December 10 - Edward VIII Abdicates for Wallis Simpson

This Day in History: 10 December 2019

 

10 December 1936

 

83 years ago, today, King Edward VIII signed the Instrument of Abdication, resulting in him giving up the British throne to marry American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. This announcement was made on British radio, making Edward one of the shortest-reigning monarchs in British history, as he took the throne after his father, George V, on January 20, 1936, with his coronation planned for May 1937. Edward was known to have a number of mistresses, and among them was Lady Thelma Furness, who introduced him to American socialite Wallis Simpson in 1931. Wallis was born in June 1896 in Pennsylvania, and in 1916, met and married Earl Winfield Spencer, a US Navy pilot. Since he was an alcoholic, their marriage decayed, and they were divorced in 1927. Soon after, she met Ernest Simpson, and were married in London in 1928.

 

In 1934, Wallis became Prince Edward's mistress, and was presented at court in 1935, after spending many holidays together. When Edward's father, King George V, died in 1936, Edward immediately became the King, but hated the formalities of royal life, and preferred partying. Later that year, Wallis filed for divorce against her second husband due to his infidelity, and Edward declared that he intended to marry her as soon as this was finalised.

 

However, this caused many issues. As King, he was also head of the Church of England, who taught that divorcees would not remarry if their former spouse was still alive. In December, Prime Minister at the time, Stanley Baldwin, told Edward that he must choose between Wallis and the Crown, so Edward then chose to abdicate, and his younger brother, Bertie (George VI), was crowned, who would, in the future, father Queen Elizabeth II. After this, Edward became the Duke of Windsor, and left Britain to marry Wallis in June 1937, but she was denied the formality of 'Her Royal Highness' by George VI and remained an outcast from the Royal Family for the rest of her life. They both lived in Paris after the Second World War, where Edward died in 1972, aged 77, and Wallis died in 1986, aged 89.

 

Want to find out more about the shy and stuttering Bertie, or George V? The story is documented in the 2010 film, 'The King's Speech'.

Want to find out more on Wallis and Edward? Visit https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/king-edward-viii-and-mrs-simpson/ for more information.