Guy Trundle

Guy Trundle was a hidden figure in the famous romance between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. In 1936, King Edward gave up his throne to marry Simpson, a divorcee who was considered unsuitable to become queen. Government documents released in 2003 revealed a surprising secret: while Simpson was carrying on her affair with Edward, she also was secretly seeing Guy Trundle, a local car salesman. Special police agents following Simpson discovered her affair with Trundle, though Edward apparently was not informed of it before his abdication. Trundle was also married at the time; the Special Branch agents reported that he met Wallis Simpson "quite openly at informal social gatherings as a personal friend, but secret meetings are made by appointment when intimate relations take place." The agents called him "a very charming adventurer, very good looking, well bred and an excellent dancer." Though authorities were aware of the affair, it was not made public until the 2003 release. Trundle died in 1958. The BBC reported that he "spent the final years of his life in Chelsea and left a modest £5,000, worth about £60,000 in today's values."