A Carl Becke German made baby grand piano in a dark rosewood case

This piano was originally the property of the former King of England, Edward VIII (later known as the Duke of Windsor) and was used by him at his home Fort Belvedere in Windsor Great Park

Around 1937 the Duke moved in exile to Paris along with Wallis Simpson and most of his possessions, but some of the larger items of furniture were sold anonymously and confidentially at various salerooms around London due to the controversial nature of the previous owner at the time

In 1938 and an article appeared in the Daily Mirror about this "confidential piano sale" - clearly the saleroom were leaking the identity of the piano in order to increase the sale price despite their claims to the contrary and it was enough of an open secret for the rumour to end up in a national newspaper

The purchaser of the piano wrote to Harrods and received a letter confirming the identity of the piano and its former owner. We have this remarkable original letter from 1939 which comes with the piano, and the embossed metal Harrods stock plate with matching serial number is still inside the rim of the instrument. Thankfully GDPR did not exist at the time, they would not be able to write a letter like this today!

The instrument is in mostly original condition internally but still holds tuning and plays well

The casework is in very good condition for the age, with just minor wear and patina to be expected

A remarkable opportunity to own a piece of history, a fabulous story with provenance and a fully playable instrument also