The Instrument of Abdication signed by Edward VIII

Like King Henry VIII of England, whose wish to marry Anne Boleyn in the 1530s shook his kingdom, King Edward VIII created a crisis for the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth in the 1930s when he wished to marry Wallis Simpson. Many have argued that Edward's problem was that, as king, he was also Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Church of England did not allow divorced persons to remarry in church while a former spouse was still living. Both Mrs. Simpson's first two husbands were still alive. One of the great ironies of the situation is that Henry VIII separated English Catholicism from Roman control, thus creating the Church of England, so he could divorce ¹ Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn while Catherine was still alive. However, others point out that it was more of a problem with the Commonwealth governments being unwilling to accept the king's choice of consort. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (540x808, 675 KB)Edward VIIIs abdication letter From http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (540x808, 675 KB)Edward VIIIs abdication letter From http://www. ... Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) from 22 April 1509 until his death. ... A portrait of Anne painted some years after her death Anne Boleyn, 1st Marquess of Pembroke (c. ... Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Windsor), later The Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), was the second British monarch of the House of Windsor. ... The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. ... Wallis, Duchess of Windsor and the Duke of Windsor on their wedding day Bessie Wallis Warfield, more widely known as Wallis Simpson and later The Duchess of Windsor (June 19, 1896–April 24, 1986) was the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII of the... The Supreme Governor of the Church of England is a title held by the British Monarchs that signifies their titular leadership over the Church of England. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... The specifically English church originates primarily from events in the late 6th century in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Kent, and the mission of Saint Augustine. ... The recently-widowed young Catherine of Aragon, by Henry VIIs court painter, Michael Sittow, c. ...

The rumours about Wallis

If the king's advisors had considered Mrs. Simpson a suitable consort, they might have made more of an effort to find a legal solution to his problem. (Because her first marriage was dissolved in the United States, even if her second marriage had been annulled, she still would be in legal terms a "divorcée".) But his ministers (like his family) found Mrs. Simpson's background and behavior unthinkably unacceptable for a queen; his mother, the dowager Queen Mary, even suspecting that she held some sort of "sexual bond" over him (a situation similar to Cecily Neville's heated reaction to her son Edward IV's feelings for Elizabeth Woodville). Even Edward VIII's official biographer, Philip Ziegler, accepted that premise. He noted that: Mary of Teck Princess Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes) (26 May 1867 – 24 March 1953), later Queen Mary, was the Queen consort of George V of the United Kingdom. ... The most notable woman named Cecily Neville was the mother of Edward IV of England and Richard III of England (see below), but she was not the only one to bear that name. ... Edward IV (April 28, 1442 – April 9, 1483) was King of England from March 4, 1461 to April 9, 1483, with a break of a few months in the period 1470-1471. ... Elizabeth Woodville or Wydville (c. ... Highly regarded British biographer and historian. ...

There must have been some sort of sadomachistic relationship . . . [Edward] relished the contempt and bullying she bestowed on him. ²

The private papers of Walter Turner Monckton, legal advisor to Edward, were released by the Bodleian Library in Oxford on January 29, 2003 (except for one batch concerning private correspondence to Monckton from Queen Elizabeth, the mother of Queen Elizabeth II, which remains embargoed until 2037). They provide a valuable insight into the facts and attitudes behind the abdication, and the rumours and innuendo that shaped them, most notably concerning Wallis Simpson. Walter Turner Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, GCVO, KCMG, MC, PC (1891-1965) was a British politician. ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) as Queen Elizabeth was the Queen Consort of King George VI of the United Kingdom from 1936 to 1952 and the mother of his successor, Queen Elizabeth II, the current British monarch. ... Centuries: 20th century - 21st century - 22nd century Decades: 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s - 2030s - 2040s 2050s 2060s 2070s 2080s Years: 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 - 2037 - 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 Events Certain documents relating to Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons wishes to preserve a monarchy if the Nazis occupied the... A rumor (British English: rumour) is a piece of purportedly true information that is circulated without substantiating evidence. ... Innuendo can refer to: For Innuendo as a figure of speech please see Double entendre. ...

Wallis's other lovers

Police detectives following Mrs. Simpson reported back that while involved with King Edward, Wallis was in fact involved in another sexual relationship, with a married car mechanic and salesman named Guy Trundle. This fact may well have been made known to senior figures in the British establishment, including members of the royal family. King Edward, however, remained unaware of his mistress's infidelity with another man. A third lover has also been revealed, Edward Fitzgerald, Duke of Leinster, Ireland's premier peer and close friend of her future husband. Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster (6 May 1892 - 8 March 1976) was Irelands premier peer of the realm. ...

