Edward VIII of the United Kingdom

]

In June 1953, instead of attending the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London, the Duke and Duchess watched the ceremony on television in Paris. The Duke was paid $100,000 to write an extensive, 10,000 word article on the coronation for an American publicationspecify. ["The Royals", by Kitty Kelley, New York 1997, Warner Books, ISBN 0-446-51712-7, pp. 120-121.]

In 1955, they visited President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the White House. The couple appeared on Edward R. Murrow's television interview show "Person to Person" in 1956, [cite web |last=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,824447,00.html |date=8 October 1956|title=Peep Show |accessdate=2007-02-19] and a 50-minute BBC television interview in 1970. That year, they were invited as guests of honour to a dinner at the White House by President Richard Nixon in repayment for their having entertained Nixon in Paris during the mid-1960s when his political fortunes were low.

The Royal Family never fully accepted the Duchess; Queen Mary refused to receive her formally. However, the Duke sometimes met with his mother and brother, King George, and attended George's funeral. Queen Mary maintained her anger with Edward and her indignation over his marriage to Wallis: "To give up all this for that," she said. [Bradford, p. 198.] In 1965, the Duke and Duchess returned to London, England. They were visited by the Queen, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent and the Princess Royal. A week later, the Princess Royal died, and they attended her memorial service. In 1967, they joined the Royal Family for the centenary of Queen Mary's birth. The last royal ceremony the Duke attended was the funeral of Princess Marina in 1968. [Ziegler, p. 554–556.]

In the late 1960s, the Duke's health deteriorated. Queen Elizabeth visited the Windsors in 1972 while on a state visit to France; however, only the Duchess appeared with the royal party for a photocall. On 28 May of that year the Duke, who was a smoker from an early age, died at his home in Paris from throat cancer. His body was returned to Britain, lying in state at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The funeral service was held in the chapel on 5 June in the presence of the Queen, the Royal Family, and the Duchess of Windsor, and the coffin was buried in the Royal Burial Ground behind the Royal Mausoleum of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at Frogmore. The Duchess stayed at Buckingham Palace during her visit. [Ziegler, p. 556–557.] Increasingly senile and frail, the Duchess died 14 years later, and was buried alongside her husband simply as "Wallis, Duchess of Windsor". [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/29/newsid_2500000/2500427.stm|publisher=BBC|title=Simple funeral rites for Duchess | date=29 April 1986|accessdate=2007-02-28]

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

Infobox British Monarch Styles
royal name=King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
dipstyle=His Majesty
offstyle=Your Majesty
altstyle=Sir|
*23 June 1894 – 28 May 1898: "His Highness" Prince Edward of York
*28 May 1898 – 22 January 1901: "His Royal Highness" Prince Edward of York
*22 January 1901 – 9 November 1901: "His Royal Highness" Prince Edward of Cornwall and York
*9 November 1901 – 6 May 1910: "His Royal Highness" Prince Edward of Wales
*6 May 1910 – 23 June 1910: "His Royal Highness" The Duke of Cornwall
*23 June 1910 – 20 January 1936: "His Royal Highness" The Prince of Wales
**"in Scotland:" 1910–1936: "His Royal Highness" The Prince Edward, Duke of Rothesay
*20 January 1936 – 11 December 1936: "His Majesty" The King
**"and, occasionally, outside of the United Kingdom, and with regard to India: His Imperial Majesty" The King-Emperor
*11 December 1936 – 8 March 1937: "His Royal Highness" The Prince Edward
*8 March 1937 – 28 May 1972: "His Royal Highness" The Duke of Windsor"
**"Edward began use of the title immediately upon abdication, in accordance with George VI's declaration to his Accession Council that his first act as King would be to grant to his brother the said title. However, several months passed before the concession was formalised by Letters Patent".

His full style as king was "His Majesty, Edward the Eighth, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland, and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India".

After his abdication, his full style was "His Royal Highness" The Prince Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, Duke of Windsor.

Honours

British Honours
*KG: Knight of the Garter, "1910"
*KT: Knight of the Thistle, "1922"
*KP: Knight of St Patrick, "1927"
*GCB: Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, "1936"
*GCSI: Knight Grand Commander of the Star of India, "1921"
*GCIE: Knight Grand Commander of the Indian Empire, "1921"
*GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, "1920"
*KStJ: Knight of Justice of St John, "1917"
*RVC: Royal Victorian Chain, "1921"
*MC: Military Cross, "1916"
*FRS: Royal Fellow of the Royal Society
*PC: Privy Counsellor, "1920""Edward lost almost all of his British honours upon accession, because he became sovereign of most of them. When he was no longer sovereign, his brother reinstated his pre-accession honours".

