Simpson's affairs.

Kirkus Reviews