With Hugo Vickers, Biographer, Lecturer, and Royal Expert.

Acclaimed Royal biographer Hugo Vickers’s lecture provides a fresh perspective on the doomed royal couple’s years in exile.

While Mr. Vickers has his own theories about the Abdication itself; this lecture will highlight the untold drama of the final years of The Duchess’s life. He will discuss how Wallis’ life plummeted after Duke’s death and illustrate how her later years ended with the criminal exploitation of an old, sick woman.

Mr. Vickers will introduce Suzanne Blum, the ruthless French lawyer, and explain how once she was widowed, The Duchess’s precarious financial and social position added to her horrible plight.

Using previously unpublished papers and other private letters, he will show how The Duchess of Windsor’s once-glamorous life quickly spiraled into one of desperation and fear.

Vickers will paint a resonant portrait of a complex and tragic icon and reveal the truth behind her final years—research that became the basis for the 2026 film starring Isabella Rossellini and Joan Collins.

In-Person: Lecture at 6:15 p.m. ET followed by a reception and book signing.

Location: New York School of Interior Design, Arthur King Satz Auditorium, 170 E 70th Street, New York

Tickets: Royal Oak is offering SGSNY members member pricing, for $35 per ticket.