The Baltimore "gold digger"

Some correspondents from Wallis's home city of Baltimore, writing to the Royal Family and senior political figures, painted a less than impressive portrait of a woman some called a "prostitute". One correspondent, Joe Longton, wrote: "Being a Baltimorean of nigh on 30 years, we know this gold digger or 'prospector of the evening'" whom he further claimed was a "Queen of the Golden Gummet" (ie, lesbian). He further believed that the king was gay, with their prospective marriage a "Lavender Marriage", by which both could hide their true sexual orientations. Other Baltimoreans wrote less flattering claims, including that she was intersexed. Other correspondents suggested that it was "well known" that Mrs. Simpson had had an abortion, a crime in the vast majority of world states at the time. Another letter writer from the United States suggested Wallis' "hold" on the king's affections was because "she keeps him drinking and may be giving him drugs in his liquor." Baltimore skyline at dusk Motto: The Greatest City in America (formerly The City That Reads; BELIEVE is not the official motto but rather a specific campaign) Nickname: Charm City Mob Town B-more Location in Maryland Founded Incorporated 30 July 1729 1797  County Independent city Mayor Martin J. OMalley... Lesbian describes a homosexual woman. ... Since its inception, the term homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... Lavender marriage is a term coined to describe a marriage between a man and a woman, in which one or both parties are, or are assumed to be homosexual. ... An intersexual or intersex person (or animal of any unisexual species) is one who is born with genitalia and/or secondary sexual characteristics of indeterminate sex, or which combine features of both sexes. ...

Such venomous comments indicate the scale of Wallis's unpopularity. While it is not known whether such claims reached the ears of senior political or royal figures, they indicate the widely held view among the establishment (and among some of Wallis's own friends) that she was totally unsuited to be a royal consort, let alone the wife of the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ...

These letters from Baltimore appear to be speculative at best and are just hearsay.

What the FBI reported

If some people from Baltimore were scathing in their unsubstantiated attacks on Wallis, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation produced its own series of claims. The most damaging alleged that in 1936, while simultaneously having affairs with King Edward and Guy Trundle, she also had a third lover (not counting her husband), the German Reich's Ambassador to the Court of St. James's (i.e. Britain), Joachim von Ribbentrop. The Bureau not merely claimed that they had had a relationship, but that von Ribbentrop every day sent her 17 carnations, one for each time they slept together. It marked a further extremely damaging claim made against the woman who could become queen, that she (and indeed her husband) were Nazi sympathisers. Official FBI Seal The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force and intelligence agency which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Court of St Jamess is the popular name of the royal court of the United Kingdom. ... Joachim von Ribbentrop Joachim von Ribbentrop (born Joachim Ribbentrop) (April 30, 1893–October 16, 1946) was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

Wallis: A Nazi agent?

The British government was told that Wallis Simpson was a "Nazi agent", according to files released in January 2003. It was rumoured that Wallis had access to top secret government files which were sent to King Edward, and which he notoriously left unguarded at his Fort Belvedere residence. Even as Edward was abdicating, reports were sent to the Home Office from a Special Branch man following Wallis in exile in France, claiming that "Mrs. S. might flit at any moment . . . to G [flee to Germany]." The United Kingdom is a unitary state and a democratic constitutional monarchy. ... Fort Belvedere Fort Belvedere is a country house in Sunningdale, Berkshire. ... The modern concept of Small Office and Home Office or SoHo , or Small or Home Office deals with the category of business which can be from 1 to 10 workers. ...

The options

As a result of these rumours, the belief strengthened among the British establishment that Wallis could not become a royal consort. The government of Stanley Baldwin explicitly informed King Edward VIII that it was opposed to him marrying Mrs. Simpson, indicating that if he did, in direct contravention of their advice, the Government would resign en masse. Under pressure from the King, Baldwin (who knew what the answer would be), agreed to suggest three options to the King's many prime ministers in his other kingdoms throughout the British Commonwealth. These were that: Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (August 3, 1867 - December 14, 1947) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on three separate occasions. ... Flag of the Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of independent sovereign states, most of which were once governed by the United Kingdom and are its former colonies. ...

1. they marry and Mrs Simpson become queen (a "royal marriage")
2. they marry and she not become queen but receive some courtesy title instead (a "morganatic marriage")
3. he abdicate to marry Mrs Simpson.

