DATELINE TOOBWORLD - WALLIS SIMPSON..... AS SEEN ON TV

On this date in 1896, Wallis Simpson was born.

From Wikipedia:
Wallis Simpson (born Bessie Wallis Warfield; 19 June 1896[ – 24 April 1986), later known as the Duchess of Windsor, was an American socialite whose intended marriage to the British king Edward VIII caused a constitutional crisis that led to Edward's abdication.

The King's desire to marry a woman who had two living ex-husbands threatened to cause a constitutional crisis in the United Kingdom and the Dominions, and ultimately led to his abdication in December 1936 to marry "the woman I love". After abdicating, the former king was created Duke of Windsor by his brother and successor, King George VI. Edward married Wallis six months later, after which she was formally known as the Duchess of Windsor, without the style "Her Royal Highness". She was instead styled as "Her Grace", a style normally reserved for non-royal dukes and duchesses.

There have been enough portrayals of Wallis Simpson to go around for many TV dimensions.  Normally I follow the dictum of "First Come, First Served" in determining who would be the official televersion of an historical figure in Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld.  But of course there are exceptions and this would be one of them.

Faye Dunaway was the first TV portrayal of Mrs. Simpson, in 1972's "The Woman I Love" (with Richard Chamberlain as Edward VIII.)  However, that was a TV movie and because of its temporal limitations, a lot of their story was left out.

Instead, I'm going with Cynthia Harris who played the Duchess six years later in the mini-series 'Edward & Mrs. Simpson'.  (This time out, Edward Fox portrayed the King.)

Wallis has been portrayed by:

• Faye Dunaway in "The Woman I Love" (1972, TV drama)
• Cynthia Harris in 'Edward & Mrs. Simpson' (1978, TV miniseries)
• Barbara Parkins in "To Catch a King" (1983, TV movie)
• Jane Seymour in "The Woman He Loved" (1988, TV movie)
• Amber Sealey in "Bertie and Elizabeth" (2002, TV movie)
• Joely Richardson in Wallis & Edward (2005, "TV movie")
• Gillian Anderson in 'Any Human Heart' (2010, TV mini-series)
• Emma Clifford in 'Upstairs, Downstairs' (2010, TV mini-series)
• Lia Williams in 'The Crown' (2016, TV series)

As you can see in that list, 'Upstairs, Downstairs' is one of two TV series in which Wallis Simpson appeared.  But it is the only one which is in the main Toobworld*.  (It is a sequel to the original series, and not a reboot.)  Therefore, Wallis Simpson, although looking different from Cynthia Harris, is still the same woman, but seen from the perspective of regular characters from the TV series. 

* O'BSERVATIONS:'The Crown' is a sumptuous production which will stand the test of time better than 'Edward And Mrs. Simpson', but it has far too many historical figures which have been portrayed multiple times on TV.  Without fictional characters to ground them as being from those characters' perspective, it's better to just let it reside in some other TV dimension. 

Because Matt Smith kicked off the series with his portrayal of Prince Philip, I'd like to think 'The Crown' can be found in the same Toobworld as "The Hound Of The Baskervilles" with Tom Baker as Sherlock Holmes, and "Robin Hood" with Patrick Troughton in the title role.  As a 'Doctor Who' fan, that amuses me....

BCnU!