June 23: Edward VIII

Edward VIII, King of Great Britain, second monarch of the House of Windsor, was born on this date in 1894. Here are 10 facts about him.

1. Edward ascended the throne as King Edward VIII on 20 January 1936 on the death of King George V. His reign lasted just 326 days, making him one of the shortest reigning monarchs in British history.
2. The reason for the short reign, and the thing he is probably most famous for, is that he wanted to marry Wallis Simpson, an American woman who had two previous husbands, both still alive. This was not only socially unacceptable at the time, but would conflict with Edward's status as head of the Church of England, which at the time still disapproved of remarriage after divorce. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and his entire government were set to resign if the marriage went ahead, causing a constitutional crisis. Edward's suggestion that he and Wallis entered into a morganatic marriage, in which he would remain king but Simpson would not become queen, and any children they had would not inherit the throne, was rejected, and so Edward chose to abdicate. He abdicated on 10 December 1936, and his younger brother became George VI.
3. His full name was Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David. Edward after his uncle, Christian after his great-grandfather King Christian IX of Denmark. Queen Victoria insisted on the inclusion of the name Albert, after her late consort. The remaining four names are the names of the patron saints of the four nations of the United Kingdom. He was known to his family and close friends as David.
4. Edward was keen to serve in the first world war as a member of the Grenadier Guards. Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener refused to allow him to serve on the front lines because he was heir to the throne and it would have been a disaster if he'd been captured.
5. In 1919, Edward became President of the organising committee for the proposed British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park. He expressed the wish that the exhibition should include "a great national sports ground" - so we have Edward VIII to thank for Wembley Stadium.
6. Wallis Simpson wasn't the first unsuitable partner he'd had. In 1917, during he began a love affair with Parisian courtesan Marguerite Alibert, to whom he wrote several indiscreet letters, which she kept after Edward left her for Freda Dudley Ward, a textile heiress and married woman. Lady Furness, the American wife of a British peer, was another of his mistresses, and it was she who would introduce him to Wallis Simpson.
7. Edward's father, George V, despaired of his eldest son's behaviour and predicted "After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself in twelve months." He made no secret of the fact that he thought his younger son would make a far better king, and went so far as to say "I pray to God that my eldest son will never marry and have children, and that nothing will come between Bertie (George VI) and Lilibet (Queen Elizabeth II) and the throne." As it happens, Edward and Wallis didn't have children (it's been suggested a bout of mumps may have made him infertile) so Elizabeth would have become queen eventually even if Edward hadn't abdicated.
8. There is a tradition on British coinage that each monarch faces the opposite direction on coins to the previous one. Edward insisted he didn't want to be pictured facing right as tradition would dictate. He wanted to be shown facing left, like his father because then his portrait would show the parting in his hair. Only a few test coins were struck before the abdication, and all are very rare. George VI also faced left, maintaining that Edward should have faced right, and therefore it was proper that he maintain the tradition.
9. Edward VIII held quite racist views, believing white people were superior. He and his wife were known to have visited Hitler after the abdication so many believe he was pro-Nazi. There is even a suggestion that, had Hitler won the war, he would have re-instated Edward as King of England. Hence Edward was believed to be something of a loose cannon, so he was given the job of Governor of the Bahamas, presumably to keep him out of the way while the war was going on. While Edward was praised for his efforts to combat poverty on the islands, he didn't like the job. He said the Bahamas was "a third-class British colony", and resigned in 1945.
10. He died on 28 May 1972 in Paris at the age of 77.

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