Motley Talk about leaving the royal family
About a man who left the royal family, married a divorced American woman, and wrote an autobiography.
Dear Motley Officers, Crew & Friends, Prince Harry has been in the news because he left the royal family, married a divorced American, and has written an autobiography. Harry, Duke of Sussex is following the example of his great, great uncle Edward, Duke of Windsor. Edward had a more shocking break with the royal family because it provoked a constitutional crisis, which could have caused the end of the British monarchy. King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936.
Today most people in Britain know the story of how Edward VIII abdicated his throne, saying "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility, and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do, without the help and support of the woman I love.1" Edward VIII was the king and not the ‘spare’ like Harry, so the consequences of his leaving the royal family were much greater. At the time the nation was shocked. Decades later my grandmother still talked about the crisis as the most dreadful thing to happen. Edward was given the title Duke of Windsor following his abdication.
It is interesting to look at the context in which this crisis occurred. The Victorian era was not long in the past, and Edward’s father King George V was a distant, old-fashioned man. Edward said his father ‘had the Victorian's sense of probity, moral responsibility, and love of domesticity. He believed in God, in the invincibility of the Royal Navy, and the essential rightness of whatever was British’2.
To be fair, George V lived in a time of tremendous change, when there was a need to showcase the strength and reliability of the monarchy. During his reign George V saw his cousin Tzar Nicolas II of Russia deposed, and his family killed. Another cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany was also deposed and exiled. They were not the only countries to get rid of their monarchs after World War I; the monarchies of Austria, Greece, and Spain also fell to revolution and war. There were anti-monarchist mutterings in the UK. It was a very uncertain time for the British monarchy.
As the heir to the throne Edward had few responsibilities. He was a handsome, young prince, seen as modern and relatable. He was incredibly popular, receiving Princess Diana type adulation. Edward was a playboy, though he was lucky to live at a time when the press and authorities mostly colluded to keep the reputation of the royal family unblemished.
For instance, in 1917 Edward had an affair with the Parisian courtesan Marguerite Alibert. After about a year, he broke off the affair. Marguerite then married the Egyptian aristocrat Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey and called herself Princess. In 1923, they came to London on holiday, and stayed at the Savoy Hotel. One night after an argument, Marguerite shot and killed her husband. At the trial the judge was persuaded to make a judgement disallowing any mention of Marguerite’s past as a courtesan. If her past had been discussed Edward’s involvement might also have been mentioned, and the love letters he had sent, that she had kept, been made public. The jury heard how this beautiful woman was the victim of the "brutality and beastliness [of her] oriental husband3", and they acquitted her! Marguerite lived the rest of her life in Paris, and Edward’s letters were destroyed.
Prince Edward had many affairs, especially with married women. But the love of his life was Wallis Simpson, an American who had divorced her first husband and, at the time Edward became king, was seeking a divorce from her second. Edward wanted to reign and have Wallis be queen, but that was impossible. Not least because Edward, as king, was head of the Church of England, which condemned remarriage after divorce. Luckily Edward was not much enamoured of his royal duties and constraints, much like the Duke & Duchess of Sussex.
Edward abdicated in 1936, married his divorced American wife Wallis, and lived abroad for the rest of his life. His brother George, the ‘spare’ became King George VI4. When their father died Edward had inherited Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House. George VI bought them for £300,000 (about £30 million today). Edward was also given a tax-free allowance, though he always complained it was not enough.
Like Harry, in 1951 Edward published a ghost-written memoir, called 'A King's Story'. The royalties from the book gave a much needed boost to their income5. In the book Edward wrote about his childhood (he had been brought up by nannies and tutors), his unhappy time as King, his difficult relationship with the Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, and his disagreement with liberal politics. He also wrote about the abdication crisis.
Edward wrote about how he had been in “unconscious rebellion against my position”, and how “love had triumphed over politics” when he married Wallis. The book made headlines around the world and became a bestseller. Edward’s book is historically important because it gives a view behind the scenes at a critical time, when the British monarchy was in danger.
