Abdication of Edward VIII
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In early December 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire arose when King Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and wa
Edward in 1932
Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson in the Mediterranean, 1936
Fort Belvedere, Surrey, Edward's residence in Windsor Great Park
Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King (left) and his British counterpart Stanley Baldwin (right), 1926
George VI
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George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last emperor of India from 1936 until the British
Abdication of Edward VIII
…as the King's consort and Edward's refusal to give her up led to his abdication in December 1936. He was succeeded by his brother Albert, who became George VI. Edward was given the title of Duke of Windsor, and styled Royal Highness, following his abdication, and he married Wallis the following year. They…
Formal portrait, 1938
Edward VII (far right); his son George, Prince of Wales, later George V (far left); and grandsons Edward, later Edward VIII (rear); and Albert, later George VI (foreground)
The Duke and Duchess of York (centre, reading programmes) at Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane, Queensland, 1927
On the cover of Time, January 1925