The second option had European precedents (for example, Austria's heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand – whose assassination in 1914 triggered off World War I) but no parallel in British constitutional history. The Commonwealth's prime ministers were consulted, and all but one – Eamon de Valera of Ireland, who argued for the first option, on the basis that as divorce was legal, King Edward should be allowed to marry a divorcée – agreed that marriage to Mrs. Simpson in any form was not an option they would accept. A morganatic marriage is a type of marriage which can be contracted in certain countries, usually between persons of unequal social rank (unebenbürtig in German), which prevents the passage of the husbands titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage. ... Abdication (from the Latin abdicatio, disowning, renouncing, from ab, from, and dicare, to declare, to proclaim as not belonging to one) is the act of renouncing and resigning from a formal office, especially from the supreme office of state. ... Franz Ferdinand links to here. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machine guns, and poison gas. ... Éamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, sometimes Gaelicised Éamonn de Bhailéara; October 14, 1882 – August 29, 1975), was an Irish politician, best known as a leader of Irelands struggle for independence from the United Kingdom in the early 20th Century, and the Republican anti-Treaty opposition...

The abdication

Having in effect been told that he could not keep the throne and marry Mrs. Simpson, and having had his request to broadcast to the British nation to explain "his side of the story" blocked on constitutional grounds by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin (see below), Edward chose the third option, becoming the first monarch in modern British history to abdicate voluntarily. As he had not been crowned yet, the coronation that had been planned for Edward VIII became that of his brother George VI instead. George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor) (14 December 1895–6 February 1952) was the third British monarch of the House of Windsor, reigning from 11 December 1936 until his death. ...

Edward VIII's written abdication notice was witnessed by his three younger brothers at Fort Belvedere: Prince Albert, the Duke of York, who became King George VI by it, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Prince George, Duke of Kent. It was then given legislative form by a special Act of Parliament (His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936). It was Royal Assent to this Act, rather than the abdication notice, which gave legal effect to the abdication in the United Kingdom and the British Empire. The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, KG, KT, KP, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, PC (31 March 1900–10 June 1974) was the third son of King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary, the brother of King Edward VIII (later Duke of Windsor) and King George VI, and the... Prince George of the United Kingdom, Duke of Kent (George Edward Alexander Edmund) (20 December 1902 - 25 August 1942) was the fourth son of King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary. ... In Westminster System parliaments, an Act of Parliament is a part of the law passed by the Parliament. ... His Majestys Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 was the Act of the British Parliament that allowed King Edward VIII to abdicate the throne, and passed succession to Prince Albert, Duke of York. ... The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, or the Sovereigns representative in Commonwealth Realms, completes the process of the enactment of legislation by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. ...

Under changes introduced in the relationship between the monarch and his commonwealth crowns under the Royal Titles Act in the 1920s (by which a singular all Commonwealth crown was replaced by multiple crowns worn by a singular monarch) Edward's abdication required legal acknowledgment in each Commonwealth state. In the Irish Free State, however, that acknowledgment, in the External Relations Act, occurred a day later than elsewhere, leaving Edward technically as "King of Ireland" for a day, while George VI was king of all other Commonwealth Realms. Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America and in Australia as the Roaring Twenties . In Europe it is sometimes refered to as the Golden Twenties. ... The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo-Irish Treaty) signed by British... The Executive Authority (External Relations) Act, 1936 was an enactment of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) in 1936. ... A Commonwealth Realm is any one of the 16 sovereign states of the Commonwealth that recognise Queen Elizabeth II as their Queen and head of state. ...

The new King George created his elder brother Duke of Windsor with the style His Royal Highness. When the Duke later married Mrs Simpson, she became the Duchess of Windsor but much to Edward's disgust was not styled Her Royal Highness. The peerage title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for The Prince Edward, formerly King of the United Kingdom. ...

Edward's speech: The broadcast version and the version that was banned

Following his abdication, Edward (his title reverting for a few hours to "His Royal Highness The Prince Edward" before his brother created him "Duke of Windsor" the following morning) broadcast a message to the people from Windsor Castle. The official address broadcast was moderate in tone, speaking about his inability to do his job "as I would have wished" without the support of "the woman I love". The peerage title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for The Prince Edward, formerly King of the United Kingdom. ... An early 18th century view of Windsor Castle by Kip and Knyff. ...

However, an earlier draft, which Edward proposed to deliver as king before deciding whether to abdicate, was much more radical in tone, until blocked by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, who said it would entail a 'grave breach of constitutional principles' and would 'shock many people'. In one censored section, Edward ³ proposed to say:

With her I shall have a home and all the companionship and mutual sympathy and understanding which married life can bring. Neither Mrs. Simpson nor I have ever sought to insist that she should be queen. All we desired was that our married happiness should carry with it a proper title and dignity for her, befitting my wife.

