A king tours derelict steelworks in South Wales and says that something must be done (1936)
The visit to Dowlais and the Monmouthshire valleys, 18–19 November 1936
Monarchs · Saxe-Coburg & Windsor
Edward VIII
1894–1972
House of Windsor — the abdication crisis
In office: 1936 (20 January – 11 December)
Edward VIII reigned for 326 days and was never crowned. Determined to marry Wallis Simpson, an American with two living former husbands, he found the government, the dominions and the Church of England against him, and gave up the throne in December 1936 in favour of his brother. As Duke of Windsor he spent the rest of his life in exile, his 1937 visit to Hitler a permanent stain on his reputation.
How to spot them
- ▸David to his family; the only British sovereign to abdicate voluntarily
- ▸Wallis Simpson; Stanley Baldwin; Cosmo Lang; the morganatic-marriage proposal that was refused
- ▸Fort Belvedere, where the instrument of abdication was signed before three brothers as witnesses
- ▸Duke of Windsor; Governor of the Bahamas in the war; buried at Frogmore in 1972
In the reign
An instrument signed at Fort Belvedere, witnessed by the signatory's three brothers (1936)
The instrument of abdication, 10 December 1936
An act of parliament that, uniquely, removes a reigning sovereign and his descendants from the succession (1936)
His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936
A broadcast from Windsor Castle explaining that the burden cannot be carried without the help of the woman he loves (1936)
Broadcast on 11 December 1936, introduced by Sir John Reith as 'His Royal Highness Prince Edward'
A wedding at a French château at which no member of the bridegroom's family appears (1937)
The marriage to Wallis Simpson at the Château de Candé, 3 June 1937
A former king and his wife tour Germany and take tea with the Führer at his mountain retreat (1937)
The October 1937 visit, including the Berghof at Berchtesgaden
A royal duke is dispatched to govern a distant Atlantic colony, safely out of Europe's way (1940)
Governor of the Bahamas, 1940–45, after the German Operation Willi tried to detain him in Spain
Quick-fire facts
- •Eldest son of George V; created Prince of Wales in 1910 and invested at Caernarfon in 1911
- •He acceded on 20 January 1936, reigned 326 days and was never crowned
- •The crisis turned on the refusal of Baldwin's government, and of the dominion governments, to accept Wallis Simpson as queen, or a morganatic marriage
- •The British press kept silent until 1 December 1936, when the Bishop of Bradford's remarks broke the story
- •He was created Duke of Windsor by his brother; Wallis was denied the style Her Royal Highness, a lasting grievance
- •His coronation had been set for 12 May 1937; George VI was crowned on that date
- •He published a memoir, A King's Story, in 1951
- •He died in Paris on 28 May 1972 and is buried at Frogmore, Windsor; the Duchess died in 1986 and lies beside him
Drill it — 7 cards
1 / 7new card
Sources
- The Royal Household — Edward VIII (Jan-Dec 1936)
- Philip Ziegler — King Edward VIII