The Instrument of Abdication signed by Edward VIII and his three brothers

The Edward VIII abdication crisis occurred in 1936, when King-Emperor Edward VIII of the British Empire precipitated a constitutional crisis throughout his realms by his desire to marry his mistress, Mrs. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. A constitutional crisis is a severe breakdown in the orderly operation of Government. A realm (rɛlm is the dominion of a monarch king queen emperor empress or other sovereign ruler Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite. Wallis Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Spencer, then Simpson; 19 June 1895 or 1896 &ndash 24 April 1986 was an American The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A socialite is a person who is known to be a part of fashionable Society because of his or her regular participation in social activities and fondness for spending a significant

The marriage was opposed by the King's governments in the United Kingdom and the Dominions on religious, legal, political, and moral grounds. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities under sovereign authority within the British Empire and Mrs. Simpson was perceived as an unsuitable consort because of her two failed marriages, and it was widely assumed by the Establishment that she was driven by love of money or position rather than love for the King. The Establishment is a Pejorative term used to refer to the traditional Ruling class Elite and the structures of society that they control Despite the opposition, the King declared that he loved Mrs. Simpson and would marry her whether the Governments approved or not.

The unwillingness of the Commonwealth governments to accept Mrs. Simpson as the King's consort, and the unwillingness of the King to give up Mrs. Simpson, eventually led to the abdication of the King, and the succession of his brother Albert to the throne as George VI. Abdication (from the Latin abdicatio, disowning renouncing from ab, away from and dicare, to declare to proclaim as not belonging to one

The abdicated King became His Royal Highness The Duke of Windsor, and married Mrs. The Peerage title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for The Prince Edward, formerly King of the United Kingdom Simpson the following year. They remained married until his death 35 years later.

Background

Edward VIII

Edward VIII ascended to the thrones of Britain and each of the Dominions on 20 January 1936. Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He was a bachelor, but for the last few years had often been accompanied at private social events by Mrs. Simpson. As the year progressed Mrs. Simpson attended more official functions as the King's guest, and her name appeared regularly in the Court Circular, but pointedly without being accompanied by her husband, Ernest Aldrich Simpson. The Court Circular is the official record that lists the engagements carried out by the Monarch of the United Kingdom and of the other Commonwealth Realms Ernest Aldrich Simpson ( May 6, 1895 &ndash November 30, 1958) was a British shipping executive best known as the second husband of ^[1] In the summer, the King eschewed the traditional prolonged stay at Balmoral, and instead he and Mrs. Balmoral Castle is a large Estate house situated in the area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland known as Royal Deeside. Simpson holidayed together in the Eastern Mediterranean on board the steam yacht Nahlin. The cruise was widely covered in the American and continental European press, but the British press maintained a self-imposed reticence to discuss the King’s trip. Nevertheless, expatriate Britons and Canadians, who had access to the American reports, were largely scandalised by the coverage. ^[2]

By October, it was becoming apparent that Edward intended to marry Mrs. Simpson, as soon as she was free to marry. At the end of that month, the crisis came to a head as Mrs. Simpson filed for divorce from her husband and the American press announced that the marriage between her and the King was imminent. ^[3]

On 13 November the King's private secretary, Alec Hardinge, wrote to the King warning him that:

The silence in the British Press on the subject of Your Majesty's friendship with Mrs. Events 1002 - English king Ethelred orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St Alexander Henry Louis Hardinge 2nd Baron Hardinge of Penshurst GCB GCVO MC PC ( 17 May 1894 &ndash 29 May Simpson is not going to be maintained . . . Judging by the letters from British subjects living in foreign countries where the Press has been outspoken, the effect will be calamitous. ^[4]

The following Monday, 16 November, the King invited his Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, to Buckingham Palace and informed him that he intended to marry Mrs. Events 534 - A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published Stanley Baldwin 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC (3 August 1867 &ndash 14 December 1947 was a British Conservative politician statesman and major Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. Simpson. The Prime Minister informed the King that such a marriage would not be acceptable to the people and "the Queen becomes the Queen of the country. Therefore in the choice of a Queen the voice of the people must be heard. "^[5]

