Edward VII ruthlessly dumped his mistress Thelma Fess in favor of Wallace Simpson but the repercussions of this Twisted Affair poisoned the rest of Thelma’s life at the time of her death the gilted mistress was found with one of Edward’s gifts tucked into her handbag and it revealed Everything Edward VII’s marriage to Wallace Simpson is something straight out of a romance novel but she wasn’t the future King’s only famous mistress that dubious honor also goes to Thelma Fess the aunt of the infamous Gloria Vanderbilt and fess’s life is just as wild if not wilder than the lives of the
Famous figures around her when Thelma was a child her mother had a nasty habit of flying into random boats of Rage at the slightest provocation according to Thelma even something as simple as a nail file borrowed from her dressing table and not put back would cause a storm however her
Mother would just as quickly forgive her children for displeasing her this emotional manipulation formed the bulk of Thelma’s childhood and it was she more so than her twin sister Gloria who endured the brunt of her mother’s Brutality to her father’s job as an American Diplomat Thelma and her family never stayed in one place for long when Thelma was a toddler her family moved from lucern Switzerland to Barcelona Thelma’s mother ordered everyone to only speak Spanish and forbade her from doing anything unladylike such as roller skating which
She feared would cause the development of unsightly muscles although these restrictions angered Thelma they didn’t push the little girl away from her mother in fact as Thelma grew she developed an unhealthy sense of attachment to her mother her love for her mom made her easy to manipulate even when her mom’s
Actions were cruel or as one childhood event revealed downright evil while Thelma’s mother was in America The Family Doctor gifted her and her sister a pair of pedons sure okay thma loved the pigeons which soon had a brood of chicks when her mother returned Thelma excitedly showed her the new
Family pets she expected her mother to be happy but what her mother actually did next was something straight out of a horror movie dma’s mother ordered a servant to release the adult pigeons and then to kill and cook the baby pigeons for dinner Thelma crying and Wheeling refused to eat
Them and 1913 Thelma’s dad attempted to move the family to Germany for his next job but her mother flat out refused to leave Barcelona with little Choice the family’s patriarch left his precious daughter behind without her father to keep her mother in check Thelma suffered even more from her mother’s cruelty her
Mother refused to spend money on Thelma and convinced her that her father was a womanizer who didn’t love them World War I threw Thelma’s life into absolute chaos her mother sent the twins to a French boarding school in England while she went and joined their father in Germany left alone in a strange
Country Thelma struggled in 1915 11-year-old Thelma managed to pull off the scam of the century that year her father was bound for New York and upon hearing this Thelma cooked up a plan to sneak onto the ship she forged a telegram from her father to the American Consul General
Requesting passage upon the ship for herself and her twin sister a few weeks later Thelma’s mother received a telegram that nearly gave her a heart attack it confirmed that Thelma and her sister had accommodations aboard the SS New Amsterdam at the behest of their father her mother blew her top and in
The face of her explosive rage Thelma confessed to her forgery but by then it was too late her dad all too pleased to be taking charge of his little girls took them aboard the ship and Thelma’s new life was about to Begin Thelma and her sister absolutely fell in love with the hustle and bustle of New York City while her father’s job meant she left New York quite frequently she always regarded the city as her true home by the time she was 16 she’d convinced her mother to allow her and
Her sister to live by themselves poor sheltered Thelma had no idea what she was getting herself into while Thelma’s travels made her wise in many ways she was still naive when it came to matters of the heart it’s no wonder that a less than Savory character quickly caught her
In his web during a Christmas party Thelma met James Vil Converse the grandson of the former president of AT&T his rakish good looks immediately Drew Thelma in but it was his wild suspiciously unbelievable stories that kept her coming back for more 16-year-old Thelma was flattered by
The attention he heaped upon her he whed and dined her and convinced Thelma that he loved her her heart was primed for the taking and then accident soon gave Converse his chance to steal her away despite being a part of high society Thelma had comparatively little income to supplement this Thelma entered
The dubious profession of acting while the shame of being an actress was bad enough it was about to get a whole lot worse while on the set of the young Diana a fan blew dust and debris into her eyes for hours the next day she realized the full
