The Duchess of Windsor’s notorious jewellery collection was, and still is, the subject of intense speculation regarding not only its murky provenance (were the gems originally sourced clandestinely from the English monarchy’s vast royal collection?), but also its eventual controversial dispersal at the close of the 20th century during two celebrated auctions in Geneva and New York.

Despite the plethora of general biographical material generated by the Windsor story during the last fifty years, an in-depth, balanced account of the greed and deceit permeating the horde of stolen jewels and artworks they acquired over a lifetime of subterfuge and public denial has never been published.