Never Before Seen Images of a Young Duke of Windsor to be Auctioned

Previously unseen side-profile images of a young King Edward VIII, then Prince Edward and later known as the Duke of Windsor, are heading to auction by Chiswick Auctions. Dating from 1919, the images are estimated to be worth between $1200 to $1800.

The two photos are thought to be previously owned by Freda Dudley Ward, a member of the Birkin family and former lover of the Duke before he met Thelma Furness and then Wallace Simpson. The photographs are signed by the Bassano studio in London and feature a prince in a mirror-like profile. The photographs are being sold by a vendor whose grandmother was Ward's personal maid in the 1920s. For the auction, the two photographs are offered with a full-length photograph of Ward holding her two Yorkshire terriers.

"These are both unique and very attractive prints of the price and they have never been on the market before, Valentina Borghi, head of sale at Chiswick Auctions said in a release. "We expect plenty of interest from collectors."

The Duke of Windsor's legacy is a troublesome one. Though an aesthete who paid close attention to fashion, architecture, and other forms of culture, he is better remembered for his decision to abdicate from the thrown in 1936 and for alleged Nazi sympathies during the Second World War. At the time these photos were taken, the Duke had the title of Prince of Wales, and his father, King George V, was the reigning monarch.

In his life, the Duke of Windsor posed for numerous famous photographers, including Phillipe Halsman (who also photographed Salvador Dali) and Richard Avedon (who photographed Truman Capote's Swans and other notables).

For more information about the lot, or to register for the auction, please visit chiswickauctions.co.uk.

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