Читать книгу The Queen: History in an Hour - Sinead Fitzgibbon - Страница 8

The instrument of Edward VIII’s downfall lay in the rather unlikely guise of an American woman named Wallis Simpson, who was already on her second marriage, the first having ended in divorce.

Wallis Simpson (1936)

When Mrs Simpson first appeared on the scene in 1932, her subsequent affair with the Prince of Wales initially caused little concern. However, much to the chagrin of his family and advisors, it gradually became clear that the charismatic American was not just another of David’s inconsequential dalliances. But in fact, by 1935, he had become so fond of Mrs Simpson that his affection for her bordered on obsession, one that showed no signs of abating even after he became King. Indeed, in the words of Winston Churchill, ‘[She was] as necessary to his happiness as the air he breathed’. As such, by mid-1936, he became fixated on a plan to make Wallis – who was by now about to divorce her second husband – his wife.

Therein lay the problem. As Supreme Governor of the Church of England, an institution which frowned upon divorce, such a course of action was a constitutional impossibility for the King. Ignoring the counsel of his advisors, Edward doggedly insisted on marrying Mrs Simpson, and in doing so, he plunged the country into a constitutional crisis.

King George VI

In a number of secret meetings, Edward and his Cabinet ministers earnestly tried to come up with a solution to the problem of Mrs Simpson. The ins and outs of the issue were endlessly debated, without success. At one stage, it seemed likely that he would be allowed to enter a morganatic marriage (one which conferred no royal status on his wife). But in the end, this too was rejected by the Government, who believed that the British public would be hostile to any such arrangement. Utterly dejected, Edward was forced to choose between his duty to his country and the love of his life – and, perhaps unsurprisingly, he chose the latter. On 10 December 1936, the King signed the Instrument of Abdication, ending his all too brief reign.

Consequently, when Princess Elizabeth awoke the following day, her world had changed beyond all recognition. The Crown had passed to her father, who was now King George VI, which meant her mother was Queen Consort and Elizabeth herself was the heiress presumptive. The only thing that would now prevent her from ascending to the throne would be an early death or, thanks to the existence of the concept known as male primogeniture (which gives precedence to a king’s sons), the arrival of a male sibling. In words attributed to her maternal grandmother, Lady Strathmore, it was at this stage in the proceedings that Princess Elizabeth allegedly ‘began praying ardently for a brother’.