Crown or love: the story of Edward VIII (8 photos)

Not much time has passed since all the media were full of scandals related to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Well, of course: such a scandal in a crowned family - a young man chose an actress girl as his wife, and even a mulatto (the crown carefully hid its attitude to this fact, but not enough).





But such a powerful shake-up to the prim royal court (and indeed to all of England) was not the first time. And thanks to this shake-up, it was Elizabeth II who ended up on the throne, and not someone else.

King Edward VIII decided to abdicate the throne. Voluntarily. And for whom? Some kind of Wallis Simpson (née Warfield), with a controversial reputation, without any eminent ancestors, and generally twice divorced!

But who is she?



Wallis was born in Pennsylvania on June 19, 1896, into the then unique status of an unmarried couple. Since childhood, Simpson has listened to insults about her “rootlessness,” which was a big problem. A number of data claim that Wallis’s father died when the girl was barely six months old. Gossips said that he had left the mother and baby altogether.

But this, in general, does not matter; the main thing that Wallis understood is that the choice of a future life partner must be approached responsibly and the relationship must be officially registered.





Wallis and Ernest Simpson

Wallis's first husband was a pilot, with whom she remained legally married for about five years. Then the couple divorced. The girl did not grieve for long and began her search for the ideal all over again. But all the relationships somehow did not lead to the end. Out of yet another non-reciprocal love, Wallis went “to the waters” all the way to China, where... she suddenly met her first husband and got along with him.

Their relationship finally ended in 1927, and in 1928 she met Ernest Simpson, with whom she moved first to the USA and then to the UK.

Having settled in London, Wallis opened her own secular salon and it became very, very popular among residents of the capital. And this sudden fame led Wallis in 1931 to that very meeting with the royal court.



Edward VIII

On June 23, 1894, the eldest great-grandson of Queen Victoria in the direct male line was born in Southern England. And, therefore, he would have to become king in the future.

The Prince of Wales's full name was Edward-Albert-Christian-Andrew-Patrick-David. Let's shorten it to Edward. Since childhood, the boy was not the most sociable and preferred reading books instead of friends. With age, his isolation only progressed; the young man was embarrassed by girls and began to stutter in their presence. The situation was already becoming quite critical until Edward turned 24 and he became involved with a woman 16 years older than himself - Frieda Dudley Ward. She was the absolute opposite of the future king - self-confident, witty, decisive and intellectual. And the wife of one of the House of Lords, who, by the way, reacted quite calmly to his wife’s relationship with the crowned young man. The romance between Edward and Frida lasted for 10 years and ended when he proposed marriage to her. By the way, they did not hide their relationship, but the entire press was strictly forbidden to write about it.



Frieda Dudley

The royal court was alarmed: Edward and Frida were about to cause a colossal scandal. Frida went to the estate of her legal husband, and the prince remained in the capital with his heart broken into small pieces. The family quietly rejoiced behind his back - a mature woman who would hardly be able to give birth to a healthy heir to the throne... Not a good prospect.

And they didn’t yet know what awaited them a couple of years later, when Edward met Wallis Simpson. At that time, she was 35 years old, and Eduard was 37. Adults.

For three years they were just friends, but then their relationship grew into a romance. Well, the legal husband reacted to this in much the same way as Frida’s husband - with truly English calm.



Even Wallis herself did not imagine that her romance with the prince would result in something long-lasting. But to get a prince as your lover... Who would refuse?

Nobody shut their mouths to the media, so they savored the new scandal with pleasure. And they even found photographs of both Wallis husbands.

In 1936, Edward’s father died, which he informed his beloved, clarifying that this would not affect their relationship in any way. And so, at 42, Edward ascends the throne, announcing that he is ready to marry his beloved woman right now. The court became worried again, and the most terrible rumors were spread about Wallis, who by that time already really loved her prince, who became king. The royal family considered her vulgar, the courtiers whispered that she worked in a brothel in China and mastered all sorts of erotic practices there. That this is why Edward is with her.

Well, the people of England categorically did not want an American to be on the throne.



Wallis received tons of boorish letters every day, the British stood under the windows of the palace with equally boorish posters. In general, dirt was pouring on Wallis from everywhere.

On December 8, 1936, The Daily Express interviewed Wallis, where she directly said that she was ready to retire if this would solve all the problems. But Edward, who became more decisive and self-confident, made his own decision.

It became extremely clear that it was either the throne or Wallis. Deciding not to wait for the official ceremonial coronation, Edward VIII abdicated the throne on December 11, 1936. He was king for 325 days.

"I abdicate because I do not find it impossible to perform the duties of a king without the help and support of the woman I love."

Edward and Wallis left England. Before sailing, Edward said goodbye to his brother George, who suddenly became king, and, taking a small retinue, departed.

The couple married on June 3, 1937 in France. They were both now the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. But Parliament categorically began to insist that Wallis not be called “Her Royal Highness” and George decided to surrender under pressure.



The marriage was impossible due to politics. Many believed that she had a bad influence on Edward and that she was almost a spy who wanted to get closer to the secrets of England.

After a short and semi-accidental meeting between the couple and Adolf Hitler, they decided to urgently send Eduard to the Bahamas as governor. Where Wallis and her husband spent five wonderful years (from 1940 to 1945) - away not only from the war, but also from politics in general.

At the end of the war, the couple moved to America, where they lived an ordinary life. Wallis, by the way, was not a silent and submissive wife - she could (and did) forbid her husband to drink, she could make barbs at him, but at the same time she unconditionally supported him in everything, including even his passion for flowers and gardening.

Yes. No matter what evil tongues say, in fact it turned out that Wallis did not need all these titles, money and fame. She found her happiness, even if she got it with such difficulty.

After Edward's death (1972), Wallis remained faithful to her abdicated king. Yes, of course, they again began to attribute some crazy novels to her, but they did not find any evidence.

Wallis outlived her loved one by 14 years and died on April 24, 1986. She was buried next to her husband in the Windsor tomb.