“no other person in England who is ready to play with us”
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Edward VIII
Edward VIII, later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 20 January 1936 until his abdication in December of the same year.
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politics · King of the United Kingdom in 1936 · military personnel · monarch · aristocrat · also Edward VIII, VIII, Duke of Windsor, Prince Edward, Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, Edward, Prince of Wales
Born 23 June 1894 · Died 28 May 1972 · Q590227
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Edward VIII abdication speech
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At long last I am able to say a few words of my own... You must believe me when I tell you that 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.
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2026· 26 entries
“the boy will ruin himself in twelve months.”
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“[he had] told [her] all about that little brother, and how he was an epileptic. [John]”
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“All quotations from Godfrey, Letters”
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“Perhaps one of the only positive pieces of advice that I was ever given was that supplied by an old courtier who observed: "Only two rules really count. Never miss an opportunity to relieve yourself; never miss a chance to sit down and rest your feet.”
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“It certainly is a situation of great delicacy but, at the same time, one in which it would seem I hold fifty per cent of the bargaining power in order that the Duchess and I can plan for the future in the most constructive and convenient way.”
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“The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children.”
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“From Vidal, Palimpsest, p. 206”
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“Discussing coronation ceremonies with Vidal, "I quickly moved on to...the moment when two masons appear and ask the newly crowned king for instructions as to his tomb. 'Masons? Masons! Yes. You one? I'm one. But I've forgotten all the odds and ends. Dull, really.”
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“In conversation with Mona Bismarck and Gore Vidal, from Vidal, Palimpsest, p. 206”
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“To Gore Vidal, who described the Duke as having "always had something of...riveting stupidity to say on any subject", from Vidal, Palimpsest, p. 206)”
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“Vull que sapigueu que aquesta decisió l'he feta meva i només meva. És un fet que he jutjat jo mateix totalment.”
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“British Empire. First trip to India. Glorious. Never would have believed it would all be gone in my lifetime. Not possible, I'd've thought. I am the last king-emperor, you know. My brother was, for a time, but had to give it up. I didn't.”
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“Heu de creure'm quan us dic que m'ha resultat impossible suportar la pesada càrrega de la responsabilitat i complir les meves obligacions com a Rei com hagués volgut, sense l'ajuda i el suport de la dona que estimo.”
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“To John Kenneth Galbraith, who had been appointed American ambassador to India, in Ambassador’s Journal, p. 36”
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“Fa poques hores m'he alliberat de la meva última obligació com a Rei i Emperador, i ara que he sigut succeït pel meu germà, el Duc de York, les meves primeres paraules han de ser per declarar-li la meva lleialtat.”
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“Of Étienne Dupach, the editor of the Nassau Daily Tribune in Ziegler, King Edward VIII, p. 448”
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“On seeing the great archaeological finds at Taxila, Punjab, from Ziegler, King Edward VIII, p. 140”
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“Jo, Eduard VIII, de la Gran Bretanya, Irlanda, i els Dominis Britànics Mars Enllà, Rei, Emperador de l'Índia, faig present que declaro la meva irrevocable determinació a renunciar al Tron per a Mi i als Meus descendents.”
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“At long last I am able to say a few words of my own... You must believe me when I tell you that 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.”
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“These works brought all these people here. Something should be done to get them at work again.”
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“Mona said, 'Did you see Gore's new play The Best Man when you were in New York?' 'Of course not.'...'Don't like plays, only shows.' He meant musical comedies.”
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“It must be remembered that Dupach is more than half Negro, and due to the peculiar mentality of this Race, they seem unable to rise to prominence without losing their equilibrium.”
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“I hear you are going to In-jea. A most interesting country. I had a very good time there in my early youth. You must do the pig-sticking in Rajasthan. And you will find the people most agreeable in their own way. They have been most uncommonly decent to my niece.”
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Gagadget.com: Sony Xperia 1 VIII: the last flagship with a headphone jack and microSD slot
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Puente de Mando: Rodman Delivers the "Audaz VIII" Patrol Boat to the Tax Agency, Eighth and Final Unit of the Audaz Series
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2024· 1 entry
Yahoo: Edward VIII’s Villa Windsor Will Open to the Public for the First Time Ever
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2023· 1 entry
The Daily Beast: Did Edward VIII Help the Nazis Bomb Buckingham Palace?
