Sandringham, Norfolk

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A Personal Note (Archive)

Royal conspiracies have been much in the news lately, with bizarre theories about Princess Diana finally dispelled. But this week also saw revelations about what just might qualify as a real royal conspiracy. The story of Edward the Eighth, who came to the throne on the 28th of January 1936, is one of the most remarkable royal stories in recent history. Edward was young, in his early forties, good looking, and intelligent. The government, by contrast was made up of old men, who weren't good looking, and were only intelligent in what A.N Wilson called a dull kind of way. Stanley Baldwin, the Prime Minister, was nearly seventy. The only member of the government who was even close to Edward in age was Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, and he was unsympathetic to Edward. Many interpretations have been placed on what happened next. A.N. Wilson has suggested that the old men of government were scared of the young king's popularity. Edward had an effect on people that can only be compared with that of Princess Diana in more recent times. Apart from being good looking he had that quality of personal unhappiness that seems to make for a good idol. So when Edward dumped his long time girlfriend, the married woman Freda Dudley Ward, and took up with a divorcee, Wallis Simpson, the government saw its chance. Wallis was divorced from her former husband by the time of Edward's succession in 1936 and was legally free to marry the new king. But with Baldwin pulling the strings, the Church was asked to help with a constitutional smoke screen about not approving of a divorcee. Edward was effectively sacked as King, although it was called an abdication. Much was made of Edward's apparent fascist sympathies, although there is little to substantiate such allegations. In fact, as recently reported, documents in the National Archives purporting to demonstrate Edward's Nazi sympathies were actually fakes. (Forgeries Revealed in the National Archives, Sunday Times May 4th 2008). The source of the forgeries is not known, but efforts seemed to be made to blacken Edward's reputation, and break his popularity. Even in an age when the monarch is only supposed to act as a ceremonial figurehead Parliament appeared afraid of a popular and energetic king. Edward had to go. He was replaced by his stamp collecting brother George the Sixth, who was much more to Baldwin's liking. Read more...

Best wishes,

Martin

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Thank you to photo contributors Danielle Davis, Jean Edwards, Vicky Eagle of Portsmouth Dockyard, Kevin Edwards, Julian Jones, Richard Jones, Jackie Lewis, Debbie Lowless, and Judy Mills of the Corinium Museum.