With The King's Speech only a month away, it’s time for the second profile of a real life character in the play and who will be portraying them.
Today we look at the woman who precipitated a major constitutional crisis: Wallis Simpson. These events are covered in the play but three things you may not know about Mrs Simpson are:
1. She owned a pack of pugs with great names: Disraeli, Davy Crockett, Black Diamond, Imp, Trooper, and Ginseng.
2. In 1936, Time honoured Wallis Simpson's major coup of causing Edward to abdicate his throne by naming her "Woman of the Year," the first time it had given its "Man of the Year" award to a woman, in preference to other finalists including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mussolini, Eugene O'Neill, Stanley Baldwin, Jesse Owens, and Margaret Mitchell, author of “Gone With The Wind.”
3. In 1997, Sotheby's held a large auction of her personal effects, including a slice of her wedding cake which was sold for over $29,000.
Wallis will be played by the ever popular Caroline Thompson who can count memorable performances in Hay Fever, Around The World In 80 Days and Aladdin among her many successes.
Performances of The King’s Speech will be at 7:30 pm on Thursday 16, Friday 17 and Saturday 18 May at Haslemere Hall. Get tickets from the Box Office on 01428 642161 or follow the link https://tickets.haslemerehall.co.uk/sales/genres/theatre/the-kings-speech