Prince Edward VIII’s Steamy Affair with a Paris Prostitute Helped Her Escape Prison After Murdering Her Husband

Most royal followers know that Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. At the time, it was considered one of the biggest royal scandals in history. But even before Edward gave up his rightful place as reigning monarch, he engaged in an even more shocking affair with a woman who would later allegedly murder her husband.

Edward VIII’s relationship with famed Parisian prostitute Marguerite Alibert was fortuitous for her. In exchange for keeping the details of their relationship quiet, Alibert got out of going to jail for cold-blooded murder, all thanks to the royal family.

Prince Edward VIII fell in love with a high-class courtesan

Edward VIII had a bit of a reputation as a lothario before he famously married Simpson. But the most famous of all his affairs was the one with Alibert, who’s credited with teaching the future monarch some bedroom skills and increasing his sexual confidence.

Historian Andrew Rose confirms that Edward became infatuated with Alibert and became her lover for more than a year. Rose wrote (via Medium), “She evidently taught him a lot about sexual technique. All these stories about him being taught sexual technique by Wallis Simpson, I’m afraid that’s really out of the window: if he hadn’t learnt his sexual techniques from Marguerite he wouldn’t have learnt it from anybody!”

Alibert was a resourceful woman who worked her way up from homelessness to becoming one of the most sought-after prostitutes in Paris high society. She associated with plenty of rich and powerful men, but her most important relationship was the one with Prince Edward.

Prince Edward VIII wrote Marguerite Alibert reckless love letters

One of the most indiscreet actions Prince Edward made wasn’t the affair itself — it was sending long, rambling love letters to Alibert. These letters revealed everything from military secrets to royal family woes and drama.

The royal probably didn’t think much of pouring his heart out to the woman he loved. That is, until he decided to end his relationship with her. According to Rose, Alibert responded to Edward breaking up with her by calling him “a regular stinker” and insinuating that she kept all his letters and wasn’t afraid to make them public.

Edward wrote to a friend, “Oh those bloody letters. How I curse myself now, tho’ only if I can square this case it will be the last one as she’s the only woman I’ve ever written to.’”

He professed to another friend, “I must get those letters back somehow.”

Marguerite Alibert dodged a murder charge because of Prince Edward VIII

In Sept. 1923, Alibert got caught holding a smoking gun at the Savoy hotel in London. The former courtesan had since married a rich Egyptian businessman named Ali Fahmy, who was 10 years younger than she. But then Alibert decided to shoot him twice in the back.

The former sex worker never expected to go to prison for her alleged crime, however. Because she still had those letters, Prince Edward’s lover was able to avoid having a fair trial.

Thanks to royal family influence, the jury was never informed of Alibert’s history of prostitution or her former relationship with Prince Edward VIII. Instead, she was presented as a wife who underwent years of physical abuse and finally snapped.

“This was a show trial. The authorities wanted Marguerite to be acquitted. A murder conviction would have been catastrophic for the Crown,” Rose wrote.

Those tactics worked. Alibert was acquitted and returned to Paris, where she took on more wealthy lovers to keep her well cared for until her death in 1971. Meanwhile, Prince Edward went on to have a scandalous marriage that changed the royal family forever.