The British Press still remained quiet on the subject, until Alfred Blunt, Bishop of Bradford gave a speech to his Diocesan Conference on 1 December. Alfred Blunt (1879-1957 second Bishop of Bradford (1931 - 1955 The Bishop of Bradford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Bradford, in the Province of York The diocese Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican In it he lamented the King's need of grace: "We hope that he is aware of his need. Some of us wish that he gave more positive signs of such awareness. " The Press took this for the first public comment by a notable person on the crisis, and it became front page news the following day. When asked about it later, it turned out the bishop had never heard of Mrs. Simpson. ^[6]

Arguments opposing the marriage

Opposition to the marriage came from several directions:

Religious

As King of the United Kingdom, Edward was also Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Supreme Governor of the Church of England is a title held by the British Monarchs which signifies their titular leadership over the Church of England. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican The Church of England did not allow divorced persons to remarry in church while a former spouse was still living. Consequently, it was felt that Edward could not retain the office of Supreme Governor (i. e. King) and marry a divorced woman with two living ex-husbands. ^[7]

Legal

Wallis's first divorce (in the United States on the grounds of "emotional incompatibility") was not recognised by the Church of England and, if challenged in the English courts, might not have been recognised under English law. Consequently, under this argument, her second (and third) marriages would have been bigamous and invalid. The term polygamy (a Greek word meaning "the practice of multiple marriage" is used in related ways in Social anthropology, Sociobiology, and ^[8] Any of Edward and Mrs. Simpson's children would have been illegitimate and ineligible for the throne. In Common law, legitimacy is the status of a Child that is born to parents who are legally married to one another or that is born shortly after the

Moral

If the King's advisors had considered Mrs. Simpson a suitable consort, they might have made more of an effort to find a legal solution to his problem. But his ministers (like his family) found Mrs. Simpson's background and behaviour unacceptable for a queen. The King's mother, the dowager Queen Mary, was even told that Mrs. Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes 26 May 1867 – 24 March 1953 was the queen-empress consort of George V of the United Kingdom Simpson might have held some sort of sexual control over Edward as she had released him from an undefined sexual dysfunction through practices learnt in a Chinese brothel;^[9] a view partially shared by Dr. Alan Campbell Don, Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who wrote that he suspected that the King "is sexually abnormal which may account for the hold Mrs. The Reverend Alan Campbell Don (1885-1966 KCVO, a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery[http //www The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the S. has over him. "^[10] Even Edward VIII's official biographer, Philip Ziegler, noted that:

There must have been some sort of sadomachistic relationship. This page is not about Philip A Ziegler, writer on theology or Philip C . . [Edward] relished the contempt and bullying she bestowed on him. ^[11]

The private papers of Walter Turner Monckton, legal advisor to Edward, were released by the Bodleian Library in Oxford on 1 March 2000 (except for one batch, which remains embargoed until 2037). Walter Turner Monckton 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, GCVO, KCMG, MC, PC ( January 17, 1891 &ndash January 9 The Bodleian Library ( the main Research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in England Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ^[12] They provide a valuable insight into the facts and attitudes behind the abdication, and the rumours and innuendo that shaped them, most notably concerning Wallis Simpson. A rumour or rumor (see spelling differences) is often viewed as "an unverified account or explanation of events circulating from person to person and An innuendo (also called insinuation) is a remark or question typically disparaging that works obliquely by Allusion.

