Story Highlights
- Historical event:
- 3 June 1937
- Edward VIII had to give up the royal throne to marry his beloved, which was a very romantic act. Let us mention that Edward VIII was not only the king of Great Britain, but also the Emperor of India and ruler of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and many British colonies around the world.
On this day the former British King Edward VIII married his love – the American woman Wallis Simpson.
Of course, Edward VIII had to give up the royal throne in order to get married, which was a very romantic act. To make things even more interesting, his beloved Wallis had two divorces behind her and both of her ex-husbands were still alive.
This, in the eyes of the Anglican Church, was an insurmountable obstacle for the reigning king to marry her. In fact, he, as a king, held the position of head of the Anglican Church, and the clergy expected him to abide by its teachings. Indeed, the prime ministers of countries whose king was Edward VIII also opposed such a marriage.
Let us mention that Edward VIII was not only the king of Great Britain, but also the Emperor of India and ruler of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and many British colonies around the world.
At the time of the wedding, Wallis was over 40 years old and Edward was about two years older than her. Neither of them had any children before or after they married. It is interesting that they did not get married in England, but had to do it in France. Specifically, the Anglican Church officially didn’t want to perform the wedding, but they managed to find an Anglican priest who married them in France, at the Château de Candé.
The Château de Candé is located in the famous Loire valley. There are many famous romantic castles in the surrounding area (Chenonceau, Azay-le-Rideau, Amboise, Montrésor, Villandry, Ussé, Langeais, etc.).
The newlyweds wore the title of Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Their sympathy for Adolf Hitler was controversial (it was the year 1937 and Nazism was in full force in Germany). Already four months after the wedding, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor visited the Third Reich. They met in person with the Führer Adolf Hitler in his residence at Berchtesgaden. In Germany, the Duke of Windsor reportedly greeted interlocutors with a full Nazi salute.