Extent of the damage caused to her eyes and the diagnosis was unspeakable to her horror Thelma realized that she’d gone blind her sister immediately called for a doctor who prescribed hourly doses of castor oil to heal her eyes the prospect of being permanently blind terrified Thelma and in her fragile emotional
State conver stayed right by her side after days of the agonizing Castor Royal Treatment Thelma’s sight returned it was a moment of Celebration quickly followed by a decision she later regretted Converse proposed marriage at this point Thelma suddenly had misgivings did she really want to marry
A man 10 years her senior and who she barely knew turns out the answer was yes in February of 1922 17-year-old Thelma eloped with Converse for the first time ever Thelma left her twin sister behind to live with her new husband where it quickly became clear that her fairy tale marriage was in
Reality a nightmare after a thoroughly fantastic honeymoon Thelma returned home in April of 1922 where her relationship took a dark turn her new hubby drank heavily and when drunk he was a mean man when Thelma became pregnant her marriage only got worse poor naive Thelma didn’t expect her husband’s reaction when she announced
Her pregnancy instead of Joy Thelma’s husband was upset and jealous at the idea of having to compete with a baby for Thelma’s attention tragically her husband didn’t need to worry for long a few months into her pregnancy she miscarried Thelma in a state of utter
Despair had no one to turn to and her husband’s response was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back while laid up in hospital Thelma’s husband dropped by to visit her and he was overjoyed by the news of the miscarriage at that moment Thelma lost all love for
Her husband she separated from him despite his protest and began traveling her Newfound Freedom meant that she could do practically anything she wanted but even she didn’t predict the next Wild turn her life suddenly took during an evening with several big Hollywood Hot Shots famed director Alan
Dwan offered her a small part in a film called the society Scandal Zelma soon packed her bags for Hollywood the move completely scandalized her twin sister and her mother who thought Hollywood was no place for a 19-year-old girl within 2 months of her move director Sam Goldwin got her a small
Part in the film siaria one of the first color films ever made unfortunately Thelma didn’t go on to make more groundbreaking films all due to her relationship with one man during a dinner party held by her twin sister Thelma met a British nobleman the fabulously named marmaduk
Fesse from the moment she laid eyes on him Thelma thought marmaduk was special after an evening of partying she knew that he was the one thus began her descent into the truly insane world of Royal life Thelma’s new love introduced her to something that she grew to enjoy power
Marmaduke’s money and name meant that many doors were suddenly open to her and along with that came many perks she traveled with servants ate at ritzy locations and even had food flown to her at the of a hat but Thelma’s relationship with marmaduk came with one major downside the Press they hounded
Her wherever she went and the fact that she was still technically married to converse only made them more hungry for gossip that meant that everything from finalizing the divorce to her wedding with marmaduk itself was kept Under Wraps after months of stonewalling the press until they lost interest in her
Thelma finally got the chance to marry her one true love on June 27th 1926 the two tied the knot in a small private ceremony surrounded only by close friends and family Thelma felt like she had it all someone that loved her and who she loved in return
Money power and fame but then life threw her a curveball the very next day she met another Man the day after her wedding Thelma received an invitation to a party hosted in London Dair and the prince of Wales Edward the E himself was attending when Thelma laid eyes on him she thought him very handsome but their Infamous affair didn’t start right then and there that happened 3 years later
When Thelma’s husband pushed her over the edge pretty soon Thelma became pregnant with marmaduke’s child the pregnancy made her her indescribably happy unfortunately Misfortune came for her once again in spite of having her loving husband and stepchildren at her side Thelma gave birth prematurely to a son named William Anthony on March 31st
1929 the birth left her weak and while in this state her husband’s actions took a strange turn a few months after the birth of her son thma was at a party when she made an innocent bet with her husband Peggy Hopkins one of the most glamorous women in America was attending
The party Thelma bet her husband that he wouldn’t be able to get her to dance with him to her annoyance marmaduk did manage to dance with Hopkins and she lost the bet over the coming months tma’s husband was more absent than not rumors began to swirl that marmaduk was being unfaithful
But Thelma ignored them after all the penalty for divorce in England were severe and moreover her husband loved her by 1929 Thelma spent much of her time either alone or with her children her husband was frequently gone and when he was home the two spent much of their time arguing Thelma’s stepdaughter