Police detectives following Mrs. Simpson reported back that while involved with the King, Wallis was also involved in another sexual relationship, with a married car mechanic and salesman named Guy Trundle. ^[13] This may well have been made known to senior figures in the establishment, including members of the Royal Family. ^[14] Joseph Kennedy, the American ambassador, described her as "a tart", and his wife refused to dine with her. Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy Sr (September 6 1888 &ndash November 18 1969 was a prominent American businessman and political figure and the father of U Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy ( July 22, 1890 &ndash January 22, 1995) was the wife of Joseph Kennedy and the mother of President ^[15] Edward, however, remained unaware of his mistress's alleged infidelity with another man. A third lover has also been suggested, Edward Fitzgerald, Duke of Leinster, Ireland's premier peer and close friend of her future husband. Edward FitzGerald 7th Duke of Leinster ( 6 May 1892 &ndash 8 March 1976) known as Lord Edward FitzGerald before 1922 was Ireland ^[16]

Wallis was perceived to be pursuing Edward for his money; his equerry wrote that she would eventually leave him after "having secured the cash". ^[17] The future Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain wrote in his diary:

[Mrs Simpson] is an entirely unscrupulous woman who is not in love with the King but is exploiting him for her own purposes. Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869 &ndash 9 November 1940 was a British Conservative Politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom She has already ruined him in money and jewels…^[18]

Political

The British establishment feared Edward's desire to modernise the Monarchy and opposed his wish to make it more accessible. ^[19] When he visited depressed mining villages in Wales his unguarded comment that "something must be done"^[20] led to concerns that he would interfere in political matters, traditionally avoided by a constitutional monarch. As Prince of Wales he had publicly referred to left-wing politicians as "cranks",^[21] and made speeches counter to government policy. Prince of Wales (Tywysog Cymru is a title traditionally granted to the Heir Apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom (and formerly the Kingdom ^[22] His refusal to accept the advice of ministers continued as King, when he opposed the imposition of sanctions on Italy after the invasion of Ethiopia (then called "Abyssinia" by Europeans), refused to receive the deposed Emperor of Ethiopia, and would not support the League of Nations. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page The Emperor ( Ge'ez: ንጉሠ ነገሥት nəgusä nägäst " King of Kings " of Ethiopia was the hereditary The League of Nations was an International organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920 ^[23]

Far more damagingly, the British government was told that Wallis Simpson was a "Nazi agent". Her Majesty's Government, or when the monarch is male His Majesty's Government, is the title used by the Government of the United Kingdom, based at A German diplomat leaked to the Foreign Office that dispatches sent by the German Reich's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Joachim von Ribbentrop, revealed his strong view that the abdication was motivated by the wish "to defeat those Germanophile forces which had been working through Mrs. Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946 was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945 Simpson". ^[24] It was rumoured that Wallis had access to confidential government papers which were sent to King Edward, and which he notoriously left unguarded at his Fort Belvedere residence. Fort Belvedere is a Country house on Shrubs Hill in Windsor Great Park, England very near Sunningdale, Berkshire, but actually over ^[25] Even as Edward was abdicating, reports were sent to Downing Street from the personal protection officers guarding Wallis in exile in France, claiming that she might "flit to Germany". Downing Street is the street in London, England, which for over two hundred years has contained the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. ^[26]

Files of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation reveal a further series of claims. The most damaging alleged that in 1936, while simultaneously having an affair with King Edward, she was also having an affair with Ambassador von Ribbentrop. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Bureau's source (the ex-Duke of Württemberg) not only claimed that Wallis and von Ribbentrop had had a relationship, but that von Ribbentrop every day sent her 17 carnations, one for each time they slept together. The FBI claims were symptomatic of the extremely damaging gossip made against the woman who could become queen, that she (and indeed her husband) were Nazi sympathisers. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers ^[27]

Societal

Edward upset the aristocracy by treating their traditions and ceremonies with disdain. Many were offended by his abandonment of accepted social norms and mores. ^[28][29] He became extremely unpopular with the public in Scotland after he refused to open a new wing of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, claiming he could not do so because he was in mourning for his father. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Aberdeen Royal Infirmary or ARI is a Teaching hospital on the Foresterhill site in Aberdeen, Scotland. On the day after the opening he was pictured in the papers cavorting on holiday. He had turned down the public event in favour of meeting Mrs. Simpson. ^[30]

