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The King's Loot: The Greatest Royal Jewellery Heist in History
'An engaging story' – The Spectator
Geneva, April 1987. The staid Swiss town is awash with limousines, journalists and minor European aristocracy. All the best hotels and restaurants are bursting at the seams. Caviar, truffles and foie gras are in short supply, while champagne is flooding the market at ridiculously high prices.
They are all focused on one place: Sotheby's auction house, which is preparing to host the 'auction of the century' – that of the late Duchess of Windsor's jewellery collection.
But where did this treasure trove come from? And was it ever really the Duchess' at all?
Questions have circulated around the collection's murky provenance since the moment Wallis Simpson stepped onto the scene; now, for the first time, The King's Loot looks to find the answers. Drawing on eyewitness interviews, contemporary accounts and previously unpublished sources, Richard Wallace – who was there at that notorious Swiss auction – delves into the mystery surrounding this hoard.
As seen in: The Royal Beat: The Windsors: Love, Theft and Jewels
Series 1, Episode 7: On this week's episode of The Royal Beat: Back in Time, we look at the Duke and Duchess of Windsor through a new lens, as we explore their love of all things opulent and expensive - especially jewels. But where exactly did their enviable collection of precious stones come from? Did the Duke - as King Edward VIII - take them from the royal collection to give to Wallis Simpson? How did so many come to be stolen in a house robbery in 1946? And where did their incredible gems end up after their deaths? Kate Thornton examines these questions and many more along with Richard Wallace - author of new book ‘The King’s Loot: The Greatest Royal Jewellery Heist in History’, as well as biographer and author of 'That Woman', Anne Sebba, and Managing Director and Co-Founder of Europe's largest online diamond retailer, 77 Diamonds - Tobias Kormind.
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