King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
(1894-1972)

Died aged 77

Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1936 until his abdication in December of the same year. Edward was born during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George V and Queen Mary. He was created Prince of Wales on his 16th birthday, seven weeks after his father succeeded as king. As a young man, Edward served in the British Army during the First World War and undertook several overseas tours on behalf of his father. While Prince of Wales, he engaged in a series of sexual affairs that worried both his father and then-British prime minister Stanley Baldwin. Upon his father's death in 1936, Edward became the second monarch of the House of Windsor. The new king showed impatience with court protocol, and caused concern among politicians by his apparent disregard for established constitutional conventions. Only months into his reign, a constitutional crisis was caused by his proposal to marry Wallis Simpson, an American who had divorced her first husband and was seeking a divorce from her second. The prime ministers of the United Kingdom and the Dominions opposed the marriage, arguing a divorced woman with two living ex-husbands was politically and socially unacceptable as a prospective queen consort. Additionally, such a marriage would have conflicted with Edward's status as titular head of the Church of England, which, at the time, disapproved of remarriage after divorce if a former spouse was still alive. Edward knew the Baldwin government would resign if the marriage went ahead, which could have forced a general election and would have ruined his status as a politically neutral constitutional monarch. When it became apparent he could not marry Simpson and remain on the throne, he abdicated. He was succeeded by his younger brother, George VI. With a reign of 326 days, Edward was one of the shortest-reigning British monarchs to date. After his abdication, Edward was created Duke of Windsor. He married Simpson in France on 3 June 1937, after her second divorce became final. Later that year, the couple toured Nazi Germany, which fed rumours that he was a Nazi sympathiser. During the Second World War, Edward was at first stationed with the British Military Mission to France but after the fall of France was appointed Governor of the Bahamas. After the war, Edward spent the rest of his life in France. He and Wallis remained married until his death in 1972; they had no children.

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Commemorated on 3 plaques

The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre patron his Majesty King George the Fifth was opened on the 23rd day of April 1932 by his Royal Highness Edward Prince of Wales and built by International Subscription. President of the Governors, Chairman of the Council the Viscount Burnham, Sir Archibald Flower. Architects Elisabeth Scott, Maurice Chesterton, John Casherherd. Superstructure G.E. Wallis & Sons Ltd. Foreman E.G. Miller. Foundations Holliday & Greenwood Ltd. Foreman J Farndon. Clerk of works P C Long. Secretary to Fund H Fossell

Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Bancroft Basin, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom where they opened the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre (1932)

Princess Gate Stone commemorating the visit of H.R.H. Prince of Wales to Shrovetide 1928

Prince's Gate Shrovetide 1928 - St John Street, Ashbourne, United Kingdom where they visited (1928)

The Shambles Part of the medieval meat market. Later the site of the Scribbling Horse Inn. The Post Office has the rare monogram of Edward VIII, 1936.

The Shambles, Bradford on Avon, United Kingdom where they was