Nationalistic

Relations between the United Kingdom and the United States were strained during the inter-war years, and the majority of Britons were reluctant to accept an American as queen consort. ^[31]

Options considered

Stanley Baldwin

As a result of these rumours and arguments, the belief strengthened among the British establishment that Wallis could not become a royal consort. Stanley Baldwin explicitly advised Edward VIII that the people would be opposed to him marrying Mrs. Stanley Baldwin 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC (3 August 1867 &ndash 14 December 1947 was a British Conservative politician statesman and major Simpson, indicating that if he did, in direct contravention of his ministers' advice, the Government would resign en masse. The King responded: "I intend to marry Mrs. Simpson as soon as she is free to marry. . . if the Government opposed the marriage, as the Prime Minister had given me reason to believe it would, then I was prepared to go. "^[32] Under pressure from the King, and "startled"^[32] at the suggested abdication, Baldwin agreed to take further soundings and suggest three options to the five Dominion Prime Ministers, of whose nations Edward was also King. A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities under sovereign authority within the British Empire and These were that:

1. they marry and Mrs. Simpson become queen (a "royal marriage")
2. they marry and she not become queen but receive some courtesy title instead (a "morganatic marriage")
3. he abdicate for himself and any potential heirs he might father; this would allow him to make any marital decisions without further constitutional implications. A morganatic marriage is a type of Marriage which can be contracted in certain countries usually between people of unequal Social rank, which prevents the passage Abdication (from the Latin abdicatio, disowning renouncing from ab, away from and dicare, to declare to proclaim as not belonging to one

The second option had European precedents (for example, Austria's heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand – whose assassination in 1914 triggered off World War I) but no parallel in British constitutional history. Franz Ferdinand ( December 18, 1863 &ndash June 28, 1914) was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Prince Imperial of World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Commonwealth's prime ministers were consulted, and the majority agreed that there was "no alternative to course (3)". ^[33]

Edward now proposed to broadcast a speech indicating his desire to remain on the throne or to be recalled to it if forced to abdicate, while marrying Mrs. Simpson morganatically. Baldwin and the Cabinet blocked the speech, saying it would entail a grave breach of constitutional principles (as the King proposed to speak as a private individual and without the advice of his ministers) and would shock many people. In the Politics of the United Kingdom, the Cabinet is a formal body composed of the most senior government ministers chosen by the Prime Minister ^[34] In one section, Edward proposed to say:

Neither Mrs. Simpson nor I have ever sought to insist that she should be queen. All we desired was that our married happiness should carry with it a proper title and dignity for her, befitting my wife. Now that I have at last been able to take you into my confidence, I feel it is best to go away for a while, so that you may reflect calmly and quietly, but without undue delay, on what I have said. ^[35]

In seeking the people's support against the government, he was opting to oppose the binding advice of his ministers in all the Commonwealth states, a fundamental breach of constitutional principles dating back at least to the Glorious Revolution of 1688 (i. The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland in 1688 by a union e. , the assumption of the Throne by the Protestants William and Mary), perhaps earlier. See also William III of England, Mary II of England The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the joint sovereignty over the Kingdom of England The Sovereign could and can only act with the advice and counsel of Ministers drawn from, or approved by, Parliament. What Edward in effect proposed to do was to ignore this advice and negotiate with Parliament, his Ministers, and the people directly, as an equal on the question of whom he should marry, and who could, under the law, as a consequence of such a marriage, succeed him on the Throne. The Cabinet felt that Edward's proposed speech had revealed his disdainful attitude towards the constitutions of his realms, and threatened the political neutrality of the Crown. ^[36]

On 5 December, having in effect been told that he could not keep the throne and marry Mrs. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. Simpson, and having had his request to broadcast to the Commonwealth to explain "his side of the story" blocked on constitutional grounds,^[37] Edward chose the third option,^[38] becoming the first monarch in modern British and Dominion history to abdicate voluntarily.

