Wallis Simpson was wrongly maligned by history, claims Madonna at Venice Film Festival
As a singer with one of the most enduring careers in pop, Madonna is a dab hand at reinvention.
Which is why she feels uniquely placed to transform the image of Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee whose love affair with King Edward VIII plunged the monarchy into crisis.
Madonna has written and directed a new film, W.E., which recasts Mrs Simpson as a romantic heroine and Queen Elizabeth as the bitchy sister-in-law.
Explaining why she had made W.E. - the name is based on the couple’s monogrammed initials - Madonna said: “Wallis Simpson was much maligned in history books. I think people didn’t understand the choice the King made to give up his position and it changed English history - it changed the history of the world in many ways....