The Windsors I Knew: An American Private Secretary's Memoir of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor Nassau, Bahamas 1940-1944

This memoir of an American private secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor provides a vivid, first-hand account of their day- to-day lives during their time as Royal Governor and First-Lady of the Bahamas during World War II. It is not based upon the second-hand accounts of others published years after the deaths of the famous and controversial royal couple, the same couple which is portrayed as unsupportive of British war efforts in the Netflix Series "The Crown". Jean D. Hardcastle-Taylor (nee Drewes) actually lived with the former British King and his American wife in Government House, Nassau, from 1940 to mid-1944. She observed her royal employers with a keen eye, and gives witness to their abiding love and affection for one another as they worked as a team (WE) to improve the living conditions of the Bahamian people and lead numerous projects in support of British war efforts. The author produced her original typescript about 1965 in her home in Santa Cruz County, California, while shepherding her four children through high school. This was just over 20 years after she had left the employ of the Windsors in Nassau, and during a period which saw the publication of many second hand accounts of the royal couple's life together. Most of these newspaper and magazine articles, and books, had a loose relationship with actual facts or truth. As she typed away over a period of several months , she was often heard saying "I am going to set the record straight about what the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were really like". In 1968 at her eldest son's graduation from college, she asked him for a bit of help in getting her work published. Michael said "sure Mom", but the Vietnam War was being waged and a long naval career got in the way of keeping this promise. As fate would have it, Michael's wife Gloria spotted an article in the San Diego newspaper in 2009 about a large conference of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor Historical Society in nearby Coronado, CA. They gathered up Jean's typescript and Bahamas-era Windsor memorabilia and literally crashed the event. Michael made two presentations to the large group over a weekend. There they met the conference's keynote speaker, the eminent English royal historian and author Hugo Vickers, who agreed to edit the work once Michael integrated much of the author's fascinating memorabilia. The work was completed in 2016 with Hugo's expert help leading to publication of the first edition. Hugo added the first sentence to the first chapter which reads "A girl never knows how her life can suddenly change". As you can read, this was certainly true. Jean Drewes seemed destined for a job only dreamed of by most executive secretaries in 1940's New York. Tipped off about a prestigious position outside the country, she sought and landed her dream job working for the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. What would it be like to work for the former English King who gave up his throne to marry a twice-divorced American socialite? What was the Duke really like? What qualities did the Duchess possess to cause him to give up the Empire to marry her? What went on within Government House as they managed their daily life and the social and economic challenges of a small tropical colony of the British Empire? As their private secretary, Jean Drewes and the Duchess planned and coordinated the couple's official and social responsibilities. She traveled with them throughout the Bahamas and their several visits to America and Canada. She was responsible for processing all communications between the Duke in Nassau and his government and family in Britain during the war. Hugo also wrote the introduction to the book where he writes, "Here is a vivid, first-hand of their day-to-day lives. As such, it has value. Jean Drewes has observed her royal employers with a keen eye. I am sure it will be read with great interest in many corners of the world."