While Edward was more discreet than Harry, he did write of his anger about how he and his wife had been treated, in particular that Wallis was never given the title of Her Royal Highness. In a letter written in 1937, his private secretary writes on his behalf, 'His Royal Highness wishes me to add that quite apart from rumours in the press, it is not very likely that he would be missing the country which in every possible way, tried to humiliate and misrepresent both himself and the Duchess of Windsor.6' Sound familiar?
Edward also worked for the media, when he was paid to write articles about the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II for the Sunday Express and Woman's Home Companion, though he did not attend the coronation. The royal family never fully accepted Wallis, and although Edward met George occasionally, the brothers had a strained relationship.
Most monarchs who abdicate are forced to do so, such as King Edward II (who reigned from 1307 to 1327). He preferred to party with his favourites rather than govern. He was the first British monarch to be forced to abdicate, and he was killed soon afterwards.
Even if they are uninterested in being a monarch, most do not dream of abdicating. King George IV (son of King George III) was regent during his father’s illness and king for ten years. He presumably disliked the job since he was terrible at it. The public disliked him, when king he became a recluse at Windsor Castle, and he was unreliable & irresponsible in his role. He was lucky that he was not forced to abdicate.
There was usually a varying degree of pressure on those who abdicated ‘of their own free will’. Queen Christina of Sweden (1626 to 1689) said she abdicated because she wanted to convert to Catholicism. But she had also decided not to marry and almost bankrupted the country, so they were not keen to keep her as queen. Christina moved to Rome and started collecting art. She died in Rome aged 62. I have written about Christina in the Motley Talk about Feasts.
In the Netherlands, they have a tradition of the monarch abdicating entirely of their own free will, although well after retirement age. In 1980 Queen Juliana (aged 71) abdicated in favour of her daughter Beatrix. In 2013 Beatrix (aged 75) abdicated in favour of her son, Willem-Alexander.
It is more common for lower ranking royals, like Prince Harry, to step away from their royal responsibilities. In 2019 Princess Märtha Louise of Norway stepped away from her role as a working royal to focus on her work with her American fiancé, Shaman Durek, a spiritual guide and healer.
In Japan several princesses have married commoners, and as a result they lose their status as members of the royal family. Though that seems rather unfair given there are so few princes available to marry. In 2021 Princess Mako of Japan gave up her royal title in order to marry, and she now lives with her husband in the USA.
Only Prince Harry has made such a public drama of leaving his royal role and burning his bridges behind him. Before Megan, Duchess of Sussex decides to write her own book, perhaps she should read the one written by Wallis, Duchess of Windsor in 1956, called 'The heart has its reasons’ (out of print).
An apology to my Motley Officers & Crew. I decided this article was so topical I should publish it this week, instead of the promised Wedgwood article which will be published in a couple of weeks.
As always, any links are provided to give the reader more information. I do not make any money from these links. Where possible permissions have been sought for the use of images and text, unless they are in the Public Domain. If there is an issue with copyright, please contact me. I am an amateur historian covering a wide range of subjects. I do careful research using secondary sources (books, articles, videos and a little bit of Wikipedia). If there are any mistakes I apologise, and please let me know.
From the abdication speech of King Edward VIII, broadcast after his abdication, on 11 December 1936.
Unless otherwise noted all quotes come from The King’s Story by the Duke of Windsor. Out if print.
From the court papers, quoted in Scarlet Women: The Scandalous Lives of Courtesans, Concubines, and Royal Mistresses by Ian Graham (2016) St. Martin's Press. Out of print.
Although King George VI was the ‘spare’ there were two other brothers (a third brother died young) and a sister. George was christened Albert Frederick Arthur George and known as Bertie. He used the name George when he became king, to emphasise continuity with his father and restore confidence in the monarchy.
Though presumably rather less than the estimated $20 million paid to Prince Harry for his book ‘Spare’.
Letter to Lillian Boraston.