Edward VIII & Wallis Simpson

[Music] King Edward VII and Wallace Simpson a ruinous Romance [Music] thank you to Avis Manor for sponsoring this video King Edward VII of the United Kingdom gave up the throne to marry the woman he loved Wallace Simpson their relationship has long been lauded as a royal fairy tale and one of the greatest love stories of the 20th century but there was a lot more going on Wallace never really liked Edward but became trapped by her own ambition and Edward desperate to find any mode of escaping the insurmountable pressure of his Birthright became obsessed with the woman who dominated him and they were both Nazi sympathizers the abdication of a king who wasn't allowed by the church to marry a divorced woman was not nearly that simple and the crisis that almost ended at the British Monarchy likely saved it in the end Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David was known as David within his family he was born on June 23 1894. during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria his parents were Prince George Duke of York the Future King George V and Princess Mary of tech George had grown up in the Navy and was a Stern disciplinarian Mary was more devoted to her royal duties than to her children the six Royal Offspring were left in the care of nannies and George and Mary failed to notice that they were being abused Prince David was tutored at the palace until the age of 13 when he was sent away to the Royal Naval College which he did not enjoy his father felt that the best preparation for the job of King was to serve in the military at 16 Edward was enrolled at Oxford University he excelled at Polo but not not in academics he left after four years without a degree George became king in 1910 and his eldest son in Heir David was the first to be formally invested as Prince of Wales at carnarvon Castle their German cousin Kaiser Wilhelm launched a little Family Feud known as World War One and the relatives and their Nations squared off against each other in a war that cost 40 million lives and reshaped Europe the 20-year-old Prince was eager to fight but the British government refused to put the heir to the throne In Harm's Way David visited troops at the front as often as he could and became a very popular with veterans he also earned his pilot's license and enjoyed it flying as a hobby in 1917 while on leave from his regiment the Grenadier guards David made frequent trips to Paris to visit his mistress courtesan Marguerite aliber six years later Marguerite shot her husband at the Savoy Hotel the palace worked desperately to keep the prince's name out of the papers during her spectacular murder trial with Germany so unpopular King George made The Prudent decision to renounce all of his hereditary German titles and change the family name from Sox koberg and gotha to the more English sounding Windsor the name of his favorite castle after the war the monarchies of Germany Russia and other kingdoms were abolished and there were far fewer eligible young Royals on the marriage Market when George's children came of age therefore the king changed Royal tradition so that his children were not required to marry foreign Royals rather than having an arranged marriage to a foreign princess thrust upon him as had been done in previous generations David was given much more freedom to socialize and select his own spouse in 1923 his younger brother Prince birdie married Scottish Aristocrat Elizabeth Bose lion and started a family but Prince David showed no sign ends of settling down throughout the 1920s he took on various Royal duties and overseas trips to support his father his good looks and style made him a celebrity and fashion icon he was the most photographed person alive and menswear magazine observed the average young man in America is more interested in the clothes of the Prince of Wales than in any other individual on Earth the prince was liberally minded and supported the rights of workers and the poor but he also bought it to Eugenics and held racist views towards the people he met on his travels David was a hard partying Playboy and had little interest in the work of being Royal both his parents and the British government spent a lot of time covering up his Affairs and had serious concerns about his future as Sovereign King George remarked I pray to God that my eldest son will never marry and have children and that nothing will come between birdie and lilibit and the throne David in turn dreaded becoming King and felt wholly unprepared for the job he remained popular with and revered by the public but he himself admitted that he was undeserving of their admiration the prince's love affairs were always with married women as unmarried women had to guard their Chastity and would have had no way to explain an unexpected pregnancy the prince had a 16-year relationship with British American textile heiress Frida Dudley ward he also had an affair with American actress lady Thelma furnace who in 1931 made the Fateful introduction between the prince and her friend fellow American Wallace Simpson Bessie Wallace Warfield was born on June 19 1896 and raised in Baltimore Maryland her parents Tico Wallace Warfield and Alice Montgomery were born into wealthy upper-class families but had failed to earn or inherit money of their own when Wallace was just five months old her father died of tuberculosis she and her mother were left to live on the charity of his older brother who had inherited the family business Alice made ends meet by working as a hostess at a club Wallace grew up on the edge of poverty under the shadow of her mother's lost Glory Days of affluence Wallace was able to attend private school alongside the daughters of Baltimore's Elite eres Rene Dupont recalled that Wallace was the brightest pupil at the school and was determined to achieve great things she wrote though Wallace's jaw was too heavy to be counted beautiful her fine violet eyes and petite figure quick wits and vitality ensured that she had many admirers at 19 Wallace took the primary opportunity women of the