Throughout history, many have claimed that the story of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson is one of love, as he abdicated the throne to be with her.
However, some people are now saying that this story isn’t a romantic tale, and some pretty dark truths were not made public.
Wallis Simpson Was Twice Divorced
Before meeting Edward VIII (then known as Prince David), Wallis Simpson had already been divorced and was at the time married to her second husband, Ernest Simpson.
However, this posed issues for Edward as the British establishment, the Church of England, the government, and Edward’s advisers all opposed this relationship, according to the BBC.
Edward VIII Was a ‘Flawed Character’
Tracy Borman, who hosted the show “Private Lives of the Monarchs,” looked into the lives of the monarchs that were hidden from the public.
When talking to Fox News, she said that Edward was a “flawed character” and that he had a lot of insecurities. Borman also said that he was “childlike when it came to women” and that Simpson was “like a mother figure” to him.
Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII Had an Affair
When Wallis met her second husband, Ernest, they ended up moving from the U.S. to London, and he had even left his previous wife and daughter for Wallis, according to TikToker Fatou Bojang.
Before she divorced her husband to be with Edward, Wallis and Edward had an affair; even though Wallis was never really interested in his personality, he was in love with her.
Edward VIII Didn’t Necessarily Abdicate for Wallis Simpson
For almost 90 years, it has been said that the only reason Edward VIII abdicated the throne was so that he could be with Wallis Simpson.
However, Borman believes that Edward never actually wanted to be king and that had Simpson not been in the picture, he would have found another excuse to abdicate anyway.
Edward VIII Thought the Monarchy Was a ‘Thing of the Past’
Further proof that he may simply have never wanted to be king and that he was simply looking for a way out lies in letters to his first lover.
In these letters, according to Politico, Edward said he thought the monarchy was a “thing of the past” and that his father, George V, was “out of touch.”
Edward VIII Was Deeply in Love with Wallis Simpson
All great love stories involve both people being in love with each other, but Edward and Wallis Simpson’s relationship was much more one-sided.
He didn’t want anyone else to have her and was completely infatuated with her, so much so that he refused to be apart from her, which was too much for Simpson.
Wallis Simpson Was in Love with Edward VIII’s Lifestyle
He may have been deeply in love with her, but it appears that all Wallis Simpson wanted was to live the life of royalty.
Once moving to London, she had been desperate to meet him, and while he became obsessed with her, she loved the luxuries his life afforded her.
A Holiday Affirmed Edward VIII’s Infatuation with Wallis Simpson
In 1934, Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII went on holiday together, with Simpson writing to a friend that they had crossed the line between friendship and love.
This was when Edward is said to have fallen in love with Simpson, and once they were back from their holiday, he presented her to the king and queen, paid her an income, and started gifting her jewelry.
Wallis Simpson Ended Up Cheating on Edward VIII
Many may have been under the impression that Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII were deeply in love; however, all wasn’t as it seemed.
Rumors swirled that Simpson found Edward to be a bit too much, and while some may have found someone abdicating the throne from them as loving, Simpson wasn’t entirely convinced and ended up having an affair.
Wallis Simpson Would Berate Edward VIII
This wasn’t the most loving of relationships, as not only did Wallis Simpson allegedly cheat on Edward, but she would also regularly berate him.
She would humiliate and emasculate him by doing things such as carving the chicken, making him phone her a taxi as opposed to one of his staff, and she would also make him cry by taunting and berating him, which only made him want to please her more.
Edward VIII Wanted Wallis Simpson to Be Queen
As Wallis Simpson was divorced, many were totally against her being queen, and some other suggestions were made, such as her being his formal lover but not wife, or that they marry and she be given a title lesser than queen.
However, Edward wasn’t having any of this and demanded she be made queen. As this was unlikely, it led to his abdication.
Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson Were Isolated
It can never really be love if the pair end up isolated from their friends and family and don’t even seem to enjoy each other’s company, according to The New York Post.
The pair ended up keeping up appearances, but they no longer got along and can no longer be considered the perfect love story.
