Wer datete Edward VIII of the United Kingdom?

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 British Dominions, 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. The Prince of Wales gained popularity due to his charm and charisma, and his fashion sense became a hallmark of the era. After the war, his conduct began to give cause for concern; he engaged in a series of sexual affairs that worried both his father and the 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 consternation among politicians by his apparent disregard for established constitutional conventions. Only months into his reign, Edward caused a constitutional crisis through 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. After the fall of France, he 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.

Marguerite Marie Alibert, auch Maggie Meller, Marguerite Laurent und Princess Fahmy, (* 9. Dezember 1890 in Paris; † 2. Januar 1971 ebenda) war eine französische Prostituierte und Gesellschaftsdame. 1923 erschoss sie ihren ägyptischen Ehemann Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey im Londoner Savoy Hotel. In einem Gerichtsprozess wurde sie freigesprochen. Dabei wurde mutmaßlich verhindert, dass ihre Liebesbeziehung zum späteren britischen König Edward VIII. publik wurde.

Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness (geborene Morgan; * 23. August 1904 in Luzern, Schweiz; † 29. Januar 1970 in New York City) war eine US-amerikanische High-Society Lady, Schauspielerin und Anfang der 1930er Jahre Mätresse des Prince of Wales, der später König Eduard VIII. von Großbritannien war.

Freda Dudley Ward (* 28. Juli 1894 in Nottinghamshire als Winifred May Birkin; † 16. März 1983 in London) war eine britische High-Society Lady und Mätresse des Prince of Wales und späteren Königs Eduard VIII.