Legal manoeuvres

Following Mrs. Simpson's divorce hearing on 27 October 1936, her solicitor, John Theodore Goddard, had become concerned that there would be a "patriotic" citizen's intervention (a legal device to block the divorce), which worried Goddard, who feared such an intervention would be successful. Events 312 - Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Theodore Goddard (colloquially TG) was an English Law firm based in London. ^[39] He was handling the case as if it were an undefended divorce brought against Mr. Simpson, with Mrs. Simpson as the innocent, injured party. The courts could not grant divorce by consent of both parties, or if it was shown that Mrs. Simpson "colluded" with her husband in the divorce by, for example, having an affair or intending to marry another. On Monday 7 December 1936, the King came to hear that Goddard planned to fly to the south of France to see his client who had fled there. Events 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero assassinated 1696 - Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The King summoned him and expressly forbade him to make the journey, fearing the solicitor would put doubts in Mrs. Simpson's mind. Consequently, Goddard went straight to Downing Street and asked for Baldwin's protection. Downing Street is the street in London, England, which for over two hundred years has contained the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers The Government immediately provided the aeroplane and Goddard flew directly to Cannes. Her Majesty's Government, or when the monarch is male His Majesty's Government, is the title used by the Government of the United Kingdom, based at Overview Fixed-wing aircraft range from small training and recreational aircraft to Wide-body aircraft and military cargo aircraft. Cannes (kan in Occitan Canas) is a city in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ^[39]

Upon arrival, Goddard warned his client that a citizen's intervention, should it arise, was likely to succeed. It was, according to Goddard, his duty to advise her to withdraw her divorce petition. ^[39] Mrs. Simpson refused to do what her lawyer advised but they both telephoned the King to inform him that she was willing to give him up so that he could now remain King. It was too late, the King had already made up his mind to go, even if he could not marry Mrs. Simpson, a belief borne out by his ultimate actions. Indeed, as the belief that the abdication was now inevitable gathered strength, John Theodore Goddard stated: "[his] client was ready to do anything to ease the situation but the other end of the wicket [Edward VIII] was determined. Theodore Goddard (colloquially TG) was an English Law firm based in London. "^[40]

Goddard's visit led to false speculation that Mrs. Simpson was pregnant,^[41] and even that she was having an abortion. As Goddard had a weak heart and had never flown before, he had asked his doctor, William Kirkwood – then a resident at a Maternity Hospital, to accompany him on the trip. The press excitedly reported that the solicitor had flown to Mrs. Simpson accompanied by a gynaecologist and an anaesthetist (who was actually the lawyer's clerk). ^[42]

Abdication

George VI, formerly Albert, Duke of York

Edward VIII's written abdication notice was witnessed by his three younger brothers at Fort Belvedere on 10 December:

• Prince Albert, the Duke of York, who succeeded Edward as George VI
• Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
• Prince George, Duke of Kent

