The Duke of Windsor married Wallis Simpson in a private ceremony on June 3rd 1937.
When it comes to crises in the Royal Family, the past few years have been dominated by Prince Harry's decision to marry Meghan Markle and leave the UK.
Despite giving up the throne to marry her, Wallis would repay Edward by quickly embarking on a series of secret affairs, according to royal biographers. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor glumly pose for a portrait after their wedding at the Chateau de Cande, in Monts, France, on June 3, 1937 But that all seemed to change when a 37-year-old Edward met Wallis Simpson, then 35, at a mutual friend's house in Melton Mowbray in 1931.
But when he visited the country on a tour, Edward recalled it 'took my breath away' as men there lived more freely and were not afraid to speak to him even though he was a prince.Despite giving up the throne to marry her, Wallis would repay Edward by quickly embarking on a series of secret affairs, according to royal biographers
Prince Edward joined the Grenadier Guards aged 20 and Prince Harry was around the same age when he joined the British Army As the pair grew closer, Edward - known to his family as David - wooed Wallis with gifts of jewellery, money to buy clothes and other luxuries. The future Queen Mother's hostility towards Wallis and her brother-in-law would persist for the rest of their lives and the pair met on only a few occasions.
Nonetheless on October 27, 1936, the Simpsons' divorce case was heard at the Ipswich Assizes and the first part of the divorce, a decree nisi, was granted. On November 25, Edward met Baldwin again, telling him he wanted a morganatic marriage to Mrs Simpson in which he would be the king but she would not be queen, merely his consort.
Edward hoped that broadcasting an appeal to the nation would help sway public opinion towards the marriage, but Baldwin nixed the idea, declaring it would be constitutionally impossible. On December 10 at Fort Belvedere, his 18th-century home in the grounds of Windsor Great Park, he signed the paperwork that would end his monarchy, witnessed and signed by his three brothers Prince Albert, Duke of York , Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Prince George, Duke of Kent.The Daily Mail on December 11 reporting the news that King Edward VIII had abdicated
'But you must believe me when I tell you that I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.' On December 12, Edward, now titled His Royal Highness the Duke of Windsor, left the country for Austria, where he stayed in a 40-room castle close to Vienna owned by Baron Eugène Daniel von Rothschild and his wife Kitty.
Anna, who penned The American Duchess: The Real Wallis Simpson, says that Edward had 'a ferocious, obsessive love' for Wallis 'and was never going to let her go'. Queen Elizabeth , Princess Elizabeth , Princess Margaret and King George VI, after his Coronation, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace 1931- 1934: The American divorcee and the heir to the throne see each other regularly at various parties.January 20, 1936: King George V dies. Edward asks Wallis to watch the proclamation of his accession with him from St. James's Palace.
But in addition to the disrepute the pair had brought upon the monarchy, they were to become a political liability. The Duke had hoped his exile would be brief but he was never allowed to move back to Britain, with the King threatening to cut off his allowance if he tried to return without an invitation.
'Not until the day we die. She will never permit it. When we are dead, perhaps she may at last forgive us.' The Army gave both men the desire to help the underdog. Edward called for unemployed miners in South Wales to be looked after and Harry nowadays focuses on the plight of wounded veterans 'After that poisonous allegation of racism made by the Duchess of Sussex during her television interview with Oprah Winfrey – and amplified by Harry in his autobiography, Spare – how can the couple ever rejoin royal life... and how could they ever be trusted if they did?'
Windsor came to be hated by his sibling Bertie, who was forced to take up the throne as King George VI when his elder brother deserted it and, in so doing, brought about his death at the age of 56. In Harry's case he alienated the most powerful force in the Royal Family, the future king
Royals History King Edward VIII Wallis Simpson King George VI Royals
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