Royal favors accorded to the King's Mrs. Simpson became last week increasingly varied. A quantity of royal pots & pans, some from Buckingham Palace and others from His Majesty's suburban snuggery Fort Belvedere, were turned over to her, together with a royal housekeeper named Mrs. Mason. Also transferred to the King's favorite were the King's crack chauffeur, George Ladbrooke, complete with a discreet black Canadian Buick sedan and the King's personal bodyguard of many years, 200 lb. Chief Inspector David Storier of Scotland Yard.
Thus, although Mrs. Simpson could not be with the King as much as usual because she was in course of divorcing Mr. Simpson last week, she was every moment under the eyes of the King's men & women. Visibly unhappy, Edward VIII decided to give a stag houseparty at Sandringham, the house in which King George died. Guests included His Majesty's brother-in-law the Earl of Harewood and First Lord of the Admiralty Sir Samuel Hoare for whom the King since his accession has shown much liking.
Shortly after dawn, and before the stag guests were ready to go hunting, the King shot away from Sandringham in his car, leaving word that the party was to go on in his absence. Even officials charged with responsibility for the safety of His Majesty did not know where he had gone, but they felt better after putting through a telephone call to a small rambling bungalow in the village of Rushmere. There Mrs. Simpson was in residence with her royal retainers, conveniently adjacent to Ipswich, the town in which the suit was filed as "Wd Simpson v. Simpson"-the "Wd" indicating that the petitioner is the wife.
In advance of opening of the case, Mr. Simpson was rumored to have committed the technical adultery required for divorce in England with a young woman nicknamed "Buttercup" at the fashionable resort of Maidenhead. A London florist revealed that the King sends Mrs. Simpson £5 ($25) worth of long-stemmed red roses per day, or about 15 dozen in summer when they are cheap and five dozen daily in midwinter when they are dear.
Jewish real estate speculators who bought up all nearby leases the moment they heard Mrs. Simpson had taken the house at No. 16 Cumberland Terrace for the winter (TIME, Sept. 14) had already begun to clean up. They were charging and getting nearly twice the rent previously paid for nearby houses as London swanksters last week tried to establish themselves as near as possible to the favorite. Her house happens to be on Crown property, although Mrs. Simpson's sublease is twice removed from King Edward, and this fact last week gave London Bobbies an excuse for telling citizens of London to move on.
"Ordinary garden people don't live here, y'know," declared a policeman indicating No. 16. "This is Crown property, this is! Move along there, move along."
Mrs. Simpson on short dashes in London last week visited her hairdresser