by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Mistress: a woman who has a continuing, extramarital sexual relationship with one man

Freda Dudley Ward was the mistress of the future King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom from 1918 – 1934 while he was Prince of Wales.

Born Winifred May Birkin on July 28, 1894, Freda Dudley Ward was the eldest of the four children of Colonel Charles Wilfred Birkin and his American wife Claire Lloyd Howe. Freda’s paternal grandparents were Sir Thomas Birkin, 1st Baronet and Harriet Tebbutt. Her paternal grandfather was a wealthy lace manufacturer, whose company had its headquarters in Nottingham, England with large factories in the Kingdom of Saxony (now in Germany) and Chester, Pennsylvania in the United States. Freda’s maternal grandparents were Alexander Howe, from a family of American politicians, and Ada Webb.

Freda had three younger siblings:

• Violet Birkin (1899 – 1953), married Douglas Holden Blew-Jones, had one daughter
• Vera Birkin (1903 – 1970), married Frank James Wriothesley Seely, had five children
• Sir Charles Birkin, 5th Baronet (1907 – 1985), married Janet Johnson, had three children

On July 9, 1913, Freda married William Dudley Ward, the Liberal Member of Parliament for Southampton. William’s family surname was Ward but Dudley Ward became their official surname through common usage.

Freda and William had two daughters:

• Penelope Dudley Ward (1914 – 1982), an actress, married (1) actor, screenwriter, producer and director Anthony Pelissier, divorced, had one daughter actress Tracy Reed (2) film director Sir Carol Reed, his second wife, had one son
• Claire Angela Dudley Ward (1916 – 1999), known as Angela, married Major-General Sir Robert Laycock, had two sons and three daughters

In March 1918, during World War I, Freda and a male friend were walking through Belgrave Square in London. They noticed, through an open door, that a party was going on in one of the homes. They then noticed that maroons, fireworks used as a danger or warning signal, were going off indicating a German Zeppelin raid. They could see the guests running down the stairs to the safety of the cellar. The hostess called out to Freda and her friend to join her guests in the cellar. While in the darkness of the cellar, a young man started a conversation with Freda. He asked where she lived and then she asked him where he lived. He replied in London and sometimes in Windsor. When the air raid was over, the party hostess invited Freda and her friend to join the party, saying, “His Royal Highness is so anxious that you should do so.” Freda spent the evening dancing with the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VIII. Her male friend disappeared during the evening, and in the early hours of the next morning, the Prince of Wales, called David by his family and friends, escorted Freda home.

The next day, David called upon Freda at her home and said he would like to see her again, beginning what would be a sixteen year relationship. While the relationship itself was discrete, it was never a secret and was well-known in British society. Throughout their relationship, David called Freda every morning – her household called it “the baker’s call” – and usually visited her sometime during the day. David adored Freda’s two daughters who called him “Little Prince.” Freda and her husband eventually separated and in 1931, they divorced.

After 1924, David had several short affairs and one longer affair from 1929 – 1932 with American Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness. Thelma was born Thelma Morgan, the identical twin of Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt who was the mother of Gloria Vanderbilt, the fashion designer and the mother of CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper. During this period, David’s attachment to Freda remained more or less the same.

In May 1934, Freda’s daughter Penelope had an appendectomy and was seriously ill. Freda spent most of her time at the nursing home where Penelope was recovering. Only when Penelope was out of danger did Freda realize that weeks had gone by without David calling her or visiting her. Freda called St. James Palace in London where David had apartments. The switchboard operator and Freda had spoken nearly daily for years and she told Freda that she had something terrible to tell her. The Prince of Wales had given orders that her calls were not to be put through. Freda would never speak to David again. In January 1934, Wallis Warfield Simpson had become David’s mistress. On January 20, 1936, David’s father King George V died and David became King Edward VIII. Wallis divorced her second husband in October 1936. On December 10, 1936, David abdicated his throne so he could marry Wallis, because, as he said in his famous speech, he was unable to do his job “as I would have wished to do” without the support of “the woman I love”.

On October 20, 1937, Freda married Cuban-born Pedro Monés, the 1st Marquis de Casa Maury who was a naturalized British citizen but retained his Spanish title. He legally changed his name to Peter de Casa Maury. Peter was a former Wing Commander of the Royal Air Force and intelligence officer, a race car driver, and the founder of Curzon Cinemas. Freda then held the Spanish title Marquesa de Casa Maury. The couple had no children and divorced in 1954. Peter died on June 27, 1968.

Freda Dudley Ward (left) and Lady Birkenhead attending a christening in 1937

After Peter’s death in 1968, Freda retired to a small home in Chelsea, London where she continued her interest in home decorating, focusing on the country house look. She died at her Chelsea home on March 16, 1983, at the age of 88.

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Works Cited

• Donaldson, Frances. (1974). Edward VIII. Ballantine Biograpy.
• Pedro Jose Isidro Manuel Ricardo Mones Maury, Marques de Casa Maury. The Peerage. (2007a). https://www.thepeerage.com/p14286.htm#i142853
• Trethewey, Rachel. (2023, October 8). As never-before-seen photos are auctioned, meet the married lover who came before Wallis. Daily Mail Online. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12592745/Wallis-Simpson-prince-Edward-VIII-affair-Freda-Dudley-Ward.html
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Freda Dudley Ward. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freda_Dudley_Ward
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Sir Thomas Birkin, 1st Baronet. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Thomas_Birkin,_1st_Baronet
• Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). William Dudley Ward. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Dudley_Ward
• Winifred May Birkin. The Peerage. (2007). https://www.thepeerage.com/p992.htm#i9915