Madonna denies Edward and Wallis were Nazi sympathisers
Madonna has told how she has never felt as loved by a man as Wallis Simpson was by King Edward VIII.
The pop queen turned film director said that she believes men “want power” and that they will “kill to have it”.
But Madonna, 53, told The Radio Times that King Edward VIII – who she denied was a Nazi sympathiser and whose relationship with the American divorcee is the subject of her new film – was an exception.
The star’s movie, 'W.E', features a modern-day American woman, Wally, trapped in a loveless marriage and obsessed with her namesake, Mrs Simpson.
The singer said: “When she (Wally) says ’I wonder what it was like to have been loved that much?’ I think I probably said that to myself.
“Men want power and they will kill to have it. If you look back in history, how many wars have been waged to win the throne? And here’s a man who walked away from that for love.
“And so for a romantic like me, I would say: ’Wow, to be loved like that!’ And Wally feels the same way – she wants to be loved like that.”
Twice-divorced Madonna, whose current partner is 24-year-old dancer Brahim Zaibat, said: “What Edward gave up was huge, monumental, but I also don’t think that he realised that when he abdicated he was never going to be allowed to come back into the country.”
She added: “I’ve been asked many times if I would give up everything for love. And I think it’s important to understand that with love, and in all relationships, you have to give up something.”
Madonna reiterated her belief that Edward and Wallis Simpson were not Nazi sympathisers.
“I saw a pattern that we have in society – that when women have some kind of power, and we don’t understand them, we have to diminish them by turning them into heretics.
“When they are perceived to have too much power, we say ’oh, that’s because she’s a sorceress...”’
The star told the magazine: “I don’t believe they were Nazis. In fact, I did as much research on that as possible – I was looking for that empirical proof and I couldn’t find it.”
Madonna said that she had come to film-making with “great humility” and that she had picked up “tips” from her ex-husbands, film director Guy Ritchie and actor and director Sean Penn.
“I watched closely what both Sean and Guy did. With Sean, I saw the importance of rehearsal and preparing and doing as much work as you can ahead of being on set.
“Guy is a much more visual director and he takes a lot of chances and risks when it comes to camera moves and things like that. And I learned a lot from him in that respect,” she said.