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2020· 1 entry
People: Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson's Bahamas Home Is on Sale for $8.5 Million — See the Photos!
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2019· 4 entries
Fox News: Rare coin minted for King Edward VIII’s reign sold at auction for $163G
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Mental Floss: A Signed Copy of Edward VIII’s Abdication Speech Is Hitting the Auction Block
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International Business Times: How Edward VIII Continued Living Like Royal While Exiled In France
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International Business Times: Did King Edward VIII Use Wallis Simpson As An Excuse To Abdicate?
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2018· 1 entry
New York Post: Before Edward VIII abdicated the throne, he fell in love with America
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2009· 2 entries
“Hoping George VI's illness would allow him to resume the throne. Quoted by Christopher Wilson, The Telegraph (22 November 2009)”
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Suggest a scheme in which Edward would return to England and place himself in a position for a possible regency
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2007· 1 entry
The popular perception in the 21st century that the abdication was driven by politics rather than religious morality is false and arises because divorce has become much more common and socially acceptable
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1972· 1 entry
Died 1972-05-28.
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1969· 1 entry
Replying that Charles would not want his "aged great-uncle" there
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1967· 2 entries
The Duke and Duchess joined the royal family for the centenary of Queen Mary's birth
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Edward and Wallis joined the royal family for the centenary of Queen Mary's birth
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1966· 1 entry
Edward gave the journalist Georg Stefan Troller a ZDF TV interview in German; he answered questions about his abdication
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1957· 1 entry
“Look magazine (5 March 1957).”
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1956· 1 entry
And in a 50-minute BBC television interview in 1970
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1952· 1 entry
Bought and renovated a weekend country retreat, Le Moulin de la Tuilerie at Gif-sur-Yvette, the only property the couple ever owned themselves
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1951· 1 entry
Edward produced a memoir, A King's Story ghost-written by Charles Murphy, in which he expressed disagreement with liberal politics
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1942· 1 entry
Though Edward blamed the trouble on "mischief makers – communists" and "men of Central European Jewish descent, who had secured jobs as a pretext for obtaining a deferment of draft"
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1940· 3 entries
“In the past 10 years Germany has totally reorganised the order of its society ... Countries which were unwilling to accept such a reorganisation of society and its concomitant sacrifices should direct their policies accordingly.”
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Career landmark: Governor of the Bahamas (1940–1945).
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Said: "In the past 10 years Germany has totally reorganised the order of its society
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1937· 1 entry
Career landmark: 1937 tour of Germany by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
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1936· 12 entries
“Recull de citacions del discurs d'abdicació d'Eduard VIII del tron britànic, l'11 de desembre de 1936:”
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“Abdication Speech, via radio to a worldwide audience. (11 December 1936)”
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“Fragment de l'acta d'abdicació d'Eduard VIII del tron britànic, signat el 10 de desembre de 1936 pel mateix rei en presència dels seus germans:”
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“Spoken at an abandoned colliery (November 19, 1936). Often wrongly quoted as "something must be done.”
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Career landmark: Monarch of the United Kingdom (1936–1936).
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Career landmark: Emperor of India (1936–1936).
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Career landmark: monarch of Canada (1936–1936).
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Career landmark: monarch of the Union of South Africa (1936–1936).
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Career landmark: monarch of New Zealand (1936–1936).
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Edward became the second monarch of the House of Windsor
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“This place ought never to have been dug up.”
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“[The Indian princes’] ceremonies are so irritating and ridiculous”
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1934· 1 entry
Adolf Hitler, seeking to forge a link between the British and German royal houses, asked Victoria Louise to arrange a marriage between the 40-year-old Edward and her 17-year-old daughter, Frederica of Hanover, who was th
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1931· 2 entries
Awarded Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru (1931).
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Awarded Grand Cross of the Sash of the Two Orders (1931).
