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Is it possible to go against the king-father because of love? It seems that this can only happen in a fairy tale, but Edward VIII did everything to be with his beloved. Having lost the crown, the respect of the subjects and even the family, he remained happy and lived all his life with the one that was more important than the throne.
"I want to be like everyone else"
The future King Edward VIII, born Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, was born on 23 June 1894 to the Duke and Duchess of York. The eldest of six children, Edward always spoke of his parents as cold and distant, and Edward was so afraid of his father that he began to shake whenever he called him to his library. Because this challenge invariably meant punishment.
Edward was only 12 when he was sent to study at the Naval College at Osborne. Edward recalls that at first he had a hard time there - classmates laughed at him because of his royal origin, but gradually Edward found friends there.
During the coronation ceremony, he was dressed in a magnificent, ridiculous costume, and in his memoirs, Edward wrote that he was very afraid of what other cadets would think if they saw him in this outfit.
“When I interacted with the country boys from Sandringham and the cadets in college, I passionately wanted only one thing - to be like any other boy of my age.”
In August 1914, all of Europe was drawn into the First World War. The prince also wanted to go to the front, and he was sent to the First Battalion of the Grenadier Regiment. But, as Edward soon found out, they did not intend to let him on the battlefield. Frustrated, he turned to the Minister of War, explaining that he was the eldest of the children and, even if he died, there was someone to take the throne.
The Minister of War objected to this that they feared not only that the prince would be killed, but also that he would be taken prisoner.
And although the prince did not participate in the battles, he saw the horrors of war and won their sympathy with his desire to be closer to ordinary soldiers.
Women and their husbands
As for the personal life of the future king, Edward was a very attractive man: blond with blue eyes and a charming smile. He could win the sympathy of many women, but for some reason he preferred married ones.
His first love was Mrs. Freda Dudley Ward. She is his age, they were both in their early twenties at the time. Freda remained Edward's mistress for almost 16 years. One can only guess what her husband thought about this.
Freda Dudley Ward
Thelma Furness
His other lover was Viscountess Thelma Furness.
At one of her receptions in 1931, Edward met the love of his life, Mrs. Wallis Simpson. And her husband Ernest. Although Mrs. Wallis Simpson did not make much of an impression on Edward when they first met, their relationship soon took a different turn. Wallis became a frequent visitor to Edward's house, though not the only one. For some time.
Wallis Simpson
At first, the prince refused Thelma Furness - she found out about this when she was hinted that she was no longer expected in Edward's house and in his bed, and even the prince did not answer phone calls anymore. Soon the same fate befell Mrs. Dudley Ward.
Who is Mrs Wallis Simpson?
But Wallis had no luck with his husbands. She was born in the US, her parents moved to the UK. His father died when Wallis was less than a year old, and he and his mother lived in poverty throughout their childhood and teenage years.
Her first husband was a pilot, who, after returning from the war, got drunk and began to dissolve his hands. Her second husband ran the family shipping business. It was with him that she began to go out for the first time, thanks to which she met the future king.
Although many called Wallis a seductress and even a witch (in the negative sense of the word), it is likely that she was rather seduced - by power, proximity to the throne, the charm of Prince Edward.
In 1934, Edward invited the Simpsons to accompany him on a cruise on his yacht. But for some reason Ernest couldn't attend, and it's not customary to decline a prince's invitation, so Wallis went alone. Then, according to her, she and the prince "crossed the line separating friendship from love."
Kings Can Do Anything
On the night of January 20, 1936, King George V, the father of 42-year-old Edward, died. And Edward became King Edward VIII.
Not everyone was happy about Edward's accession to the throne. With his first decree, he ordered to transfer the Sandringham clock, which from time immemorial hastened half an hour, half an hour back. To many, this gesture betrayed in him a man obsessed with trifles.
All true, but Edward wanted to be a modern monarch, he wanted to live in a new way, and many of his environment pulled him back to the good old days.
Edward fired them. He was late for important meetings or canceled them at the last minute, paperwork was also not among the things that the king liked. And the main culprit for his lateness and distraction was Mrs. Wallis Simpson. Soon their relationship was no longer possible to hide, and then a condition was set before the king: the crown or Wallis. More precisely, there were three options: either he parted ways with Wallis, or the government lays down its duties, and let the king do what he wants, or Edward renounces the throne.
Even then, Edward firmly decided to marry Wallis. So he didn't really have a choice.
Renunciation
Not even a year had passed since his accession to the throne, as the king resigned his obligations and the crown, and his brother Albert became King George VI. Edward became the Duke of Windsor. He kept his promise and married Wallis, making her a duchess.
A fly in the ointment at their wedding was Albert's letter to his elder brother, where he wrote that although formally Edward should lose the title of "royal highness", he was ready to leave this title to a relative. But not for his wife and their children. This touched Edward to the very heart, and for the rest of his life he will remember this.
After the abdication, the spouses were expelled from the UK, and they spent the rest of their days away from their homeland. The royal family did not want to keep in touch, and Edward and Wallis spent most of their lives in France.
Due to a suspicious relationship with Hitler during World War II, the couple was forced to move to the Bahamas, but later they were able to return to Europe.
Edward did not live long enough to be 78 years old, his wife outlived him by 14 years, having written his autobiography “You Can't Command Your Heart” before that.
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