In December 1936, the British monarchy faced one of the greatest constitutional crises in its history. The king of the United Kingdom, Edward VIII, made a decision that shocked the world: he would give up the throne for love.

At the center of the controversy was Wallis Simpson, an American divorcée whom Edward was determined to marry. But in a Britain still deeply tied to tradition—and with the king serving as the head of the Church of England—the prospect of the monarch marrying a twice-divorced woman whose former husbands were still living was politically explosive.

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