The following day, it was given legislative form by special Act of Parliament (His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936). Fort Belvedere is a Country house on Shrubs Hill in Windsor Great Park, England very near Sunningdale, Berkshire, but actually over Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V The Prince Henry Duke of Gloucester (Henry William Frederick Albert 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974 was a member of the British Royal Family, the third son of George V The Prince George Duke of Kent (George Edward Alexander Edmund 20 December 1902 - 25 August 1942) was a member of the British Royal Family An Act of Parliament is a Law enacted as Primary legislation by a national or sub-national Parliament. His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 c 3 was the Act of the British Parliament that allowed King Edward VIII Under changes introduced in the relationship between the Monarch and his Commonwealth crowns by the Statute of Westminster, a singular all-Commonwealth Crown had been replaced by multiple crowns for each Dominion worn by a single monarch. The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (22 & 23 Geo Edward's abdication required the consent of each Commonwealth state, which was duly given. ^[43] In the Irish Free State, however, that acknowledgment, in the External Relations Act, occurred a day later than elsewhere, leaving Edward technically as King of Ireland for a day, while George VI was king of all other Commonwealth Realms. The Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann (1922&ndash1937 was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by The Executive Authority (External Relations Act 1936 was an enactment of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament in 1936. The designation King of Ireland (Rí na hÉireann and Queen (regnant of Ireland was used during three periods of Irish history. A Commonwealth realm is any one of 16 sovereign states within the Commonwealth of Nations that each have Elizabeth II as their respective Monarch ^[44] It was Edward's Royal Assent to these Acts, rather than his abdication notice, which gave legal effect to the abdication in the United Kingdom and the British Empire. The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which a constitutional monarch completes the legislative process of Lawmaking by formally assenting to an As Edward VIII had not been crowned yet, the coronation date that had been planned for him became that of his brother George VI instead.

Many members of the Establishment were relieved by Edward's departure, as his own Assistant Private Secretary, Alan Lascelles, told Baldwin in 1927, "I can't help thinking that the best thing that could happen to him, and to the country, would be for him to break his neck. Sir Alan Frederick "Tommy" Lascelles GCB GCVO CMG MC (11 April 1887 - 10 August 1981 was a British courtier and civil "^[45]

Edward's title reverted to His Royal Highness The Prince Edward, before his brother declared the following morning, 11 December that he would create him Duke of Windsor (letters patent to that effect, dated 8 March, followed the next year). Events 359 - Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office The Peerage title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for The Prince Edward, formerly King of the United Kingdom Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. As Duke of Windsor, he broadcast a message that day to the people, from Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle, in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited Castle in the world and dating back to the time of The official address broadcast had been polished by Edward's friend Winston Churchill over lunch the previous day, and was moderate in tone, speaking about Edward's inability to do his job "as I would have wished" without the support of "the woman I love". Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 ^[46] The following day, Edward left Britain for Austria.

Duke and Duchess of Windsor

Edward's younger brother Albert, now George VI, created his elder brother Duke of Windsor with the style His Royal Highness. The Peerage title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for The Prince Edward, formerly King of the United Kingdom On 3 May the following year, Mrs. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Simpson's divorce was made final. The case was handled quietly, there was no intervention, and it barely featured in some newspapers. The Times was especially disingenuous printing a single sentence^[47] below a seemingly unconnected report announcing the Duke's departure from Austria. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. ^[48] When the Duke married Mrs. Simpson on 3 June 1937 in France, she became The Duchess of Windsor but much to Edward's disgust was not styled Her Royal Highness. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman Emperor, entering Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[49]

The Duke of Windsor lived most of the rest of his life in retirement in France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. His brother gave him an allowance, free of income tax, and the Duke supplemented this income by writing his memoirs and through illegal currency trading. ^[50] He also received monies from the sale of Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House to George VI. Balmoral Castle is a large Estate house situated in the area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland known as Royal Deeside. Sandringham House is a Country house on of land near the village of Sandringham in Norfolk, England, which is privately owned by the British The two estates are private property and not part of the Royal Estate, and were therefore the Duke's own personal inheritance as his father's firstborn son, regardless of the abdication. ^[51]

During World War II he served as Governor of the Bahamas, where he was plagued by rumours and accusations that he was pro-Nazi. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an independent sovereign English -speaking country consisting of two thousand Cays and He reputedly told an acquaintance, "After the war is over and Hitler will crush the Americans. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately . . we'll take over. . . They [the Commonwealth] don't want me as their king, but I'll soon be back as their leader. "^[52] He told a journalist that "it would be a tragic thing for the world if Hitler was overthrown. "^[52]

