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Traitor King
- The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
- Narrated by: Andrew Lownie
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
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Traitor King
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Summary
The Sunday Times best seller
A Daily Mail Royal Book of the Year, 2021
December 1936. The king of England, Edward VIII, has given up his crown, foregoing his duty for the love of Wallis Simpson, an American divorcée. Their courtship has been dogged by controversy and scandal, but with Edward's abdication, they can live happily ever after. But do they?
In Traitor King, best-selling historian Andrew Lownie draws on hitherto unexplored archives to uncover the dramatic world of the Windsors post-abdication. Lownie reveals a couple obsessed with their status, financially exploiting their position and manipulating the media. Filled with treachery and betrayal, this is a story of an exiled royal and the Nazi attempts to recruit him to their cause—and of why the royal family never forgave the duke for choosing love over duty.
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Critic reviews
"Darkly compelling...hundreds of eye-popping details.... Gripping...damning portrait of the Windsors." (Daily Mail, Book of the Week)
"Briskly written and compulsively readable...." (A.N. Wilson, TLS)
"Meticulously researched." (Spectator)
"Entertaining...convincing...timely. Urgent reading for royals." (Evening Standard)
What listeners say about Traitor King
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ken P
- 14-09-21
The Treacherous King
An excellently listened to story of a man who would have given this country to Germany to fulfil his own arrogant belief that he knew better than anyone else what was good for us citizens, and ignoring the Nazi's murderous journey through Europe led by another equally treacherous person,Adolf Hitler, albeit Hitler was a much more clear individual than the Duke of Windsor.
How on earth did the politicians allow him to be given money and position when they knew he collaborated with the Nazi ' is beyond belief. His passing along with That Woman was a long overdue affair. A quicker way would have been a quick assassination of them both, but particularly him.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- L. McCulloch
- 01-07-23
Excellent book, poor narration
It’s a pity the author narrated this book as he is stilted and boring. I have actually heard him lecture on the book and he was much better at that. Excellent book though, which debunks the myth of “a great love story” and exposes the utter nastiness of this couple.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Curly
- 13-09-22
Excellent listen
Very good narrator and great story, my view on King Edward has not changed. Awful man .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Corsaire
- 14-09-22
Sensational story, less sensational reading
The story of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson is well known, but hearing his post-abdication career described here in detail fills one with with surprise and astonishment at the level of his selfishness, myopia and corruption. The life story is is compelling, but the reading less so. The reader hesitates over almost every foreign name, or pronounces them differently on different occasions. A rather emotionless and flat reading.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- JohnWK
- 24-02-22
A good kicking!
The Duke of Windsor doesn't come out of this very well but he looks like a modern day saint compared to his wife who gets what can only be described as the literary equivalent of a good kicking whilst defenceless on the ground!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eva Davison
- 30-05-22
Extremely interesting.
I find most stories behind the Royals interesting but this was extremely reveling. Bit disappointed with the performance which I found a bit flat, some times hesitant and on the odd occasion , words mispronounced ( at least in my books).
Overall , a good listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mystic meg
- 07-01-23
Couldn’t stop listening, recommended!
A very interesting book. So much information. Thoroughly recommend. Well written & narrated. I’m now listening to the story of the Mountbattens.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Robert
- 07-08-23
A Tale of Two Wasters
I chose this on the strength of the author's book on Guy Burgess, but it is a poor companion to that excellent tome.
The story of the Windsors has been told many times but Andrew Lownie's version shows some excellent research and use of background detail, revealing a level of self-absorption, entitlement and playing of the establishment that makes them hard to not despise.
Mr Lownie has chosen to narrate this tale himself and either because of the lack of an editor or studio time he doesn't do a very good job... and he's reading his own text. The basic mispronunciations and mistakes in rhythm and emphasis are most distracting. I listened to this book more than once, not through enjoyment but in order to piece the story together better. It wasn't a waste of time but could have been so much better, as the Guy Burgess book proves is possible.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Phoebs Lyle
- 08-02-22
The History Was Good, But The Performance Was Off
I loved the history that was covered, but I found the narration very boring. Could have been better performed.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Natalie Taylor
- 13-11-21
Fascinating!
Andrew brilliantly takes the listener on the journey of the post-abdication lives of Wallis and David and you are not left wanting. Very much enjoyed!
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