In 1936 a constitutional crisis in the British Empire arose when King-Emperor Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and was pursuing the divorce of her second.
Opposition
Opposition to the King and his marriage came from several directions. Edward’s desire to modernise the monarchy and make it more accessible, though appreciated by many of the public, was distrusted by the British Establishment. Edward upset the aristocracy by treating their traditions and ceremonies with disdain, and many were offended by his abandonment of accepted social norms and mores.
Social and moral
Government ministers and the royal family found Wallis Simpson’s background and behaviour unacceptable for a potential queen. Rumours and innuendo about her circulated in society. The King’s mother, Queen Mary, was even told that Simpson might have held some sort of sexual control over Edward, as she had released…
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