The Abdication of Edward VIII

The 11th December 1936 was a day where the destiny of a King crumbled under the influence of love. This is not Disney narrative, but the story of Edward VIII’s abdication as King of the United Kingdom.

 Edward VIII abdicated as King of the United Kingdom on 11th December 1936, an event that exemplified the turmoil that Europe had been facing throughout the 1930s. He reigned for just 326 days. 

 Edward met American aristocrat Wallis Simpson in 1931 whilst she was married to her second husband Ernest Aldrich Simpson at Burrough Court, home of Edward’s mistress Lady Furness. It was in 1934 that Edward and Simpson began their affair.

 At the time, the Church of England did not permit the marriage of divorcées and as the monarch of England was, since the reign of Henry VIII, the head of the church, Edward was unable to marry Simpson. Edward’s memoirs reveal the anxiety that plagued him about his ascension to the throne, which was ever-nearing due to his father’s ill health.

 When George V died on 20th January 1936, Edward became King (though he never had an official coronation). It can never be truly known whether Edward intended to persist as monarch or whether abdication was, for him, his only option.[1]The first six months of his reign were characterised by ‘immense public popularity’ due to the ‘excitement of having a glamorous and modern sovereign’.[2] However, when Simpson divorced her husband on the 27th October, she and the King were not endeared to the public.

Edward’s two greatest critics came in the form of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Gordon Lang. When they were made aware of Edward’s decision to marry Simpson they passionately rejected it on religious and socially unacceptable grounds. It became increasingly clear that they intended to marry and so on the 10th December he abdicated as King to avoid a constitutional crisis. The next day the abdication was made official.

Edward VIII will be remembered as the King who forfeited his crown for love. Though he was widely criticised for his actions, he must be given some credit as a man who rejected his destiny for a woman he could not live without. The royal family now accepts the marriage of divorcées as seen through the marriages of Charles and Camilla and Harry and Meghan. One could only speculate of the hugely different nature of the royal family today had Edward not met Simpson, including that Elizabeth II would never have become Queen.

 There are many parallels to be drawn between the abdication and the exit of Harry and Meghan from the royal family. Simpson and Markle are not unalike and both caused huge crises within the Palace that continually affect the credibility of the monarchy to this day.

 However, I am inclined to sympathise with Edward VIII – he was, at least, true to his word rather than the blinding hypocrisy that seems governs Harry.  Although, it would be difficult to forget Edward’s sympathetic views towards Nazism … a highly questionable outlook and one that may have been dangerous had he stayed as King during the Second World War.

In the end, abdication probably ended up suiting the interests of Britain at the time, but you can’t help but feel sorry for Queen Elizabeth or George VI who were thrust into a life they thought they would never have.

Reading suggestion: Philip Ziegler, King Edward VIII, 1991.

[1] Michael Bloch, The Reign and Abdication of Edward VIII (London: Hachette Digital, 1990.

[2] Bloch, 1990.