Now that I have at last been able to take you so fully into my confidence, I feel it is best to go away for a while, so that you may reflect calmly and quietly, but without undue delay, on what I have said.

In the speech, Edward clearly was indicating his desire to remain on the throne or to be recalled to it if forced to abdicate, while marrying Mrs. Simpson. In seeking the people's support against the government, he was opting to ignore the binding advice of the Government, a fundamental breach of British constitutional principles dating back at least to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, perhaps earlier. Indeed he was seeking to ignore the advice of the governments of all the Commonwealth states (except Ireland, where de Valera had supported the right of the king to marry a divorcée). Given the content of the speech, and what it reveals about his attitude towards the British constitution, it is small surprise that most historians judge Edward VIII's abdication a "lucky break" for both Britain and the House of Windsor. It is not surprising that his own Private Secretary, Alan Lascelles, commented: The Term Glorious Revolution refers to the generally popular overthrow of James II of England in 1688 by a conspiracy between some parliamentarians and the Dutch stadtholder, William III of Orange-Nassau. ... The House of Windsor, previously called the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, is the Royal House of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the other Commonwealth Realms. ...

The best thing that could happen to him would be for him to break his neck. ⁴

The Duke of Windsor went on to serve during the war as Governor of the Bahamas, where, in a revealing comment to an acquaintance, he commented:

After the war is over and Hitler will crush the Americans . . . we'll take over. . . They (the British) don't want me as their king, but I'll soon be back as their leader. ⁵

He told another acquaintance that "it would be a tragic thing for the world if Hitler was overthrown". Such comments reinforced the belief that the Duke and Duchess held Nazi sympathies and that the Abdication Crisis of 1936's effect was to force off the throne a man whose political views could have been a threat to his country, and replace him with a king (George VI) who showed no such sympathies. Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ...

The feelings of his former subjects about King Edward's abdication were much like those of Americans when President Richard Nixon resigned that office in 1974 to resolve the Watergate scandal: relief that the crisis paralyzing the national government was over, pride that the legal mechanisms designed to resolve such crises had worked properly, sorrow about the situation that had created the crisis, and lingering doubts about whether the crisis could have been resolved in a better way. Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the thirty-seventh President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... The Watergate Complex (now the Watergate Hotel) as depicted in Government Exhibit 1. ...

Footnotes

Note 1: Technically, their "divorces" were different: Though called a "divorce" then, what Henry VIII actually sought was an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (i.e., a declaration from the Catholic Church, under canon law, that the marriage was null and void ab initio and, therefore, they had never been validly married). Mrs. Simpson's divorces, however, were legal terminations, under the civil law, of legally valid marriages. Whereas a person with an annulment can enter into a new "first" marriage, a person with a divorce already has been married.
Note 2: Philip Ziegler, quoted on the BBCi website, covering the release of the Monckton Papers on the Abdication Crisis.
Note 3: Once Edward VIII abdicated, it is difficult to see how he could have regained the throne even if he wanted to, without wholesale revolution or a coup d'état. While there was precedent for the deposition of a monarch (King James II/VII of England/Scotland) and his heir, and his replacement of Queen Mary II and her husband, King William III, Mary was already second-in-line, so all that was required was for parliament to argue that James had abdicated and to remove his young son from the line of succession. But by his abdication, Edward was no longer in the line of succession, so it would have required the deposition of King George VI and the repeal of the Abdication Act by all the parliaments in the Commonwealth. That Edward seemed to think that possible suggests the scale of his ignorance of the English constitution.
Note 4: BBCi website.
Note 5: ibid. Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. ... In Western culture, canon law is the law of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. ... Civil law has at least three meanings. ... A coup détat (pronounced ), or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a smaller supposedly weaker body that just replaces the top power figures. ... James II of England and VII of Scotland ( 14 October 1633–16 September 1701 ) became King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 6 February 1685. ... Mary II (30 April 1662–28 December 1694) reigned as Queen of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689 until her death, and as Queen of Scotland (as Mary II of Scotland) from 11 April 1689 until her death. ... William III of England (14 November 1650–8 March 1702; also known as William II of Scotland and William of Orange) was a Dutch aristocrat and the Holy Roman Empires Prince of Orange from his birth, King of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689, and King of Scotland...

Reference

• Coverage of the Monckton Papers, released by the Bodleian Library on January 29, 2003 taken from the Daily Mail, January 30, 2003 and from the BBCi website