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THE GOODCHILD FAMILY BUSINESS BEGAN 111 YEARS AGO IN ENGLAND, SPECIALIZING IN THE CARE OF A FINE HOUSEHOLD: HORSEHAIR UPHOLSTERY, DRAPERIES, CARPET INSTALLATION, CABINET MAKING, AND FRENCH POLISHING. TODAY, THE DISTINGUISHED LEGACY OF THIS FAMILY — ONCE A FAVORITE OF KING GEORGE V AND QUEEN MARY — CONTINUES, ALBEIT A BIT FARTHER AWAY. IN DALLAS, TO BE EXACT. 64 I n December 1936, when King Edward VIII signed abdication papers relinquishing the British throne to marry his mistress Wallis Simpson, he did so from his private residence, Fort Belvedere. Located on the grounds of Windsor Great Park in Surrey, the small castle was built in 1725 as a folly for members of the royal family, who occasionally summered there. The young king snubbed Buckingham Palace for Belvedere, a gift from his father and his self-proclaimed place of solace. The eccentric turreted estate seemed the proper spot for Edward to do the unthinkable. At the time, England and much of the world was in an uproar over the king's decision to marry Simpson — an American divorcée who was still married to her second husband. In turn, the siren socialite received a bounty of anonymous threatening letters. Fearing for her safety, Edward insisted she move to Fort Belvedere with him. And so, in the weeks leading up to the abdication, Simpson's relocation was carried out with utmost discretion and secrecy. The trusted person called upon to carry out such a task was one Albert Goodchild, longtime upholsterer by royal appointment to Edward's parents, King George V and Queen Mary. Albert, who lived with his family six miles away in the village of Ascot, was also a superintendent of police for the county. "He would have absolutely seen it as his duty," says his grandson, Peter Goodchild. "Everyone knew he could be counted on not to spill the beans." The move to Belvedere bought the besieged couple some time, but when Edward finally announced his abdication, Wallis had already fled to France, where Edward later joined her. The Belvedere anecdote was quietly woven into Goodchild family lore and passed through the generations but was rarely spoken of. Working for the royal family and titled gentry "was just par for the course," say Peter, who has carried on the family furniture and upholstery business, now called Goodchild Restorations, Inc., since moving to Dallas in the early 1980s. His father, Bert Goodchild, picked up the reins in the 1950s and continued working for the royal family when called upon. "It sounds BY REBECCA SHERMAN. PHOTOGRAPHY PÄR BENGTSSON. ART DIRECTION MICHELLE AVIÑA. ROYAL APPOINTMENT BY Peter Goodchild's Dallas Design District studio