Sensing her loneliness invited her to the Lester fair and that’s when fate stepped in she bumped into someone she never expected to the Prince of Wales Edward recognizing Thelma from the party at London Derry immediately walked up to her and invited her out for dinner and dancing in London against her better
Judgment Thelma accepted her first private meeting with Edward was like something out of a dream they met in Edward’s private sitting room where they talked and drank as the months wore on Thelma and the prince began spending long weekends together at Fort Bader a place close to Edward’s heart
It became clear that the two weren’t just having fun weekend Hangouts together thma spent many happy months with Edward but the arrival of another Infamous woman abruptly ended her Joy sometime between 1930 and 1931 Thelma met someone that changed her life and that of Edward Wallace Simpson
In fact it was Thelma who introduced Edward to Simpson although Thelma didn’t know it at the time she had just doomed her own relationship with Edward by now Thelma and her husband practically lived separate lives so she was surprised when she suddenly received a telegram asking
Her to join him in Nairobi and promising to work on their relationship when Thelma joined her husband in Nairobi he was attentive and kind for a while quickly his old habits slipped through the cracks and the frequent arguing started up again soon enough both Thelma and marmaduk came to
An earth shattering realization there was simply no salvaging their marriage the two separated and she returned to Edward upon telling Edward of the news the two were incredibly joyful but there was also an undercurrent of sadness thma knew in her heart that marriage to Ed Edward was impossible Edward would one
Day be the king and would bear an incredible amount of responsibility along with that title obviously he wouldn’t and couldn’t marry her in the moment though she was just happy to be with someone who loved her and whom she trusted in January 1934 Thelma’s twin sister invited her to California for a
Visit she’d be gone for five or 6 weeks Edward was less than happy to be away from her for so long and that’s when Thelma had a stroke of Genius she asked her good friend Wallace Simpson to keep Edward company yep genius no way can this backfire for now Thelma busied herself
In America while exchanging frequent telegrams and calls with Edward in all respects her relationship with the Future King seemed to be going well even if she didn’t expect it to lead to marriage in her mind she was more or less taken but that didn’t stop sutors and America from making their moves
While in New York Thelma met the handsome and dashing Prince Ali KH although she only had eyes for Edward KH was absolutely taken by her to the point where he asked zma to delay her trip back home to London for his sake she said no of course but that didn’t stop
Him from bombarding her with flowers and de Declarations of Love upon her return to London Thelma met with Edward and she immediately knew something was off Edward wasn’t himself he remarked that he heard rumors of Khan’s extravagant shows of affection for her confused and distressed by Edward’s coolness Thelma
Turned to a friend for advice when Thelma met with Simpson everything clicked into place while Thelma was in the middle of inviting her to a couple’s weekend getaway Simpson received a direct phone call from Edward for Thelma the alarm Bells were screaming then during that weekend get together she
Noticed the secretive glances shared between Edward and Simpson at that moment thma knew that both of them had betrayed her and she wouldn’t stand for It angry at the prince for stabbing her in the back Thelma got her revenge she started seeing Prince Ali can the man that pained for her during her trip to America KH was the perfect Escape he allowed Thelma to bury her heart take deep into the back of her mind but the
Relationship didn’t last eventually they drifted apart Thelma felt more alone than ever but she still had one person to lean on in 1947 Thelma reunited with her twin in New York to care for her after a surgical procedure tragically the procedure went wrong and Thelma desperately spent every penny she had to
Keep her twin alive in 1955 Thelma received news that her mother The Towering Titan that once ruled over her childhood was Ill Thelma and her twin went to see her at once despite the pain her mother had caused her she still saw her as family a month later her mother
Was gone Thelma’s twin received $80,000 from her mother’s will and the two of them them started a new life together however this didn’t mean that Thelma had completely forsaken her past in fact she kept a token of remembrance one that was utterly Heartbreaking on January 29th 1970 at the age of 65 fess’s life came to an end while she was on the way to see her doctor she had a heart attack at the corner of Lexington and 73rd Street in Manhattan according to her niece Gloria Vanderbilt in Thelma’s bag was a
Miniature teddy bear that the Prince of Wales had given her years before and it was worn down to the Nub if you enjoyed this video please give it a like And Subscribe
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