Top 10 facts about Edward VIII
On January 20, 1936, King George V died and Edward VIII became King of the UK and Emperor of India. He abdicated in December of the same year to marry Wallis Simpson, “The woman I love.”
1. He was baptised Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David: three family names followed by the four British patron saints.
2. He was known to his family and close friends as David.
3. He went to Oxford University but left without a degree. But he learnt to play polo there.
4. In his 20s, he had several affairs with married women. Prime Minister Baldwin did not approve.
5. He flew from Sandringham to London for the Accession Council when George V died, becoming the first British monarch to fly in a plane...
6. ...although he had obtained his own pilot’s licence before he became king.
7. One problem of his marriage to Wallis Simpson was her divorces. The Church of England forbade remarriages when a previous spouse was still alive.
8. After his abdication he lived mainly in France but was Governor of the Bahamas during the war.
1933 film shows Edward VIII teaching this Nazi salute to the Queen
9. His later visits to Britain were only for family funerals, including his own in 1972.
10. He insisted on facing left on coins to show his parting. Only a few such test coins were made.