Duke of Windsor
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Duke of Windsor [ 'dju: k ɘv' winzɘ ] was a hereditary British title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom , bestowed on Prince Edward , the former King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India , after his abdication in 1937 .
Award
Edward VIII had abdicated the previous year, on December 11, 1936, in order to marry the divorced American Wallis Simpson . He was generally known as the "Duke of Windsor" since his resignation from the throne, although the relevant documents were not issued until March 8, 1937 by King George VI. were signed.
When Edward abdicated, there were different opinions as to which title the former king should now bear. Other possibilities were the Dukedoms of Cambridge or Connaught. Both titles had already been awarded at that time ( Duke of Connaught was Prince Arthur of Great Britain and Ireland at the time , and Marquess of Cambridge was George Cambridge at the time ). One theory is that Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's idea was to give him the title of "Duke of Windsor," another that the new King George VI. had the idea of a title immediately after drawing up the declaration of abdication and suggested using "the family name".
The Duketitel is named after the city of Windsor , which is home to Windsor Castle , which has been the seat of English monarchs for more than a thousand years and whose name was associated with stability and tradition. Since the 1st Duke had no children, the title expired on his death in 1972.
Other titles
By Letters Patent of May 27, 1937 also title and salutation of "were his Royal Highness " awarded, but not his wife. If he had fathered offspring, they too would have been denied this title.
List of Dukes of Windsor (1937)
- HRH The Prince Edward, 1st Duke of Windsor (1894–1972)
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ as told in Edward's memoir, "A King's Story"