GARNERING

 

AN EXTENDED TOUR MEANS THAT FREDA DUDLEY WARD AND PRINCE EDWARD ALBERT MUST BE APART: HE WAS MORE IN LOVE WITH HER THAN SHE WITH HIM

In March of 1920, after the war had ended, Edward was sent on a 7 month tour of Australia and New Zealand. Parting was sweet sorrow and may have made his love for Freda stronger. He continued to depend on her letters to lift his spirits. He also hoped she might be pregnant with his child. Possibly the prince was not able to beget a child. And one does wonder if she had any desire to have another child at all, let alone with a man she could never marry. Even if she was widowed, rather than divorced, there would have been objections to her becoming his wife and eventual Queen.

Excerpt page 287/1074 e-book : Separated from the flesh-and-blood Freda, he idolized her; she became his Madonna or goddess whom he worshipped. ...

Excerpt page 289/1074 e-book:  Edward believed  that Freda was good for him. He claimed that she had set him high standards that he tried to live up to. In both his private and public life. She had made him more of a man and less of a boy. He wrote to her that if only they could live together, "I would become of some use perhaps and have a will of my own and be strong!'...

*****

Back at the palace, the King and Queen - and his brother Bertie - who would eventually take the throne after he abdicated - were concerned that Prince Edward Albert continue to be groomed for his eventual role as King and they wanted him to break with Freda. Freda knew it and believed she should let him go but he wouldn't allow it.

Excerpt page303/1074 e-book:  As with Wallis during the abdication crisis, Edward just would not let Freda go, and bit by bit he eroded her resolve. He used every form of emotional blackmail he could muster....

*****

Back from the tour he wanted to spend every moment with Freda. They tried to be 'just friends' but the passion and love was too strong.  Maybe Freda was tiring of his devotion, for she went ahead and had an intense affair, beginning in 1918, with a man named Michael Herbert, a rich banker with a high status in society, a good reputation and connections and had also fought in World War I. Throughout the 1920's she continued have both lovers. It would seem Michael Herbert was as obsessed with her as the Prince. The two men knew of each other, were jealous of each other, and Freda juggled them, prioritizing the Prince when he was not away on a tour. 

Michael wanted to marry Freda and in 1922 there was talk of the Dudley's divorcing.  But she decided against it because the law at the time was such that she might loose custody of her daughters. Divorces were rare, there was a stigma to it and consequences. 

The Prince had many affairs including with women who were in Freda's social circle. It was clear that these relationships were becoming impossible.

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PRINCE EDWARD ALBERT - FREDA DUDLEY WARD - HER HUSBAND - HER CHILDREN : BUT WHO KNEW THE RELATIONSHIP WAS SO CLOSE?

I suppose when your wife is the most desired woman by a Royal person, especially a Prince who will be King, there is not much you can say.  At least in this case William Dudley Ward wasn't sent away. Freda and William had two daughters before Freda had her affair with Prince Edward, and besides feeling comfortable in the home she made for them, he also reportedly adored the daughters. The four of them had fun together and the children called him Little Prince and were taught to think of as an uncle.

In this passage from Rachel Trethewey's book we learn that he was taking the role of husband and father.

Excerpt Page 263-264/1074 e-book : 

When they were together Edward and Freda created a happy environment for the girls. They never rowed; Freda told an interviewer that he was the gentlest, kindest, most thoughtful man imaginable.  Angie (one of the daughters) recalled how the heir to the throne always gave in to her mother; if she made a proposal to him he would reply, 'Anything to please, anything to please.' Freda explained that if she asked him for anything he was very generous and would give it to her immediately.  However, unlike Wallis (Simpson - the woman he would eventually marry and give up the throne for) she never exploited his generosity. He brought her gifts back from his tours and sent her sentimental presents, but there is no record of him giving her priceless jewelry. Freda used her power over him more for other people's benefit than her own. She once asked him to bail out a friend of hers, who was heavily in debt for several thousand pounds. The prince immediately wrote out a cheque without asking any questions.

*****

Much of London Society knew. His parents, the King and Queen did not.  At one point Prince Edward Albert wanted his siblings to meet Freda. The newspapers didn't report it thought the government knew.  Though they were seen golfing or going to the horse races together, and acted as if they were a married couple, it took a while for the King and Queen to hear rumors that their son was involved with a married woman who he could never marry.

Excerpt page 267-268/1074 e-book:

When his parents eventually asked the prince about his new relationship, he denied it, saying that he did not know Freda better than anyone else. When they later learned the truth they were horrified. The king snobbishly dubbed Freda 'the lace-maker's daughter.'  When Freda's friends heard about this comment they made a joke if it and started calling her 'Miss Loom.' after the weaver's daughter in the card game Happy Families.  Freda knew that the king and queen regarded her as 'a scarlet woman'. She believed that they were always pushing the prince to marry someone of his own rank.

