Ernest Aldrich Simpson

Ernest Aldrich Simpson was born on May 6, 1897, in New York City. He attended The Hill School and later Harvard University. During World War I, he served as a captain in the Coldstream Guards and subsequently became a British subject, renouncing his United States citizenship. His father, Ernest Louis Simpson, was a British citizen of Jewish descent, originally bearing the surname Solomon, and was a co-founder of the shipbroking firm Simpson, Spence & Young. His mother, Charlotte Woodward Gaines, was American, the daughter of a New York City attorney. Simpson had one elder sister, Maud Simpson, who married Major Peter Kerr-Smiley MP.

After his military service, Simpson joined his family's shipbroking firm, Simpson, Spence & Young, a company that had been trading since 1880. In his early years, he was described as tall, with blue eyes, blond curly hair, a neat blond moustache, and a fashion-conscious dresser.

He married four times during his life. His first marriage was to Dorothea Dechert on February 22, 1923, in New York City. Dorothea was previously married to James Flanagan Dechert, and they divorced in 1928. The couple had one child, Audrey C. C. Simpson, born in 1924. Audrey later married twice, first to Murray Rossant in 1945 and subsequently to Edmund Hope Driggs III in 1949. Dorothea Dechert died in 1967.

Simpson's second marriage was to Wallis Warfield Spencer, later known as the Duchess of Windsor, on July 21, 1928, in London. Wallis was born in Pennsylvania and was previously married to Earl Winfield Spencer Jr. They divorced on May 3, 1937. Their marriage attracted significant media attention due to Wallis’s subsequent marriage to King Edward VIII after his abdication. Simpson and Wallis remained friends after their divorce.

His third marriage was to Mary Raffray (born Mary Huntemuller Kirk) on November 19, 1937, in Connecticut. Mary was the daughter of Henry Child Kirk, a Baltimore silversmith proprietor. She was a childhood friend of Wallis Simpson and had been a bridesmaid at Wallis’s first wedding. Mary and Ernest Simpson had one child, Ernest Henry Child Simpson, born in 1939. The child was later known as Aharon Solomons and served in the Israeli Army. Mary Simpson died of cancer on October 2, 1941.

His fourth marriage was to Avril Leveson-Gower (née Avril Joy Mullens) on August 12, 1948, in London. Avril was the daughter of Sir John Ashley Mullens and was previously married to Brigadier-General Hugh Nugent Leveson-Gower and Prince George Imeretinsky. Avril Simpson died in a car accident in Mexico in 1978.

Ernest Aldrich Simpson died of throat cancer in London on November 30, 1958, at the age of 61.

In popular culture, Simpson has been portrayed in various films, including roles played by Charles Keating, Tom Wilkinson, Anthony Smee, David Westhead, and David Harbour.