Marriage to Edward VIII and the Abdication Crisis (1934–1937)

Unlike the aristocratic women of his social circle, Wallis was unafraid to speak her mind and treated him as an equal rather than a future monarch. Their friendship deepened into romance, despite the fact that Wallis was still married to Ernest Simpson.

By 1934, Edward was deeply in love, openly defying royal protocol by making Wallis his constant companion. Their relationship became a subject of intense scrutiny, as it was unprecedented for a future king to be involved with a twice-divorced American woman. The British establishment and the monarchy viewed her as a social climber, while Edward saw her as his true partner.

When King George V died in January 1936, Edward ascended the throne as King Edward VIII. However, his desire to marry Wallis created a constitutional crisis. As the head of the Church of England, he was expected to uphold its teachings, which at the time did not permit remarriage after divorce if the former spouse was still alive. Wallis, who had begun divorce proceedings from Ernest, became the focal point of a national controversy.

Faced with opposition from the government and the royal family, Edward made a dramatic decision—on December 10, 1936, he abdicated the throne, becoming the only British monarch to voluntarily renounce power.

He famously declared in his farewell speech that he could not continue as king “without the help and support of the woman I love.” The couple married in June 1937 in a private ceremony in France, but Wallis was denied the title of "Her Royal Highness," a lasting snub from the monarchy.