Wallis simpson’s BLING UNDER THE HAMMER

The Duke of Windsor lavished jewels upon Wallis Simpson. Ten years after the Abdication, many important pieces were stolen from them during a rare visit to England in 1946. The haul – worth up to £20 million today – was never recovered. Some wondered if the theft was set up by the Royal Family to retrieve family gems. The duchess still had plenty of bling though. Her signature piece was a ruby, diamond and sapphire flamingo brooch bought by the duke in 1940 (pictured, left).

After Wallis’s death in 1986, her jewels were sold at auction by Sotheby’s in Geneva, realising a record £31 million.

Elizabeth Taylor had set her heart on the £400,000 diamond Prince of Wales Feathers brooch (right) because her late husband Richard Burton was born in Wales. She’s said to have outbid Prince Charles, who wanted it for Diana.

Perhaps the quirkiest piece was a Cartier diamond charm bracelet hung with crosses, each bearing an inscription ‘handwritten’ by the duke. One commemorated the duchess’s appendectomy, another marked their 1937 wedding and another recalled an assassination attempt on Edward VIII in 1936. ‘God save the King for Wallis,’ it said.

The Daily Mail was there, bidding for jewels to be offered to readers in a competition. A ruby and sapphire brooch was won by Wolverhampton couple the Brindleys. It was sold for £36,000 in 2006.

Another treasure that made headlines was the Poltimore tiara Princess Margaret wore at her wedding – allegedly acquired by her from Sotheby’s for just £5,500. In 2006, four years after her death, it sold for £1 million. Viewers of The Crown will recognise it as the tiara the princess wore in the bath at Kensington Palace when she was photographed by her husband Lord Snowdon in 1962. According to royal biographer Lady Colin Campbell, ‘Margaret was thrilled because she looked so hot.’