Comments like these reinforced the belief that the Duke and Duchess held Nazi sympathies and that the effect of the abdication crisis of 1936 was to force off the throne a man whose political views could have been a threat to his country, and replace him with a King, George VI, who showed no such sympathies. ^[53]

Historical precedents

Henry VIII

Four hundred years before the crisis, Henry VIII had separated English Catholicism from Roman control, thus creating the Church of England, so he could divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn while Catherine was still alive. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of This article is an expansion of a section entitled '''History''' from within the main article Church of England The history The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Catherine of Aragon (16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536 also known as Catharine, Katherine or Katharine ( Castilian Infanta Catalina Anne Boleyn (1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536 was the Queen of England as the second wife of Henry VIII of England. Henry and Catherine’s marriage was annulled in 1533 on the grounds that the marriage was incestuous under Levitical law. In the Jewish tradition a Levite ( is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. (Catherine had been married previously to Henry’s elder brother. ) Henry then married Anne Boleyn but three years later, after Catherine’s death, Anne was convicted of treason, the marriage was declared invalid and Anne was executed. Anne Boleyn (1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536 was the Queen of England as the second wife of Henry VIII of England. With both of his previous wives now dead, Henry was free to marry again, which he promptly did 11 days after Anne’s execution. The death of his third wife in childbirth led to Henry marrying a fourth time, to Anne of Cleves in 1540. Anne of Cleves Queen of England (22 September 1515&ndash16 July 1557 ( German: Anna von Jülich-Kleve-Berg) was the fourth wife of Henry VIII The marriage wasn’t consummated and Henry divorced for a second time, just 6 months after the wedding, this time on the dubious grounds that Anne was promised to another. ^[54] Henry went on to marry twice more, but importantly none of his wives were divorced prior to their marriage, and the divorces that did take place were sanctioned by both Parliament (because of the political necessity of Henry to produce an heir and form alliances) and Church (on religious grounds). Furthermore, technically his "divorces" were annulments (i. Annulment in the Catholic Church See also Annulment (Catholic Church In the Roman Catholic Church, a marriage is considered to be a valid contract e. , a declaration under canon law that the marriage was null and void ab initio and, therefore, they had never been validly married). Canon law is internal ecclesiastical law governing the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Anglican Communion of churches ^[7] This differs from Mrs. Simpson's divorces, which were legal terminations under civil law of legally valid marriages. Civil law, as opposed to Criminal law, refers to that branch of Law dealing with disputes between Individuals and/or Organizations, in which Whereas a person with an annulment can enter into a new "first" marriage, a person with a divorce has been married already.

Hanoverians

George I, Elector of Hanover, divorced his wife, Sophia of Celle, on 28 December 1694, on the grounds of her adultery before he succeeded to the British throne. George I (George Louis German Georg Ludwig; 28 May 1660 &ndash 11 June 1727 For the first year of his life George was the only heir to his father's and three childless The Electorate of Hanover (or more formally the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg; Kurfürstentum Hannover Kurfürstentum Braunschweig-Lüneburg became the ninth Electorate Sophia Dorothea ( 15 September 1666 &ndash 13 November 1726) was the wife and cousin of George Louis Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg later Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Importantly, neither George I nor his wife remarried after divorce. George IV tried, unsuccessfully, to divorce his wife, Caroline of Brunswick also on the grounds of her adultery. Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth later Queen Caroline; May 17 1768 – August 7 1821 was the wife of George IV of the United Kingdom ^[55]

Edward VIII was thus the first British monarch to propose marrying a divorced woman.

