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| Edward as Prince of Wales, in Ontario, 1919 |
On December 11, 1936,
Edward VIII publicly abdicated the throne of England and turned from his role as King of United Kingdom and its dominions and Emperor of India for love of the American divorcee
Wallis Simpson.
The romantic relationship succeeded in capturing the imagination of America as it struggled to survive the Great Depression. So much so, in fact, that in 1936, America's weekly news magazine,
TIME, chose Wallis Simpson to be the first female awarded
TIME's "Person of the Year." Edward VIII's relationship with Wallis defied both the wishes of his family and the British government. It soon became clear that Edward could have Wallis or the throne; but he could not have both. Presented with this choice, Edward, under what many felt to be the bewitchment of Wallis' stronger personality, opted for love and left the throne to his younger and quite unprepared brother,
George VI (or "Bertie").
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor continued to make waves internationally in the days following their marriage in June of 1937. Relations between the Duchess and the royal family did not improve. Indeed, one could argue that they worsened. The royal family refused to allow the Duchess to assume a royal style.
Living in France, the Duke and Duchess made little effort to avoid accusations of pro-Nazi sympathies. The Duke gave dubious public statements, which left his sympathies up for interpretation. The Duchess was chummy with
Diana Mitford, a well-known Nazi sympathizer. With the outbreak of war, PM
Winston Churchill threatened the Duke with court-martial in order to persuade him to accept the wartime governorship of the Bahamas, a British colony.
Although the Duke succeeded in doing some good during his governorship, it is difficult to view the Windsors' time in the Bahamas without some distaste. The Duke and Duchess' prejudices were too often vocalized, and the governorship of the Bahamas often showcased the Duke and Duchess' racism. Nevertheless, the British government did succeed in limiting the Duke's damage to the British war effort by preventing him the means or opportunity to act on any pro-fascist sympathies. In his memoir, the Duke defended himself, emphasizing that his admiration for the Germans stopped short of sympathy for fascism.
When the war ended, the Duke and Duchess returned to France where they lived a retiring life as celebrities. Their social calendar typified that of cafe society--they entertained in their gorgeous houses and the Duke published small works. To this day, the Windsor's personal sense of style is widely, and rightly, celebrated.
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| The Duke & Duchess of Windsor, 1964, via The Windsor Style | |
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| The Duke of Windsor via The Windsor Style |
