Villa Windsor to Open to the Public in Paris

Exciting news! One of the most mysterious houses in Paris is set to open to the public as a museum.  It is none other than the Villa Windsor, the secluded property set in its own grounds on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne which has seen so many fascinating moments of history. I went along to find out how the work of preparing the house to open is progressing. 

It’s best known as the house where the Duke and Duchess of Windsor lived in exile, shunned in Britain after the crisis of his abdication in 1936. They leased it from 1953 and both died there, he in 1972 and she 14 years later. But there are significant stories to be told before and after those dates too. The house was the family home of General – later President – Charles de Gaulle for two crucial years just after the Liberation of Paris in 1944. And from 1986 it was leased by Mohammed Al Fayed and visited, just the day before the accident which killed them, by his son Dodi and Diana, Princess of Wales. Were they perhaps, as was later claimed, thinking of setting up home there? 

All of this was on my mind as the gates opened to allow me inside the grounds, and I got my first glance of the limestone mansion, with its pillared entrance and beautiful wrought-iron balcony. I saw traces of Art Deco – it was built in 1929 – but also of the classical style popular in the 18th century. The architect had been instructed to create something with majestic grandeur, befitting a property commissioned by the rich and influential Henri Lillaz, lawyer, politician and businessman. Properties in this little corner of the Bois de Boulogne, still owned by the Ville de Paris, had to be exclusive and elegant, even though they were set behind high walls and fences, away from prying eyes. 

I was here to meet Océane Léonard, head of communications at the Mansart Foundation, the heritage organization which is overseeing the restoration of the Villa Windsor and two nearby properties, the Château de Bagatelle and its Trianon.  As the work is completed, explained Océane, the three buildings will be opened to the public, creating a parcours historique – a historic route – through three centuries: the 18th century at the Bagatelle, designed for Queen Marie-Antoinette, the 19th century at the Trianon, and the intriguing stories which played out in the Villa Windsor during the 20th century. 

Our tour of the Villa Windsor, where workmen were much in evidence, began in the imposing hallway, dominated by its grand staircase and rococo inspired balustrade. Off to the right led the little room which Charles de Gaulle used as his office, reading the files brought to him by car every night at 10 pm and making plans for post-liberation France now that the German Occupation had ended. “Our exact plans are still evolving,” said Océane, “but when the house opens, we hope to have some sort of homage to de Gaulle in this room.” He lived and worked here for only two years, but it was a crucial period for the rebirth of an independent France after World War II.   

The entrance hall leads into the main reception rooms, high-ceilinged like all the rooms in the house, and still bearing signs of the décor chosen by the Duchess of Windsor. When Mohamed Al-Fayed took over the property after her death, he was keen to retain its royal links, buying back much of the furniture which had been sold at auction, leaving the décor largely untouched and renaming the house the Villa Windsor. After the death of Dodi Al-Fayed and Princess Diana, much of the house’s contents were auctioned off again.Among the thousands of items sold by Sothebys in New York were pieces of furniture, jewelery, personal letters and numerous photographs and the hope is that some at least can be traced and bought back for display here in the house. 

In the salle de reception, Océane pointed out traces of silver and gold tasselled wallpaper, an example of the style kitsch favored by the Duchess. Next, we went into an empty room, the former library, once home to bookshelves, sofas and a well-known portrait of the Duchess, commissioned by her husband in 1939. It shows her wearing a blue silk dress and the fabulously expensive Bouquet of Flowers brooch Edward had just bought her. Océane’s descriptions make it easy to imagine how it all once looked, and she explains the hope that the former atmosphere can be recreated through a mix of sourcing original items and having copies made where that proves not possible. 

In the dining room, we gazed up at the minstrels’ gallery where musicians were invited to sit and play during dinner parties for important guests. It’s easy to imagine visitors dining in style in this room, with china, glass and silver all sparkling in candlelight. Were the Duke and Duchess happy here, I wondered. Well, explained my guide, they certainly lived in luxury, with about 15 servants – chauffeurs, gardeners, even a hairdresser – and a troop of little pug dogs. But they were shunned by many, including the British royal family, who saw the abdication as definitive, and most of Europe’s fashionable set, who knew about their high-level visits to Nazi Germany in the 1930s.    

On the floor above, we looked round the couple’s private apartments, a central salon where it’s said they met at 7 every evening for a cocktail, and two bedroom suites.  We walked through the Duchess’s dressing, full of cupboards, including one filled floor to ceiling with shoe racks, to her bedroom and bathroom, where remains of the Art Deco style paintings she’d commissioned for the walls can still be seen. On the Duke’s side was the room where he slept under a bedcover monogrammed E R for Edward Rex, the title he no longer held, and the bathroom where, said Océane, he kept a desk because he sometimes used it as an office. 

Nearby were two boudoirs, adapted for the use of medical staff during the Duke’s last illness. It was here that he died of throat cancer in 1972, just days after his niece, Queen Elizabeth II, had visited him and refused his request that the Duchess be granted the title of Royal Highness. After that, the Duchess lived another 14 years, increasingly reclusive and frail, succumbing eventually to dementia. Visitors were few and she was bedridden in the last years, with mainly the servants for company. The atmosphere on this floor was one of faded elegance and a lingering sadness.

These two floors, along with the basement and the top floor – used by staff in the Duke of Windsor’s time and as a family apartment by the Al-Fayeds – are being prepared for opening to the public. Information has been gleaned from many sources: old photographs and letters, material from the Paris Archives, Philippe de Gaulle’s best-selling memoir of his father and reminiscences from Otilia Pugliese, governess to the Al Fayed family. Many experts have been consulted, including  historians, archivists, architects and designers. Everything will be restored, as far as possible, to its original state, the only exception being the installation of a geo-thermic heating system in a bid to make the building more environmentally friendly.

I had two questions left for Océane. Firstly, when will it be open? She laughed.  Actually, she said, she gets emails every day asking that very question. Within a year from now (ie by autumn 2025) is the hope, at least for the Château de Bagatelle and its Trianon. The Villa Windsor might take a little longer. Much care is being taken to get everything just right, but it will surely be worth the wait. Océane herself described the Villa Windsor as “a place of calm, a haven of peace,” somewhere with a feeling of intimité. And yes, it’s all of those things, with the added pull of being the setting for some of the 20th century’s most intriguing stories. 

So who, I asked finally, does she imagine coming to visit?  There’s great interest from Americans, she said, because the Duchess was such a strong personality and her influence can still be seen in the décor. Plus, many Americans are interested in all things royal, especially if one of their own is involved. She’s not so sure about the British, for whom this is une histoire tendu, a sensitive story, given Edward’s abdication and his rather mixed reputation. I begged to differ. I think the British will also be clamoring to see the Villa Windsor as soon as that’s possible. I asked Océane to let me know when the opening date is fixed and I plan to be one of the first in the queue.