This blog is about the short reign of King Edward VIII and life before and after becoming King.
Edward Albert Christian Patrick David was born on the 23rd June 1894 during the reign of his grandmother Queen Victoria and he was 3rd in line to the British throne after his grandfather and his father.
His father was King George V and his mother was Queen Mary Of Teck. When his grandmother Queen Victoria passed away in January 1901 Edward became 2nd in line to the British throne when his grandfather King Edward VII became king after his mother passed. Edward did become known between family and close friends as David.
Edward's father George was a harsh disciplinarian but could be really affectionate but his mother displayed a frostier side with her children to ensure she kept to the public image.
When it came to education David was tutored at home by tutors. Following the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 when his parents were helping King Edward VII tour the British Empire David and his younger siblings stayed in Great Britain with their grandparents and nannies. His grandparents showered their grandchildren with lots of affection. Edward was under the care of two men Fredrick Finch and Henry Hansell they both virtually brought up Edward and his siblings for their remaining nursery years.
After the education under home tutors he took the examination to enter the Royal Naval College in Osborne and he began studying there in 1907, He did not enjoy the Navel College. He did move onto the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth which was a course of two years before entering into the Royal navy.
Edward automatically became Duke Of Cornwall and Duke Of Rothesay on the 6th May 1910 when his grandfather King Edward VII passed and his father became king under King George V. He was then created Prince Of Wales and Earl Of Chester a month later on the 23rd June 1910 on his 16th birthday.
As soon as he became Prince Of Wales they started preparing him for his future role as King. He had to be withdrawn from his naval course before his graduation, He served as a midshipman for 3 months aboard the battleship Hindustan and then he immediately entered Magdalen College in Oxford. The biographers thought he was unprepared. Edward also learned to play polo as a keen Horseman he played polo with the University club. He left Oxford after eight terms without earning any qualifications.
When the First World War broke out in 1914 Edward had reached the minimum age to join active service. He had joined the Grenadier Guards in June 1914 he was eager to serve on the front lines but the secretary of state for war at the time refused to allow it claiming that serving on the front line could cause harm is the heir to the throne were to be captured by the enemy.
He did however visit the front line trenches a couple of times for which he was given a Victorian Cross in 1916. His role in the war made him popular among some of the veterans. Edward also undertook his first military flight in 1918 and later gained a pilot's licence. About a year after this all happened Edward's younger Prince John died at the age of 13 on the 18th January 1919 after suffering an epileptic seizure.
Before the first world war there was a match of romance with Edward's second cousin Princess Victoria Louise Of Prussia. He was a bit of a toy boy in his younger years. He had quite a few relationships he liked to spend some time in Paris partying once he left his regiment on the western front.
It was known among palace circles that King George V favoured Bertie rather than Edward as George V was concerned about Edward's affairs and was also worried that he would never marry and have children. There were rumours that Edward was teasing his brother's wife Elizabeth in 1929 by calling her Queen Elizabeth as he's yet to settle down and have children and his brother was next in line to the throne.
He continued his relationship with various married women. One of his flings introduced Edward to fellow American Wallis Simpson who had divorced her first husband in 1927. Her second husband Ernest Simpson was a businessman. Both Edward and Wallis became lovers. Edward did insist to his father that he was not having an affair with her so that he would not weaken his relationship with his father further. In 1935 his parents met Wallis at Buckingham Palace as Edward's friend but later refused to receive her as they knew that she was still having an affair with their son.
Edward's affair with an American divorcee led to grave concerns that the couple were followed by the police who examined in secret the nature of their relationship. One report mentioned that they visited an antique shop with a note saying "That the lady seemed to have the POW completely under her thumb."
On the 20th January 1936 Edward's father King George V passed away. Upon his father's death he became King and was named King Edward VIII. The next day accompanied by Simpson he broke with custom by watching the proclamation of his own accession from a window of St James's Palace. He became the first monarch of the British Empire to fly in an aircraft when he flew from Sandringham to London.
