Always a fascinating subject, she is in the news at the moment because of the release of government papers from the 1930's, giving further background information about the events that led to the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936.

The Duchess was the subject of a hugely popular 1970's television series, "Edward and Mrs. Simpson," and was also seen on stage in the 1990's in the play HRH and the musical Always.

The press have also reported that Gwyneth Paltrow is lined up to play the Duchess in a forthcoming drama for the BBC.

Now, a new theatre production company, Balcony, which specializes in plays from or about the inter-war period (1918-1939) is to stage a play about the Duchess, A Dangerous Woman at Jermyn Street Theatre.

A comedy about the Duchess of Windsor, A Dangerous Woman is directed by Pip Pickering and stars Jennifer Croxton and Sinead O'Keeffe, and runs from March 4 (press night is March 11) to April 19, an unusually long run on the fringe.