| Info | King Edward VIII and later the Duke of Windsor (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Windsor1) (23 June 1894 - 28 May 1972) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and other commonwealth realms and Emperor of India from 20 January 1936 until his abdication on 11 December 1936. He was the only British monarch to voluntarily relinquish the throne.
His Highness Prince Edward Albert Christian Andrew Patrick David of Great Britain and Ireland was born at Richmond, Surrey, the eldest son of Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of York. The Duke of York, who later became King George V, was the second son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII), the eldest son of Queen Victoria. The Duchess of York, formerly HSH Princess Mary of Teck, who was a great granddaughter of King George III and a second cousin of Queen Victoria. At the time of his birth, he was third in line to the British throne behind his father and grandfather.
Within the immediate family, he was always known as David, the last of his seven Christian names, four of whom indicated his association with the four nations within the United Kingdom; George for England, Andrew for Scotland, Patrick for Ireland and David for Wales. He automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Great Steward of Scotland when his father ascended the throne on 6 May 1910. He was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 2 June 1910 and was officially invested as such in a special ceremony at Caernarfon Castle in 1911. 2 It was the first time since the Middle Ages that such an event had taken place in Wales, and it occurred at the instigation of the Welsh politician, David Lloyd George, who at that time held the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Liberal government.
King of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
King of IrelandWhen World War I broke out, David was old enough for active service and was keen to participate. Although he was allowed to join the army, he was kept well away from any action that might have threatened his safety. After the war, his conduct began to give cause for concern to his ultra-conservative parents, particularly when he enjoyed relationships with a series of married women, including Anglo-American textile heiress Freda Dudley Ward (nee Winifred May Birkin, she married 1st William Dudley Ward and 2nd Pedro, marqués de Casa Maury) and the Viscountess Furness. It was Lady Furness, née Thelma Morgan, an American beauty of part-Chilean ancestry, who introduced him to a fellow American, Wallis Simpson. Simpson had divorced her first husband in 1927 and was now married to Ernest Simpson, an Anglo-American businessman. Mrs. Simpson and the Prince of Wales became lovers while his mistress Lady Furness was abroad. Following his father's death on January 20, 1936, he scandalised society by watching the proclamation of his own accession to the throne from a window, in the company of the still-married Mrs Simpson.
Marriage to Mrs. Simpson was deemed impossible for the king, even after her second divorce was obtained, because he was head of the Church of England, which prohibited remarriage after divorce. Several alternative solutions were proposed, including a morganatic marriage, but Edward was adamant that he wished to marry Mrs. Simpson, and he eventually abdicated his throne on December 11, 1936. State papers released in 2003 revealed that, during the abdication crisis, as well as King Edward, Mrs. Simpson reportedly had two other lovers, one a car salesman, the other Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster, a close friend of the King. The abdication crisis caused a constitutional upheaval, and the throne passed to the Heir Presumptive, the King's next oldest brother, Prince Albert, Duke of York, who became King George VI of the United Kingdom.
On March 8, 1937, George VI created his brother, the former king, Duke of Windsor. However, letters patent dated May 27, 1937, which reconferred upon the Duke of Windsor the "title, style, or attribute of Royal Highness," specifically stated that "his wife and descendants, if any, shall not hold said title or attribute." He married Mrs. Simpson in a private ceremony on June 3, 1937 at Chateau de Candé, Monts, France. None of the British royal family attended. The denial of the style HRH to the Duchess of Windsor, as well as the financial settlement, strained relations between the Duke of Windsor and the rest of the royal family for decades. The Duke had assumed that he would settle in Britain afer a year or two of exile in France. However, the King (with the support of his mother Queen Mary and his wife Queen Elizabeth) threatened to cut off his allowance if he returned to Britain without an invitation.
He was appointed Governor of the Bahamas, a post he held until after the war ended in 1945, when the couple retired to France, where they spent much of the remainder of their lives. In recent years, it has been suggested that the Duke was a fascist sympathizer during World War II and was kept in the Bahamas to minimize his opportunities to act on those feelings. In later years, he was reunited with other members of the royal family on several occasions, but his wife was never accepted. He died in 1972 at Paris, and his body was returned to Britain for burial at Frogmore, near Windsor Castle. The Duchess of Windsor, on her death a decade and a half later, was buried alongside her husband in Frogmore.
Footnote
1 At his time of birth, Edward's surname was Wettin and the Royal House name was Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1917, both the dynastic name and personal surname were changed to Windsor due to their German origins (because the UK was at war with Germany).
2In addition to his seven personal names, the specific styles and titles held by the future Duke of Windsor changed several times before his ascension to the throne. Under Queen Victoria's Letters Patent of 30 June 1864 and settled practice dating back to 1714, as a male-line great grandchild of the Sovereign, Edward was a prince of Great Britain and Ireland with the qualification of Highness (not Royal Highness). Queen Victoria's Letters Patent of 27 May 1898 expressly granted the titles of prince and princess of Great Britain and qualification of Royal Highness to the children of the surviving son of the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). As a male-line great grandson of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, he bore the titles Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Duke of Saxony (with the qualification of Highness). George V's Order in Council on 20 July 1917 relinquished for himself and all descendants of Queen Victoria who were British subjects the "use of the Degrees, Styles, Dignities, Titles and Honours of Dukes and Duchesses of Saxony and Princes and Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and all other German Degrees, Styles, Dignities, Titles, Honours and Appellations." From his father's ascension to the throne on 6 May 1910 until his own ascension on 20 January 1936, he held the titles Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. The Duke of Windsor's titles and styles were as follows:
His Highness Prince Edward of York (23 June 1894 to 27 May 1898)
His Royal Highness Prince Edward of York ( 27 May 1898 to 20 January 1901)
His Royal Highness Prince Edward of Cornwall and York (20 January to 9 November 1901)
His Royal Highness Prince Edward of Wales (9 November 1901 to 6 May 1910)
His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall (6 May 1910 to 2 June 1910)
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales (2 June 1910 to 20 January 1936)
His Majesty King Edward VIII (20 January 1936 to 11 December 1936)
His Royal Highness The Prince Edward (11 December 1936 to 8 March 1937, although at his Ascension Council, King George VI announced his intention to create the former king Duke of Windsor)
His Royal Highness The Duke of Windsor (8 March 1937 to 28 May 1972).
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