X-Nico

5 unusual facts about Operation Willi


Operation Willi

This investigation, based on a combination of surveillance, informants and hearsay, alleged that the Windsors, especially the duchess, had been passing secrets to the Nazis to wreck the Allies' war effort, primarily through Ribbentrop, who was said to be Mrs. Simpson's lover.

When World War II broke out in September 1939, the Duke became liaison officer with the British military mission with the French Army High Command.

On that same day, Schellenberg reported that Sir Walter Monckton, an old friend of the Duke, had arrived, evidently tasked by the British government to speed the Windsors toward the Bahamas as soon as possible.

Operation Willi was the German code name for the unsuccessful attempt by the SS to kidnap Edward, Duke of Windsor in July 1940 and induce him to work with German dictator Adolf Hitler for either a peace settlement with Britain, or a restoration to the throne after the German conquest of Great Britain.

Edward, being notoriously lax in security, often left top secret government files sent to him unguarded in his Fort Belvedere residence, giving Mrs. Simpson every opportunity to do so.



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