Edward VIII
Edward VIII reigned for 326 days and abdicated to marry a twice-divorced American. Born in 1894, the eldest son of George V, he served in the Grenadier Guards during the First World War and was repeatedly refused permission to go near the front, which he resented and which nonetheless made him popular with veterans. He toured the empire extensively in the 1920s and was, by some distance, the most glamorous public figure in Britain. He became king in January 1936 and immediately broke with convention, walking out of Buckingham Palace to watch the proclamation and taking a red box on holiday, where he left papers unattended. He had been involved with Wallis Simpson since 1934. She was American, divorced once and in the process of divorcing again, and the Church of England, which he would head as Supreme Governor, did not permit remarriage while a former spouse lived. Stanley Baldwin told him that the government would resign if he married her, which would force a general election on the monarchy — and that the dominions agreed. A morganatic marriage was refused. He abdicated on 10 December 1936 and broadcast the following evening, saying he could not discharge his duties without the help of the woman he loved. The British press had kept silent until days before; the American press had not. He was made Duke of Windsor. He and Wallis visited Hitler in 1937 and were photographed with him, and his sympathies were sufficient concern that Churchill sent him to govern the Bahamas for the war. He died in Paris in 1972.
- Lived: 1894 CE – 1972 CE
- Nationality: British
- Roles: king, head_of_state