time had to improve their situation marriage she wed Navy pilot Earl Winfield Spencer Jr who turned out to be a heavy drinker and frequently flew under the influence and he was abusive to Wallace the couple lived at the naval base in San Diego during World War One and spent a year in China there Wallace had an affair with an Italian count according to a fellow officer's wife she became pregnant and had a botched abortion which left her infertile while in China she supposedly took lessons on the sexual and psychological arts of seduction though this story may be the 20th century version of Royal Mistresses being accused of ensnaring their men through witchcraft one Chinese socialite recalled that the only phrase Wallace mastered in Mandarin was Boy pass me the champagne after nine years of marriage Wallace and Earl returned Stateside and filed for divorce she moved on to British American shipping executive Ernest Simpson who left his wife and daughter to marry her together they moved to London bought a large luxurious flat and employed servants what little money Wallace had of her own was wiped out in the stock market crash of 1929. in 1931 Wallace was introduced to the Prince of Wales at a house party they didn't hit it off right away but moved in the same circles and met again several times Wallace and Ernest were gliding through the highest Echelon of London Society but they were not able to keep up with their friends financially and were living well beyond their means their money worries were mounting and they had to let some of their staff go in 1934 the prince's mistress Thelma furnace took a trip to New York so she asked her good friend Wallace to keep the prince company while she was away upon Thelma's return the trio went out to lunch during the meal David began to play with a lettuce leaf on his plate and Wallace slapped his hand from this gesture Thelma knew that she had made a fatal error and that Wallace had replaced her as the prince's lover if like Wallace Simpson it's your fantasy to travel abroad fall in love with an attractive Brit and live in a historic Chateau then you could easily get lost playing Ava's Manor this free mobile game follows Ava a mystery writer who can't resist the Intrigue when her long-lost uncle leaves her a historic and dilapidated mansion play fun levels of Solitaire Tri Peaks to earn stars and renovate and redecorate the mansion in your own style all while meeting the colorful cast of characters and discovering mysterious clues in the elegant and sprawling mansion and grounds if that sounds like your cup of tea and you'd like to support my channel you can download Ava's Manor for free using my link in the description and now back to history David had long been attracted to American women because while the British treated him with reverence Americans were more honest and even critical of him but Wallace left them all in the dust she bullied the prince treated him like a naughty child and scolded him for not eating his vegetables and David who had long squirmed under the pressure of the powerful position thrust upon Him couldn't get enough dominance and humiliation there were rumors that David was impotent and that Wallace was the only woman who knew how to satisfy him sexually he became obsessed with Wallace and followed her around like a lost puppy he showered her with expensive jewels and Gifts Ernest was well paid to look the other way he gained valuable business contacts and was invited to join the princess Masonic Lodge thus securing his fortune to keep up appearances Ernest accompanied his wife on holidays and the married couple booked rooms right next to their Royal friend Ernest once complimented David on his Tweed suit and the prince had a matching Ensemble sent to him many joked that Ernest had traded his wife for a suit Wallace enjoyed this romantic Royal interlude and the wealth that came along with it but she didn't especially like the prince she found him boring and immature and she and Ernest secretly called him Peter Pan the boy who refused to grow up Wallace expected that the prince would eventually move on to a younger model and that she would return to her happy life with her husband Jules in hand neither She nor anyone else expected him to marry her but the prince who had always put his own desires before Duty or anything else surprised them all his growing obsession with Wallace and carelessness in concealing their relationship alienated his parents who refused to receive her at Buckingham Palace the government sets spies on the pair to discover the true nature of their relationship King George worried after I am dead the boy will ruin himself in 12 months on January 20th 1936 King George V died and 41 year old David automatically ascended the throne he took the regional name Edward VII according to tradition dating back to 1653 coins minted with the sovereign's profile alternates facing left and facing right Edward should have been facing right but he insisted on facing left so as to show off the stylish part in his hair the incident is an excellent example of how seriously he took his new role as sovereign government ministers were reluctant to send documents to the new King in the traditional red box because Edward wasn't looking at them and they feared Wallace or other party gas at his weekend retreat Fort Belvedere might be perusing secret government documents Wallace expected that Edward's duties as king would Eclipse their relationship but the pressure of responsibility caused him to become even more dependent on her he required her constant attention and Earnest began to grow weary of sharing his wife Wallace asked her childhood friend Mary raffery to keep her husband occupied while she sought the king's needs but of course that blew up in her face when Ernest and Mary became lovers desperate to get her husband back Wallace tried to break up with Edward but he threatened to kill himself if she left him Ernest asked the king directly what his intentions were towards his wife to which he replied that he couldn't imagine being crowned without