Modern parallel

Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall; formerly Mrs Parker Bowles

In 2005, Charles, Prince of Wales married his long-time partner and mistress, Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles. As his previous wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, was deceased, there was no bar to the Prince marrying again. However, just like Mrs. Simpson in 1936, Mrs. Parker Bowles was a divorcée whose previous husband was still living. ^[56]

Unlike the situation in 1936, however, the marriage did not lead to a constitutional crisis because the Crown (Elizabeth II) and the Prince of Wales acted in consonance with the United Kingdom's Constitution. First, when Charles and Diana separated, they did so with Prime Minister John Major's council and advice; and with the tacit agreement of Parliament and the Church of England. Sir John Major KG CH ACIB (born 29 March 1943 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Unlike Mrs. Simpson's first divorce, the Parker Bowles divorce is recognised by most members of the Church, on the grounds of her husband's adultery,^[57] and is valid under English law. ^[58] The Church of England has moderated its stance on divorce, and now accepts that civil marriages after a divorce may be blessed in a religious service in a church. ^[59] It was only after the Church of England had changed its canons and several years after the death of Diana, that the Government of Prime Minister Tony Blair announced the terms and conditions of Prince Charles's wedding to Camilla Parker-Bowles. Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to

The marriage of the Prince and Mrs. Parker Bowles was endorsed by the Royal Family and the British Government and blessed by the Church of England. ^[60] Camilla is styled as "Duchess of Cornwall" instead of the traditional title "Princess of Wales" for the wife of the Prince of Wales. Buckingham Palace has announced that on her husband's accession Camilla will not use the style of "Queen", but will be known instead as the "Princess Consort". ^[61] Because of this, her and the Prince's union has been referred to in the media as "a sort of morganatic marriage". A morganatic marriage is a type of Marriage which can be contracted in certain countries usually between people of unequal Social rank, which prevents the passage ^[62] The marriage would produce no children (the first marriage of Prince Charles had already produced two legitimate heirs to the throne), leading the governments of the other Commonwealth Realms to deem the granting of formal approval unnecessary, unlike the Prince's first marriage, for which the Queen's Privy Council for Canada assembled to grant consent. The Queen's Privy Council for Canada (QPC (Conseil privé de la Reine pour le Canada (CPR sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or the Privy Council ^[63]

Mrs. Simpson had a reputation as an adventuress and was less socially acceptable as a bride than Mrs. Parker Bowles. ^[62] Divorce is now both more common and more acceptable in the public mind than it was in 1936. ^[64] While public opinion in 1936 is difficult to gauge, polls taken shortly before the marriage of the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Parker Bowles showed widespread support. ^[65]

Popular culture

The calypso Edward VIII by the Trinidadian calypsonian Lord Caresser was the most popular calypso record in 1937. Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean Music which originated in Trinidad and Tobago at about the start of the 20th century The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ˈtrɪnɪdæd ən təˈbeɪgoʊ is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American A calypsonian is a Musician, usually from Trinidad, who has studied calypso and memorised its traditional tunes and stanzas ^[66] Famous Last Words, a novel by Timothy Findley, is a fictional recreation of the relationship between the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Timothy Irving Frederick Findley, OC, O Ont ( October 30, 1930 - June 21, 2002) was a Canadian Novelist In it, the Duke and Duchess conspire with Ribbentrop to overthrow Hitler, with the intention of assuming control of the Nazi party and taking over Europe. ^[67]

Notes and sources

References

• Beaverbrook, Lord; Edited by A. J. P. Taylor (1966). William Maxwell "Max" Aitken 1st Baron Beaverbrook Bt Alan John Percival Taylor ( March 25, 1906 – September 7, 1990) was a renowned English Historian of the 20th century The Abdication of King Edward VIII. London: Hamish Hamilton.  
• Broad, Lewis (1961). The Abdication. London: Frederick Muller Ltd.  
• Cooke, Alistair (1978). Alistair Cooke should not be confused with Alastair Cook, English cricketer Six Men. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-004834-0.  
• Vickers, Hugo (2006). Elizabeth: The Queen Mother. Arrow Books/Random House. ISBN 9780099476627.  
• Windsor, HRH The Duke of (1951). A King’s Story. London: Cassell and Co.  
• Ziegler, Philip (1991). This page is not about Philip A Ziegler, writer on theology or Philip C King Edward VIII: The official biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-57730-2.