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FREDA DUDLEY WARD AND PRINCE EDWARD ALBERT : REAL FRIENDSHIP

Excerpt page 225/1074 e-book : Freda felt secure in Edward's affections because she knew that she had a powerful hold over him Her power was emotional as much as sexual; increasingly she was not just the prince's lover, she was his confidante and he relied on her for advice  His letters refer to the pleasures of talking to her more often than they mention their sexual encounters. He described her as a real friend to whom he could say anything he felt. He become depressed and anxious if he could not unburden his soul to her regularly....

*****

Was the prince immature and needy as the author, Rachel Trethewey suggests, mentioning that he sometimes baby talked?  Leave me a comment!

Excerpt page 229/1074 e-book:  Freda had a deep understanding of her lover's psychology. Edward soon trusted his mistress enough to be totally honest with her about every aspect of his existence.

*****

Apparently in his letters Prince Edward Albert, who was destined to be the King of England, like some of the other royal men I've written about here at MISTRESS MANIFESTO, revealed that he wasn't especially ambitious to be a King and had doubts about the monarchy, thinking it was out of date. He thought of Windsor as a prison and he soon managed to get a house of his own, York House, where he could spend less time with them. Still, he had promised his father that he would take his place and preserve it, especially because the World War I, then called The Great War, had stirred up a fear of Bolshevism,a revolutionary socialist political ideology and system introduced by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party in Russia.  It would seem that the man who eventually gave up his throne might not have wanted it much all along.

*****

I can't help but think of present-day Great Britain, and the questions about the future of the monarchy there. I think about King Charles III and the task at hand to modernize it.  

Missy

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RICH

 

WORLD WAR I EFFECTS THE RELATIONSHIP OF PRINCE EDWARD ALBERT AND FREDA DUDLEY WARD : PASSIONATE LETTERS

The Prince and Freda seemed to at once feel comfortable with each other and as if they knew each other and that they had common interests and sensibilities.  That says a lot. Soon they were meeting regularly for trysts. Apparently they were also compatible in that way.  His passion for her was considered to be "all consuming"

Excerpt page 217/1074 e-book : If they were apart he would phone her four and five times a night and he would be bereft if she was not in.

*****

Missy here!  I have to wonder if she knew that not being available all the time would keep him interested or if she was simply busy with her own life. Something about Freda gives me the impression that she knew she did need to have a life that was all her own, that didn't always include him.That she had other affairs over the years gives me that impression.

World War I was ongoing and the Prince's father didn't want him having a good time in London, and sent him to Italy, so he wasn't exactly easily available to her either. The intense bombardment of letters continued.

Excerpt page 218-220/1074 e-book:  Once in Italy at the end of March (1918) the prince bombarded Freda with dozens of letters written to "'My Angel' and signed with 'tons and tons of love from your EA. Many were written late at night as he sat in his room trying to recreate her essence by putting some drops of her scent, 'Royal Briar,' on his handkerchief.  He would look at her photograph, which was kept in a little leather frame by his bed when it was not in his picket, and kiss it  He told her that thinking of her made him feel 'fearfully naughty,.' To conjure u their time together he would smoke a cigarette and play their special tunes, 'Have a Heart' and 'The Little Cottage' on his gramophone It was as though he could only go to sleep once he had jotted down his every thought and experience and shared it with her. His letters were often in pencil and full of spelling and grammatical errors. .....

The prince told his mistress that her letters were the only joy of his dull existence, but it also seems that Freda was not so single0minded. She was working with a Voluntary Aid Detachment, nursing at a hospital in Ascot and then Windsor.

*****

It's been a long time since I had a letter writing relationship, but I believe in letters. Today I suppose the Prince might be texting with her or calling her several times a day on his cell phone.

Missy

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PRINCE EDWARD PURSUED THE MARRIED BUT LONELY AND BORED FREDA DUDLEY WARD PASSIONATLEY and DISCREETLY

Before her 19th birthday, Winifred Mary Birkin married William Dudley Ward.  She had been expelled from a private girl's boarding school for climbing over a fence with some friends to go to the horse races at Ascot.  (!) These were the days when aristocratic young women were educated but not so intellectually. Her mother was American and she went on a vacation to American by steamship to visit her mother's relatives. Onboard she met William.  He was sixteen years older than she, but handsome, athletic and after years of bachelorhood, they had what is described as a whirlwind of a romance.  Maybe he need to get married because he soon entered politics. (Shades of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Bouvier?) While Freda's family had money, the marriage elevated her into London society and close to the Royal Family.

Excerpt page 212/1074 e-book : However, by the time the Freda met the prince her marriage was already under strain.  .... With her husband spending late nights in parliament, Freda was bored and soon found new ways of amusing herself.

Her marriage did not prevent her relationship with the price developing rapidly. After their first encounter, Edward (the Prince) wrote to 'Mrs. Dudley Ward' at Lowndes Square proposing another meeting. This caused some confusion with her mother-in-law at the time  The older woman opened the letter and thought that the price wanted to visit her.  Mrs. Dudley Ward Senior invited Edward to tea, which was not quite the assignation he had hoped for. However, this was only a temporary setback and nothing would deter the prince from being with Freda...For Freda, having the most eligible bachelor in the world chasing after her must have been intoxicating.  His charm was legendary. ...