His reign however did not last as he announced that he was too abdicated as he couldn't marry Wallis Simpson as it was then unacceptable to marry a divorcee. On the 10th December 1936 Edward signed the instruments of abdication in the presence of his younger brothers Prince Albert, Duke Of York next in line to the throne, Prince Henry, Duke Of Gloucester and Prince George, Duke Of Kent.
On the night of 11th December 1939, Edward who was now reverted to Prince explained why he abdicated to the world in a broadcast via BBC radio. He said "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" he also added that the "decision was mine and mine alone" Edward departed Britain for Austria the following day. He wasn't able to join Wallis until her divorce became absolute several months later.
The Duke Of York succeeded to the throne as King George VI. His eldest daughter Princess Elizabeth became heir to the throne when she was 10 years old. George was quite scared at the prospect of becoming King as he had a really bad speech impairment and a stutter he apparently he broke down and cried on his mother Queen Mary's shoulder for over an hour.
Edward who was styled as The Duke Of Windsor finally married Wallis in a private ceremony on the 3rd June 1937 in France. The couple had no children. He did want some of his family particularly wanted his younger brothers The Dukes Of Gloucester and Kent and his second cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten to attend the ceremony. After the marriage it was known that George VI and his mother Queen Mary did not want Wallis to have the style of Her Royal Highness.
Just before World War Two was declared The Duke and Duchess visited Nazi Germany which was against the advice of The British Government and met Adolf Hitler. The visit was much publicised by the German media. During the visit Edward gave full Nazi salutes. In Germany they were treated as royalty as people would bow and curtsy to both Edward and Wallis.
On the outbreak of the Second World War Edward and Wallis were brought back to Britain by Louis Mountbatten on board the HMS Kelly. In July 1940 Edward was appointed as a governor of the Bahamas.
In his later life he and Wallis spent the remainder of their lives in France. In 1949 with the health of his younger brother declining there was a scheme where Edward would return to England in case of an emergency and place himself in a position for a possible regency. In 1951 Edward produced a memoir called A King's Story which was ghost written by Charles Murphy, in which he expressed disagreement with liberal politics.
On the 6th February 1952 Edward's younger brother King George VI died from lung cancer. Many people including Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother blamed Edward for his brother's early death. The Queen Mother believed that her husband took on the burdens of kingship due to Edward's abdication and the strain of the role led to his death at the age of 56. Edward appeared to be unmoved by George VI's death even attending the funeral with showing no signs of grief.
Edward and Wallis effectively took on the roles of being celebrities. They hosted parties and moved between Paris and New York. The couple adored their pugs that they kept. In march 1953 Edward came back to Britain due to his mother Queen Mary's declining health. On the 24th March 1953 Queen Mary died of lung cancer. Edward stayed in Britain to attend his mother's funeral but after that he was not welcome back into Britain.
Edward was not invited to his Queen Elizabeth II's coronation so he stayed in France and watched it at home with a few of their lavish friends. He was paid to write articles on the ceremony for the Sunday Express and Woman's Home Companion as well as a short book called The Crown And The People 1902-1953.
The couple appeared on a television interview show Person to Person in 1956 and in a 50 minute BBC television interview in 1970. Also during the 1970s Prince Charles wrote various letters to his great uncle over his love life as he was falling in love with a woman with a 'past' Camilla Shand and he would give him some advice. Charles and Edward were close because of their letter writing. In October 1970 Charles visited Edward in his Paris home.
On the 28th 10 days after a visit from his niece Queen Elizabeth II Edward died at his home in Paris. He died from throat cancer. His body was returned to London and he was taken to St George's Chapel at Windsor where he was lying in state. The funeral took place in the chapel on the 5th June in the presence of The Queen, the royal family and The Duchess Of Windsor. Wallis stayed at Buckingham Palace during her visit. He was buried in the Royal Burial Ground behind the Royal Mausoleum of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In 1986 Wallis died from frailty and dementia was buried alongside her husband.
In 2023 Harry mentioned in his book Spare that he, Charles and William had a conversation near where they are buried just after Prince Philip Duke Of Edinburgh's funeral were Charles said "Please boys, Don't make my final years a misery"
