Edward VIII & Wallis Simpson: The Divorce That Cost a King His Throne

What Happened

In 1936, King Edward VIII faced an impossible choice: the woman he loved or the British throne. Wallis Simpson was an American socialite who had already been divorced once and was in the process of divorcing her second husband, Ernest Simpson. As head of the Church of England — which at the time refused to sanction the remarriage of divorced persons — Edward could not marry her and remain king.

The constitutional crisis gripped Britain. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin informed Edward that the British public and the Dominions would not accept Wallis as queen. Edward explored alternatives — a morganatic marriage (where Wallis would be his wife but not queen) was rejected by Parliament. The Church of England, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, was unequivocal in its opposition.

On December 11, 1936, Edward signed the Instrument of Abdication, becoming the first British monarch to voluntarily relinquish the throne. In a famous radio broadcast, he told the nation: '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.' His brother became King George VI, and George’s daughter would eventually become Queen Elizabeth II.

Edward and Wallis married in June 1937 in France. They lived in exile for the rest of their lives, largely shunned by the royal family. While not a divorce in itself, the abdication crisis was entirely caused by divorce stigma. It fundamentally changed how the British monarchy handled divorce — a transformation that took decades, from Princess Margaret being denied permission to marry a divorced man in 1955 to Prince Charles marrying the divorced Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005.

Legal Breakdown: Divorce Stigma & Social Consequences

What This Means for Your Divorce