More Treasures of the Windsors to Be Auctioned

The desk at which the Duke of Windsor signed away his throne for the woman he loved will be auctioned off in September, along with more than 40,000 objects from the couple’s home in Paris.

For nine days, Sotheby’s New York gallery will offer mementos of one of the great love stories of our time, the auction house said Monday.

The highlights include the “Abdication Desk” at which the duke, having reigned as King Edward VII for less than a year, signed his abdication in 1936 to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. As king, and head of the Church of England, he could not marry a divorced woman. The desk, a George III mahogany library table from about 1755, is expected to bring $30,000 to $50,000.

Mohamed Al Fayed, chairman of Harrods of London, acquired the couple’s home after the Duchess of Windsor died in 1986. The duke died in 1972.

The auction Sept. 11-19 is expected to bring in as much as $7 million. Proceeds will benefit children’s charities worldwide.