Wallace by his side so Ernest arranged to be caught in a hotel with a Miss Buttercup Kennedy who was actually Mary raffery his soon-to-be third wife thus supplying evidence of infidelity so that he and Wallace could be divorced according to the laws of the time Wallace was heartbroken but she realized too late that in gaining Edward's affections she had lost her husbands and that she had gone too far to turn back now in July there was an assassination attempt against King Edward he was shot at by a man who claimed in his trial that he had been hired by a group of Italian Communists but that he was also an MI5 double agent he said he informed MI5 about the plot to kill the king and the British intelligence agency had looked the other way and let the assassination plan go ahead after escaping death Edward took a cruise through the Mediterranean with Wallace by his side American newspapers hounded them on their trip speculating that they were planning to Wed but the British press complied with the palace's request to cover up the story in November Edward informed prime minister Stanley Baldwin of his intention to marry Wallace the PM advised the king that his people would never accept the marriage or having Wallace as Queen divorce was still seen as morally repugnant and at the time it was forbidden by the church of England of which Edward as King was titular head Edward was baffled that anyone would not wish to honor and praise the woman he adored but he proposed a Morgan attic marriage in which he would remain King but Wallace would not become Queen and any children they might have would not inherit the throne but this idea was rejected too as it had never been done by British monarch before and there were serious concerns about Wallace's political leanings Adolf Hitler ordered German ambassador Joachim Von riventrop to seduce Wallace and he had succeeded gaining tactical secrets and her loyalty and sending her 17 carnations every day to represent the number of times they had slept together Edward was faced with three choices one give up Wallace for the crown two give up the crown for Wallace or three Mary Wallace without the approval of his ministers and face a constitutional crisis and the possible downfall of the monarchy Wallace begged him not to abdicate for her but as he had never wanted the crown it was an easy decision he signed the instrument of abdication on December 10 1936 after just 11 months on the throne the next day he went on the radio and announced his decision to his people I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love his younger brother became King George VI unlike previous Royal younger brothers who had killed for the chance to claim the throne George was devastated he was a shy man with a severe stammer who suffered under the spotlight of public appearances he enjoyed a quiet life with his wife and daughters and was terrified that he would be toppled under the weight of the crown he was also deeply hurt that his brother had dumped his Birthright upon him without considering or even Consulting him when George told his mother of the abdication he broke down and sobbed like a child but unlike Edward George had a strong sense of morality and Duty he reluctantly took up the heavy mantle of monarchy saw his people through World War II stood firm against the Nazis discouraged racism and turned out to be one of the best Kings in Britain history but what to do about Edward there had never before been a king of Britain who had willingly given up the throne and there was much debate about what a living ex-king should be called King George decided that his brother should be styled his Royal Highness but that he had forfeited the right to be royal Prince he instead created him Duke of Windsor though on the surface the dukedom seems like a kindness it was actually a Savvy political move as a royal Duke Edward remained handcuffed politically like the rest of the royal family from running for public office or making political statements the increasingly subversive Edward had far more charm and was thus more popular than his brother so he could have made a lot of trouble for the new king and government if he had a mind to Edward was strongly encouraged to leave the country so he departed for Austria to stay with friends while Wallace waited for her divorce to be final on May 12 1937 he listened on the radio as his brother was crowned King of the United Kingdom in the coronation which had been planned for him Edward and Wallace married in a small ceremony on June 3rd 1937 at Chateau de Condi in France none of the Duke's family attended as the new Duke and Duchess had no intention of serving as working Royals they were not put on the Civil list to receive an allowance from British taxpayers but King George agreed to pay his brother a generous allowance out of his own Pockets he also purchased the Sandringham estate and Balmoral Castle from him which he had inherited as the eldest son George denied Wallace the right to be addressed as her Royal Highness and Edward called his brother every day to complain about this and to demand more money finally the harassed new king requested that his brother's calls not to be put through in October 1937 the Duke and Duchess visited Nazi Germany and met Adolf Hitler there Wallace was treated like a queen Justice Edward had always wanted her to be Hitler mourned the abdication of the king who would have been an ally to him and the Nazi cause shortly before the Germans invaded Poland Edward was commissioned by NBC to give a radio broadcast during which he pleaded for appeasement or allowing Germany to take what they wanted in order to avoid Another World War the BBC refused to broadcast the message and war broke out in 1939. oblivious to the people suffering and dying around them Edward and Wallace left occupied France to vacation in Spain and Portugal they requested that Nazis look after their French Villas and Wallace even asked that her favorite bathing suit which she had forgotten to pack be couriered to her by American soldiers the Duke and Duchess