May 28, 1972- the death of the Duke of Windsor, former Edward VIII.
Prince Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David was born June 23, 1894 at White Lodge (the home now houses the Royal ballet school). The home was the residence of his maternal grandparents, the Duke and Duchess of Teck. He was born during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria, his parents the Duke and Duchess of York at the time of his birth. His father the future George V was the son of The Prince of Wales (future Edward VII) and Alexandra of Denmark. His mother Mary was the daughter of Frances, Duke of Teck and Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. His father was a second son, but following the death of his elder brother Albert Victor in 1892, George became second in line after his father. Mary had been engaged to Albert Victor at the time of his death. George and Mary bonded over mourning for Albert and were married in 1893.
Edward was baptized in the green drawing room of White Lodge by the archbishop of Canterbury. Edward was a nod to Albert Victor who had been known as Eddy by his family (his last middle name was Edward). Albert and Christian were for his great-grandfathers, Prince Albert and Christian IX of Denmark. The others were a nod to the patron saints of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. He was always known to family as David, his last. He had 12 godparents: Victoria and the queen and king of Denmark (his living great-grandparents), The prince and princess of wales (his paternal grandparents), the duke and duchess of Teck (maternal grandparents)William II of Wurtemberg (cousin of his mother), Queen Olga of Greece (his great-aunt by marriage, sister in law to Alexandra), Prince Alfred (brother of his grandfather the POW), the future Nicholas II of Russia (dad's cousin) and the duke of Cambridge (his maternal great-uncle).
He had five younger siblings. Sadly he out lived all but Henry who died two years after him.
-Albert: originally Duke of York, eventually George VI. Married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the daughter of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. They were the parents of Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret. (died in 1952)
-Mary: Princess Royal. Married Henry, 6th Earl of Harewood. Two sons. (died in1965)
-Henry: Duke of Gloucester. Married Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott, daughter of 7th Duke of Buccleuch. Had 2 sons, younger of whom is the current Duke of Gloucester.(died in 1974)
-George: became Duke of Kent. Married Princess Marina of Greece (granddaughter of George I, and cousin of Prince Philip). Father of the current Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael (died 1942)
-John: died at the age of 14
Edward's father was a disciplinarian but said to also be quite affectionate. Despite her public appearance, Mary was said to be a frolicsome mother. When Victoria died, their parents went on a 9 month tour and Edward was left with his grandparents. Edward and Alexandra doted on their grandchildren during this time.
He took the entrance test for the royal naval college in 1907 though his tutors had wished him to start sooner. His father though had disagreed. He was to spend 2 years there before entering the royal navy was the plan. He caught the mumps which may have left him infertile.
He was 15 when his grandfather died and he became the Duke of Cornwall. He was created the Prince of Wales a month later on his 16th birthday. He was withdrawn from his naval training before his graduation and spent three months as a midshipman before he was sent to Oxford. He was not intellectually at a level for the school and after eight terms, he left without having achieved any degree. He became quite the polo player there.
During WWI he joined the Grenadier guards. He wasn't allowed to join the front line though he did visit the troops as often as he could and saw the trench war fare. He got his military wings as well.
He was widely traveled and made 16 tours of the empire between 1919 and 1935. He was known for being a racist though, making comments about the aborigines during his tour of Australia as one example.
He was given Fort Belvedere as his residence and he used it to host many mistresses during his time. His father was said to have favored Albert and was quoted as saying '"I pray to God that my eldest son will never marry and have children, and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne.' His father of course would have his wish.
He met American divorcee Wallis Simpson in 1930. She was married to her second husband Ernest until 1937 (she had divorced her first in 1927). She and Ernest had been married for 2 years when she was introduced to Edward via his mistress at the time, Lady Furness. They were said to have become lovers when Lady Furness was traveling abroad. Lady Furness was the maternal aunt of Gloria Vanderbilt, the mother of Anderson Cooper (Lady Furness and Gloria's mother also Gloria were twins).
Their relationship caused more issues with Edward and his parents. They met her in 1935 at Buckingham palace but they refused to after. His father died January 20, 1936 and he became Edward VIII. He caused problems, some of his actions seen as interfering with politics. When Wallis started the divorce proceedings with her husband it became clear that Edward planned to marry her.
He summoned Baldwin to Buckingham palace and announced his plans to marry her in November. Baldwin was opposed, as Edward was the head of the church, and marriage to a divorcee was not allowed in the church. Edward proposed a morganatic marriage instead, where Wallis would not be queen but have a lesser title, and he would keep his throne. And if they had any children they would not be in line. Churchill was said to have approved of the idea. But the Prime ministers of Canada, Australia and South Africa opposed it, while NZ and Ireland did not openly oppose it. Edward made it clear he would abdicate if they refused to allow him to marry her.
December 10, 1936 in the presence of his younger brothers he signed the instruments of abdication. The next day his last official act was give his royal assent to the act. The dominions had already agreed to it.
He left for Austria the next day though Wallis could not join him for seven months until her divorce was final. His brother's first act as king on December 12 was to make him Duke of Windsor. Edward sold his brother Balmoral and Sandringham which he had inherited from his father. Edward was not allowed to be on the civil list so the king also granted him an allowance on top of the money he had paid for the homes.
Wallis and Edward were married at Château de Candé. The church of England refused to sanction their marriage. Robert Anderson Jardine, a Durham vicar, offered to marry them and it was accepted. George refused to allow any of their family to attend the wedding. This hurt Edward badly, as he wanted his younger brothers and his cousin Louis Mountbatten to attend. They were married June 3, 1937.
Edward thought exile would last a few years. Instead he was informed that if he returned without invitation by his brother, all his funding would be cut. His resentment of not only his brother but his mother grew deeper.
The couple visited Nazi Germany before the war and even gave full Nazi salutes. The couple fled into Spain and eventually Portugal when the Nazis took over France. There were those who accused them of being sympathizers. They were sent to the Bahamas eventually where Edward was appointed the new Governor in 1940. They returned to France after the end of the war and settled in a home provided by the French government in Paris for nominal rent.
The couple became celebrities, part of the café culture. They traveled all over the world. Instead of attending Elizabeth's coronation, they watched it on tv in Paris. Though they never accepted Wallis, he did meet with George and his mother over the years. He attended his brother's funeral. He visited his mother, Mary and his sister in law Marina a week before Mary died. The last royal ceremony he attended was the funeral of Princess Marina in 1968. He turned down an invitation to the investiture of Charles as POW.
Edward was ill in the 60s and underwent surgery for several issues. In 1972 Elizabeth visited the couple during a state visit to France. 10 days after the queen visited, Edward died. He was a month short of his 78th birthday. He was buried June 5 at Frogmore following a lying in state at St George's. His funeral was attended by the royal family. His widow was allowed to stay at the palace during this time. Wallis died in 1986 after years of dementia. Wallis would at least be honored in death. She was buried next to her husband, and her funeral was attended by her two remaining sister in laws Elizabeth and Alice, as well as others like the Queen, Philip and Charles.