Excerpt page 213/1074 : The besotted couple found ways to be together almost every day.  Their relationship soon became the talk of society.

*****

Like other couples in the same ah - predicament - the homes of friends became the places the two could meet and carry out their relationship without being detected. This included the home of one of her husband's sisters.

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WINDSOR

 

WINIFRED MAY BIRKIN = FREDA DUDLEY WARD : SIXTEEN YEARS AS THE ACKNOWLEDGED MISTRESS OF PRINCE EDWARD ALBERT : HER STORYTELLING AND SENSE OF HUMOR LEAD TO A VIBRANT SOCIAL LIFE

My coverage of  "Mrs. Freda Dudley Ward" - I have rarely heard her name without the Mrs. when it comes to the Prince - comes primarily from this book, which also includes other loves, pre-Wallis Simpson, whom Edward VIII married, and then. The story of the King who gave up his throne rather than not marry an American divorcee is forever fascinating. (Shades of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan?) First there was Rosemary, then Freda, then Thelma, and then Wallis. For the Prince there were probably others before his marriage.

Freda and the then Prince Edward Albert, Prince of Wales, were involved for about sixteen years, beginning in 1918. That is one long relationship but she/they were so discreet the public didn't know. Their relationship was an open secret to society though and, as has been the case with other Royal Mistresses I've profiled here, her husband could not have not known. She was already married to William Dudley Ward and had two daughters when she and the Prince met. William was a much older man and was used to a lifestyle that included having affairs.  Marriage didn't tame him.  And so it would seem that, like other husbands whose wives become Royal Mistresses, he didn't mind and if he did, well -

The Prince, as described here, was obsessively in love with Freda, however, their relationship was one in which both knew that they could never marry. They also both knew that he must marry. Were they both faithful to each other? No!  A surprise for me was learning that actually their relationship became a Triad. It wasn't just the adultery; Freda and her husband and the Prince. It was also that Freda had a relationship with a man named Michael and so it became Freda and Michael and the Prince.

Now, I usually like to excerpt from the books I read cover to cover, focusing on information that I think is most essential to further the story and meet my reader's interest. But I have to tell you that I read this one as an e-book, so when I excerpt the page numbers will be the e-book and not the hardback. It's always my hope that my curation of books on a subject and the choice of a book or books or other media will encourage my readers to also get the book and read it from cover to cover. 

FREDA DUDLEY WARD

Image from Wikimedia - Public Domain 

1894-1983

Name at birth WINIFRED MAY BIRKIN

Name at marriage FREDA DUDLEY WARD 

(Wife of WILLIAM DUDLY WARD from 1913-1931 divorced.)

Name at second marriage WINIFRED MAY MONES, MARQUESA DE CASA MAURY 

(Married the Cuban-born businessman in 1937; they divorced in 1954.)

*******

Freda and the Prince kept an earnest correspondence and circa 1918 he would also telephone her four or five times a night. His father King George didn't want his son, who was not going to enter the Great War in the military out of London, so he was sent to Italy:

*****

Excerpt page e-book 218-222/1074 : 

Once in Italy at the end of March, the prince bombarded Freda with dozens of letters written to "My Angel" and signed with "tons and tons of love from your E.  Many were written late at night, as he sat in his room trying to recreate her essence by putting some drops of her scent, "Royal Briar", on his handkerchief. He would look at her photograph, which was kept in a little leather frame by his bed when it was not in his pocket, and kiss it. He told her that thinking of her made him feel "Fearfully naughty." To conjure up their time together he would smoke a cigarette and play their special tunes "Have a Heart' and 'The Little Cottage' on his gramophone. It was as though he could only go to sleep once he had jotted down his every thought and experience and shared it with her. His letters were often in pencil and full of spelling and grammatical errors. At first the notes were littered with swear words, but it seems that Freda told him off, so he tried to stop using bad language in correspondence with her.  However, he continued to send her puerile jokes and rhymes which he thought might amuse her.

The prince told his mistress that her letters were the only joy of his dull existence, but it seems that Freda was not so single minded. She was working with a Voluntary Aid Detachments, nursing at a hospital in Ascot and then in Windsor.  There was a photo of the Prince of Wales hung u in the ward where she worked scrubbing floors, and she looked at it occasionally. While Edward was away she had a brief fling with Captain Reginald Seymour, great grandson of the Marquess of Hertford. ....

Freda was equally worldly-wise, and she did not show any concern when the prince admitted to flirtations with other women. While in Rome in May 1918 he attended a party where he misbehaved with some attractive VADs. As was to become his habit, he half confessed to Freda about these incidents but played them down, perhaps partly to salve his conscience while making her jealous or 'thulky' (as they called it in their baby talk). He promised to never to lie to her again and told her : 'I just "grovel" at my idol's feet asking forgiveness.'

Shall we begin?

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