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1930· 1 entry
The King gave Edward the lease of Fort Belvedere in Windsor Great Park
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1929· 2 entries
Sir Alexander Leith, a leading Conservative in the north of England, persuaded him to make a three-day visit to the County Durham and Northumberland coalfields, where there was widespread unemployment
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Time magazine reported that Edward teased Albert's wife, also named Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), by calling her "Queen Elizabeth"
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1924· 1 entry
Won Albert Medal (1924).
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1923· 2 entries
Awarded Knight of the Seraphim (1923).
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Alibert was acquitted in a spectacular murder trial after she shot her husband at the Savoy Hotel
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1921· 1 entry
Awarded Royal Victorian Chain (1921).
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1920· 7 entries
During his visit to Australia, he wrote of Indigenous Australians: "they are the most revolting form of living creatures I've ever seen
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“[Outside Adelaide, Australia:] [T]hey showed us some of the native aborigines at a wayside station in the great plain yesterday afternoon though they are the most revolting form of living creatures I've ever seen !! They are the lowest known form of human beings & are the nearest thing to monkeys I've ever seen. (11 July 1920)”
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“[Barbados:] A proper bum island this Barbados....It's a unique sort of scenery, very ugly, & I didn't take much to the coloured population, who are revolting. (26-27 March 1920)”
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“[Acapulco, Mexico:] [Q]ueer, dirty little dago town....The people are too revolting for words, super dagoes & some of them are quite black as a result of Spaniards inter-breeding with the Indians; & of course they only speak Spanish. (9 September 1920)”
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“they are the most revolting form of living creatures I”
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“[Panama:] [A] deadly spot the end of the world almost....There are 20,000 British coloured people working on the canal...; they are mostly from Jamaica & smell too revolting for words....the Panamanians are a very queer people, all dagoes of course, though very pompous and dirty. (31 March - 1 April 1920)”
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“[Honolulu, Hawaii:] (At a luau) [A] unique native stunt though the Hawaiian food we were made to eat was too revolting for words....One got rather tired of the native songs & longed for some of our tunes. (14 April 1920)”
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1919· 6 entries
Awarded honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (1919).
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Acquired the Bedingfield ranch near Pekisko, Alberta, which he owned until 1962
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“[In Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan] (referring to (First Nations of Canada, then known as Canadian Indians):] I've told you what a foul decadent lazy crowd they are & what I think of them !! But this camp is pitched right inside an Indian reserve … & we have hundreds of the mouldy local tribe camped around us. (6 October 1919)”
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“[Quebec City, Canada:] A rotten priest-ridden community who are the completest passengers & who won't do their bit in anything & of course not during the war !! (23 August 1919)”
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“[Cologne, Germany:] Claud & I had a stroll in the centre of town afterwards & had great fun making the Hun men civilians get off the pavement for us .... It does one worlds of good to know how humiliating it must be for the Huns. (9 January 1919)”
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Edward agreed to serve as president of the organising committee for the proposed British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park, Middlesex
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1918· 2 entries
Awarded Order of Michael the Brave (1918).
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“[Italy:] [T]hey are indeed a repulsive nation these dagoes, both the men and the women & I'm just longing to quit them for good & all !!! (18 September 1918)”
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1917· 1 entry
Edward began a relationship with Lady Rosemary Leveson-Gower, the youngest daughter of the 4th Duke of Sutherland
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1916· 2 entries
Awarded Order of St. George, 3rd class (1916).
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Awarded Military Cross (1916).
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1915· 1 entry
Awarded Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (1915).
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1914· 3 entries
Awarded Knight of the Order of the Elephant (1914).
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Awarded Order of St. Olav (1914).
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Edward had reached the minimum age for active service and was keen to participate
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1912· 2 entries
Awarded Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (1912).
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Won Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece (1912).
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1910· 3 entries
Awarded Knight of the Garter (1910).
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Career landmark: Heir Apparent of the United Kingdom (1910–1936).
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Career landmark: Prince of Wales (1910–1936).
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1901· 1 entry
Edward and his siblings remained in Britain with their grandparents, Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII, who showered them with affection
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1894· 1 entry
Born 1894-06-23.
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