Lifestyle

Cheers To Sydney Johnson And The Windsors

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Sydney Johnson, personal valet to Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, was a Bahamian born right on the island of Andros in 1923.

Published

2 years ago

November 13, 2022

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – You’ve probably been binge watching the Netflix series, “The Crown” recently but did you know that Sydney Johnson, personal valet to Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, was a Bahamian born right on the island of Andros in 1923.

A youtube series, “Beneath The Crown” takes a deeper look into the life of sydney.

In 1940, at the age of 16, Sydney Johnson was hired as a beach attendant at the Duke’s government house here in New Providence. He made such an impression over the years that when the Duke’s term ended, he took Johnson along with him to Paris in 1952.

Over the years, Johnson and the Duke worked together seamlessly.

In 1972, the Duke’s health sharply declined and he passed away in 1972 Johnson’s wife, with whom he shared four children, then passed away soon after to make matters worse, after a falling out about time spent with his children, he was fired that same year by the Duchess of Windsor.

Johnson eventually began working at the iconic Ritz Hotel in Paris. There, he met the hotel’s owner, Mohammed Alfayed, who had a strong desire to become a part of British society. He hired Johnson as his personal valet and to teach him the ways of the Windsors, in particular the etiquette of the British.

Alfayed, fascinated with the Windsors, eventually signed a 25 year agreement to lease their former villa. Johnson served as the curator of the restoration.

The re-opening of the villa would unfortunately, be the last big hoorah for Johnson just a little over a month later, Johnson passed away on January 17th, 1990 at the age of 69.