The woman he loved

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor on their wedding day in 1937.

On this day in 1937, The Duke of Windsor married Wallis Simpson.

Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David), became king of the United Kingdom upon the death of his father, George V, in 1936. Just months after he became king, he caused a scandal and a constitutional crisis by proposing to Wallis Simpson, a divorced American socialite who was at the time, seeking a divorce from her second husband.

Edward was never crowned. Rather than throw the government into crisis, he abdicated and his younger brother Albert was crowned as George VI. Edward remains one of the shortest-reigning monarchs in British history. George VI was the father of Elizabeth, who this month is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee and is the second longest reigning British monarch.

The story of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson is told in the movie, The Woman He Loved. The story of his brother is told in the critically acclaimed King’s Speech, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2011.

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