In the Name of Love: King Edward VIII Announces His Abdication from the Throne

November 28, 2021

On December 11, 1936, the world was stunned to hear a radio broadcast by England’s King Edward VIII in which he announced his abdication from the throne. No British monarch before or after him has ever voluntarily given up the crown. The reason for his abdication warmed the hearts of even the most hardened cynics, while still stirring controversy. He gave up the crown for love. 

A colorized photo of the duke and duchess of Windsor enjoy a brief stop in Hamilton, Bermuda, on the way to the Bahamas, where the Duke is to become Governor. (Getty Images)

Edward had fallen in love with a woman who was deemed an inappropriate spouse for the king. She was Wallis Warfield Simpson, an American divorcee. Edward decided he would rather give up his birthright than give up the woman he loved. In these colorized photographs, let’s look at the love story of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, a love that shook up the British royal family and eventually placed Queen Elizabeth II on the throne. 

Edward 

Edward had a reputation for being a womanizer. (nypost.com)

Edward was the oldest son of King George V who became king in 1910, when Edward was 16 years old. Aside from an obligatory stint in the British Army, Edward enjoyed a privileged life that included few responsibilities as a young man. He was a regular participant in London’s thriving social scene. He attended parties and galas. He was entangled in a series of scandalous romantic and sexual trysts that caught the wrath of his father, the King, and the British prime minister at the time, Stanley Baldwin. Ever the playboy, Edward was still unmarried into his late thirties, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t deeply in love.