Foreign Honours
*flagicon|Spain Knight of the Golden Fleece
*flagicon|Norway Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav
*flagicon|Italy Order of the Most Holy Annunciation

Military

*Mid, "1911–1913": Midshipman, Royal Navy
*Lt, "1913–1919": Lieutenant, Royal Navy
*Lt, "1914–1916": Lieutenant, 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards, British Army. (World War I, Flanders and Italy)
*Capt, "10 March 1916": Captain, British Army
*Capt, "1919": Captain, Royal Navy
*"1936": Admiral of the Fleet, Royal Navy
*"1936": Field Marshal, British Army
*"1936": Marshal of the Royal Air Force
*Major-Gen, "1939": Major-General, British Army

Arms

As Prince of Wales, Edward's arms were the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, differenced with a blank three-point label, with an inescutcheon of the Royal arms of Wales, surmounted by a coronet (identical to those of the current Prince of Wales, Charles, Prince of Wales). As Sovereign, he bore the arms undifferenced, and upon his abdication, he used the arms, again differenced, but this time with the centre point bearing a crown. [Velde, François (7 January 2007) [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/cadency.htm "Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family"] . Heraldica. Retrieved on 2008-04-01.]

ee also

*Cultural depictions of Edward VIII of the United Kingdom

Ancestors

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1= 1. Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
2= 2. George V of the United Kingdom
3= 3. Mary of Teck
4= 4. Edward VII of the United Kingdom
5= 5. Alexandra of Denmark
6= 6. Francis, Duke of Teck
7= 7. Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge
8= 8. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
9= 9. Victoria of the United Kingdom
10= 10. Christian IX of Denmark
11= 11. Louise of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel)
12= 12. Duke Alexander of Württemberg
13= 13. Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde
14= 14. Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge
15= 15. Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge
16= 16. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
17= 17. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
18= 18. Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
19= 19. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
20= 20. Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
21= 21. Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel)
22= 22. Prince William of Hesse
23= 23. Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark
24= 24. Duke Louis of Württemberg
25= 25. Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg
26= 26. Count Rhédy von Kis-Rhéde
27= 27. Baroness Ágnes Inczédy von Nagy-Várad
28= 28. George III of the United Kingdom
29= 29. Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
30= 30. Prince Frederick of Hesse
31= 31. Princess Caroline Polyxene of Nassau-Usingen

Notes and sources

References

Primary sources

*Edward, Duke of Windsor (1951). "A King's Story". London: Cassell and Co.
*Godfrey, Rupert (editor) (1998). "Letters From a Prince: Edward to Mrs Freda Dudley Ward 1918–1921". Little, Brown & Co. ISBN 0-7515-2590-1.
*Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (1956). "The Heart has its Reasons: The Memoirs of the Duchess of Windsor". New York: Houghton Mifflin.
*Williams, Susan (2003). " [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2003/january30/significance.htm The historical significance of the Abdication files] ". Public Records Office – New Document Releases – Abdication Papers, London. Public Records Office of the United Kingdom. Retrieved on 2007-02-13.

econdary sources

*Bloch, Michael (1982). "The Duke of Windsor's War". London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-77947-8.
*Bradford, Sarah (1989). "King George VI". London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-79667-4.
*Donaldson, Frances (1974). "Edward VIII". London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-76787-9.
*Roberts, Andrew; edited by Antonia Fraser (2000). "The House of Windsor". London: Cassell and Co. ISBN 0-304-35406-6.
*Ziegler, Philip (1991). "King Edward VIII: The official biography". New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-57730-2.

Further reading

*Bloch, Michael (1988). "The Secret File of the Duke of Windsor". London: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-593-01667-X.
*Bloch, Michael (editor) (1986). "Wallis and Edward: Letters 1931–1937". Summit Books. ISBN 0-671-61209-3.
*Menkes, Suzy (1987). "The Windsor Style". London: Grafton Books. ISBN 0-246-13212-4.
*Charles Higham (2005). "The Duchess of Windsor: The Secret Life", second, revised edition. New York, Wiley Publishers.

External links

* [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2003/january30/edward_duke.htm Home Office memo re the Duke and Duchess's title]
* [http://ddows.org The Duke & Duchess of Windsor Society: an international affinity group dedicated to the historical significance of the lives of Wallis and Edward]
* [http://www.metmuseum.org/special/Blithe_Spirit/13.r.htm Duke of Windsor Evening Wear]
* [http://www.metmuseum.org/special/Blithe_Spirit/2.r.htm Duchess of Windsor Wedding Ensemble]

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Persondata
NAME=Windsor, The Duke of
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Edward VIII; Windsor, Edward
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Former King-Emperor of the British Empire
DATE OF BIRTH=23 June 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH=Richmond, London
DATE OF DEATH=28 May 1972
PLACE OF DEATH=Paris, France