38. Edward VIII

Edward VIII (1936) ruled for 325 days, the shortest reign of any English monarch since Lady Jane Grey in the 16th century. The first monarch to abdicate since James II in 1688 and the first to do so voluntarily. The abdication crisis shook the British establishment to its core. His connections to Nazi Germany has undoubtedly shrouded his life in ignominy. Even after the war, he was known to describe Hitler as ‘not such a bad chap’. Shunned by the royal family for the crisis he had created and for putting private desire above public duty. It could also have been because they knew, unlike the country, that he was a traitor. Characters Edward VIII - King of the United Kingdom and British Dominions. Emperor of India (1936). Duke of Windsor (1937-72) Wallis Simpson - Duchess of Windsor (1937-86), wife of Edward  George V - King of the United Kingdom and British Dominions. Emperor of India (1910-36), father of Edward VIII and George VI Mary of Teck - Queen consort of the United Kingdom and British Dominions. Empress of India (1910-36), mother of Edward VIII and George VI George VI - King of the United Kingdom and British Dominions (1936-52). Emperor of India (1936-47). Younger brother of Edward.  Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon - Queen consort of the United Kingdom and British Dominions (1936-52. Empress of India (1936-47). Wife of George VI Queen Victoria - Queen of the United Kingdom (1837-1901), great-grandmother of Edward Edward VII - King of the United Kingdom (1901-10), grandfather of Edward Herbert Warren - Edward’s tutor and President of Magdalen college, Oxford Lord Kitchener - Secretary of War Cosmo Lang - Archbishop of Canterbury Alec Hardinge - Private Secretary to the Sovereign  Louis Mountbatten - British Statesman and friend of Edward David Lloyd George - Leader of the Liberal Party, Prime Minister (1916-22) Stanley Baldwin - Leader of the Conservative Party, Prime Minister (1935-37) Winston Churchill - Leader of the Conservative Party, Prime Minister (1940-45, 51-55) Clement Attlee - Leader of the Labour Party, Prime Minister (1945-51) Anthony Eden - Foreign Secretary, Prime Minister (1955-57) Winifred Dudley Ward - mistress of Edward  Thelma Furness - mistress of Edward Ernest Simpson - husband of Wallis (1928-37) Lord Rothermere - media mogul, founder of the Daily Mail Lord Beaverbrook - owner of the Daily Express Oswald Mosley - leader of the British Union of Fascists Ricardo Espirito Santo - Portuguese banker and associate of Edward Adolf Hitler - Chancellor of Germany (1933-45), Fuhrer (1934-45) Joseph Goebbels - Reichminister of Propaganda Hermann Goering - Reichsmarschall and leading Nazi figure Joachim von Ribbentrop - German ambassador to the United Kingdom, Reichminister of Foreign Affairs, Wallis Simpson’s lover. Credits Pomp and Circumstance No. 3Erika (German Soldier’s song) When Eliza Rolls Her Eyes Bbc_d-i-y--and_07045141Bbc_air-raids-_07048098 Bbc_sirens---g_07033180 675234__craigsmith__s03-38-model-t-ford-in-stop Bbc_world-war-_07046171 Bbc_marching_00008067 640655__barkenov__soft-rain 36430__c97059890__fiji-beach-stereo 588640__urkki69__a-soldier-playing-bagpipes-in-edinborough 233068__newciv1__loud-tiger-ii-audio-test 559820__jackmichaelking__walking-on-wet-and-muddy-marsh-land-with-clothing-rustle 416703__funwithsound__laugh-group-of-children