became a central part of the Nazis plans for their conquest of the United Kingdom if they succeeded they wanted to put Edward back on the throne there were even plans to kidnap him and make him a puppet King prime minister Winston Churchill threatened to court-martial the Duke if he did not return to British soil immediately but they didn't want Edward Making Waves with his pro-fascist views in the UK either so in 1940 he was appointed governor of the Bahamas there he was praised for his efforts to alleviate poverty but he maintained his racist views and called the island a third class colony the couple were monitored by both British and American spies to make sure that they didn't do anything to seriously undermine the war effort Edward later told friends that he thought the Roosevelts and the Jews were to blame for the war and that I never thought Hitler was such a bad chap after the war Edward and Wallace returned to France when King George VI fell ill with lung cancer Edward considered returning to the UK to try and position himself to become Regent and overstep his niece princess Elizabeth who is now in her early twenties but the plans never materialized after Years of Living Like Royals their funds were substantially drained so they made ends meet through government favors and illegal currency trading the French government provided them with a house and exemption from income tax Edward also released a ghost written Memoir a King's Story the couple lived a celebrity lifestyle attending parties in Paris and New York and doting on their pet pugs Wallace continued to be witty charming and great fun while Edward was a boar and acquaintances dreaded sitting next to him at dinner parties The Man Who Would have been King was content to follow his wife around while she shopped in Paris and treat her like the queen he had always wanted her to be the royal family never accepted Wallace or forgave Edward for abandoning his duty his mother blamed him for George VI early death at 56 at his funeral The Dowager Queen chided her son saying to give all this up for that referring to Wallace Edward did not attend his niece Elizabeth's coronation but watched it on TV he became a mentor to teenage Prince Charles with whom he had a lot in common they wrote each other often and Charles went to visit his uncle in France in the 60s Edward's Health deteriorated he suffered an aneurysm and throat cancer in 1972 Queen Elizabeth came to see her prodigal Uncle while on a state visit in France he died 10 days later at the age of 77. he was privately buried at the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore Wallace survived her husband by 14 years towards the end she suffered dementia and secluded herself in her home she was financially supported by Queen Elizabeth she died in 1986 age 89 and the queen allowed her to be buried next to Edward in the Royal vault there is little doubt that Edward was and would have continued to be one of Britain's worst kings had he not chosen to abdicate his disinterest in the job carelessness and Nazi sympathies would have become a serious liability especially as his Nation entered World War II so the abdication crisis that nearly toppled the British Monarchy probably saved it by opening the door to George VI who put family and Duty Above All Else and this became an outstanding and Incredibly popular King and he was a lot less racist George also picked the right companion in Elizabeth beau's lion who was the key to his success and while their daughter Queen Elizabeth II has faced numerous controversies over her nearly 70-year Reign she has remained popular and is seen as a uniting force holding the monarchy and the commonw wealth together but what if Edward had made a different Choice who would be Monarch today if he had given Wallace up for the crown married a different woman and had children then those descendants would wear the crown today and Princess Elizabeth would be a footnote in history if Edward had remained King and married Wallace anyway and the monarchy had survived the resulting constitutional crisis they likely still would have been childless aside from the rumors of Wallace's botched abortion and Edward's impotence they were in their 40s when they married thus Prince birdie would have remained Edward's Heir followed by his daughter Elizabeth so Elizabeth would still have become a queen but in 1972 when Edward died rather than in 1952 birdie may have even outlived his brother to become a king had he not carried the heavy burden of monarchy in this timeline where Edward did give up the crown for Wallace any children they might have had would not have displaced Elizabeth in a succession as the instrument of abdication Edward signed renounced the monarchy for himself and his descendants after witnessing the anguish her uncle's troubled romance Scandal and dereliction of Duty caused her family abdication became a dirty word to Elizabeth and while many other European monarchs have chosen to Advocate pass the throne on to their children and retire Queen Elizabeth will almost certainly wear the crown until her dying day download Ava's Manor for free using my link in the description if you enjoyed this video please like subscribe comment your thoughts and check out my other Royal history videos if you really want to help please consider supporting me on patreon a link is in the description thank you for watching

Channel: History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday

Views: 1,122,667

Keywords: history, documentary, royal family, royalty, the crown, scandal, european royalty, queens of europe, women in history, wallis simpson, edward and wallis, edward viii, King edward viii, abdication crisis, nazi king, edward viii nazi king, wallis simpson nazi, george vi, king george vi, elizabeth bowes lyon, the crown in crisis, wwii history, royal family scandal, queen victoria great grandchildren, 20th century history, queen elizabeth ii, american royals, the crown real

Id: EZFFJWEKUAk

Length: 29min 43sec (1783 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 06 2021