Home > Abdication Crisis of Edward VIII
Like King Henry VIII of England, whose wish to marry Anne Boleyn in the 1530s rocked his kingdom, King Edward VIII created a crisis for the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth in the 1930s when he wished to marry Wallis Simpson: the problem for Edward was that as King he was also Supreme Governor of the Church of England, which did not allow a divorced person to remarry in church while their former spouse was still living, and Mrs. Simpson's first two husbands were still alive. (One of the great ironies of the situation is that Henry VIII separated English Catholicism from Roman control, thus creating the Church of England, so he could divorce [ see Note 1 ] Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn while Catherine was still alive.)
1 The Rumours About Wallis
If the King's advisors had considered Mrs. Simpson a suitable consort, they might have made more of an effort to find a legal solution to his problem. (Because her first marriage was dissolved in the United States, even if her second marriage had been annulled, she still would be in legal terms a "divorcée".) But his ministers (like his family) found Mrs. Simpson's background and behavior unthinkably unacceptable for a Queen; his mother, the dowager Queen Mary, even suspecting that she held some sort of "sexual bond" over him (a situation similar to Cecily Neville's heated reaction to her son Edward IV's feelings for Elizabeth Woodville). Even Edward VIII's official biographer, Philip Ziegler , accepted that premise. He noted that:
- There must have been some sort of sadomachistic relationship . . . [Edward] relished the contempt and bullying she bestowed on him. [2]
The private papers of Walter Turner Monckton, legal advisor to Edward, were released by the Bodleian Library in Oxford on January 29January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 336 days remaining, (337 in leap years). Events 1676 Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia. 1845 The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is published for the first time New York Evening Mirror ., 20032003 is a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar), and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Summary Perhaps the defining global event of the year 2003 was the Invasion of Iraq launched by the U. (Except for one batch concerning private correspondence to Monckton from Queen ElizabethHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth (nee The Honourable Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon ( 4 August 1900 30 March 2002) was the Queen consort of George VI of the United Kingdom. She is the mother of Queen Elizabeth II, the current British monarch. After her husband's death s (the mother of Queen Elizabeth II), which remains embargoed until 2037Centuries: 20th century 21st century 22nd century Decades: 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s 2040s 2050s 2060s 2070s 2080s Years: 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 Events January 31 Near-Earth object 2002 OD20 will make a close appr). They provide a valuable insight into the facts and attitudes behind the Abdication, and the rumours and innuendoInnuendo can refer to: For Innuendo as a figure of speech please see Double entendre. Innuendo is also the title of an album by Queen. The title track conveys the idea that racism is a kind of slander or libel, and a prominent part of the song is the innu that shaped them, most notably concerning Wallis Simpson.
1.1 Wallis's Other Lovers
Police detectives following Mrs. Simpson reported back that while involved with King Edward, Wallis was in fact involved in another sexual relationship, with a married car mechanic and salesman named Guy Trundle . This fact may well have been made known to senior figures in the British establishment, including members of the Royal Family. King Edward, however, remained unaware of his mistress's infidelity with another man. A third lover has also been revealed, Edward Fitzgerald, Duke of Leinster, Ireland's premier peer and close friend of her future husband.
