EP75: Edward VIII

Edward VIII reigned as King of the United Kingdom for 325 days in 1936. He is the only British monarch to voluntarily renounce the throne, a decision which eventually led to the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The reason why 1936 was a year of three Kings was Edward’s infatuation with American socialite Wallis Simpson. Among royal observers, Edward VIII has become a shorthand for a monarchy in crisis, and for dereliction of duty. But is this fair? Was Edward badly treated? Would it have been a good thing for Britain to keep hold of a King who manifestly didn’t want to do the job?

My guest today is the journalist and writer Anna Pasternak. Anna has devoted much of her working life to writing about the British Royal Family, and is the author of The American Duchess: The Real Wallis Simpson, and the controversial Princess in Love, which documented Princess Diana’s affair with James Hewitt. She also writes regularly for the Daily Telegraph and the London Evening Standard.