Love on the Auction Block

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor show, courtesy of Sotheby’s, will be making a stop in Los Angeles next month. Billing its upcoming sale as the “final chapter” of the most celebrated love story of the 20th century and “perhaps the greatest treasure house of royal possessions offered at auction,” Sotheby’s will sell more than 40,000 objects divided into 3,200 lots. (The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis auction, by comparison, included 1,200 lots.)

All of it is the property of Mohamed al Fayed, chairman of Harrods in London and owner of L’Hotel Ritz in Paris. In 1986, following the death of the duchess, Al Fayed bought the Windsors’ villa in Paris and its contents.

Until now, Al Fayed and his family have occupied the top floor of the Windsor villa in the Bois de Bologne. Now they require more space, resulting in what may be the world’s most exciting garage sale. Proceeds will go to the Al Fayed International Charitable Foundation, which supports medical research for childhood diseases, hospitals and orphan homes, according to Sotheby’s.

The sale will be held in New York in September, but first a group of more than 100 objects will go on view in Beverly Hills at Sotheby’s Wilshire Boulevard headquarters Aug. 18-21. The exhibition will include a set of the duke’s golf clubs and decorative and fine arts featuring works by Utrillo and Andy Warhol. In addition, a dining room setting will be re-created using china, silver and linens.

The Windsors’ belongings tell more than a century’s worth of English history. “One can create a wonderful timeline,” says David Redden, an executive vice president and auctioneer at Sotheby’s, New York. The reason is the appearance of the royal cypher--the mark of ownership--on thousands of objects. There is marked material from Queen Victoria, the duke’s great-grandmother; King Edward VII, his grandfather; and King George V, his father. There are items marked “Edward, Prince of Wales” or “EP,” for “Edward Prince,” which was the duke’s title from 1911 through 1936.

When he became king of England in 1936, the mark “ERI,” for “Edward Rex Imperator” appeared. After his abdication later that year, Edward and his wife, the former Wallis Simpson, developed cyphers together, including “WE” for “Wallis” and “Edward.” Cyphers appear on handkerchiefs, silver, linens, luggage, stationery and picture frames.

The auction will take place in Manhattan on Sept. 11-19. No decision has been made about an audio hookup in Beverly Hills, allowing the locals to bid live against New Yorkers as they did for the Onassis auction last year, a first in Sotheby’s 250 years. (Actually, anyone, anywhere, can phone in a bid during the sale.)

There will be a private reception in Beverly Hills on Aug. 18 for VIPs and top clients.

“Many of us look at the Duke and Duchess of Windsor as one of the truly great love stories,” says Andrea Van de Kamp, senior vice president and managing director of Sotheby’s, West Coast.

From a historical perspective, the highlight of the collection is the “abdication desk,” a George III mahogany library table with an estimated value of $30,000 to $50,000. It was there on Dec. 11, 1936, that King Edward VIII signed his abdication so that he could marry Simpson, a divorcee. They wed the following year.

Other items for sale include a wedding album of photographs by Cecil Beaton (expected to fetch between $8,000 and $12,000); the duchess’ clothing, including couture dresses by Dior, Givenchy and Schiaparelli; 19 lots of royal Christmas cards ($300 to $2,000 per lot); and gobs of pug dog-emblazoned items, pugs being the couple’s favorite breed. It will all be detailed in a three-volume, 1,200-page catalog, which will be available at Sotheby’s for $90 or by calling (800) 601-6155.