Edward VIII abdicated the British throne in 1936 so he could marry the American Wallis Simpson.
Edward became king on January 20, 1936, after the death of his father, George V. Simpson was a twice-divorced American socialite whose second divorce was still in progress. Because the monarch was also Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and because the government opposed Simpson becoming queen, Edward’s intended marriage triggered a constitutional crisis.
Edward signed the Instrument of Abdication on December 10, 1936. Parliament gave the decision legal effect the following day, and his younger brother Albert became King George VI. Edward later received the title Duke of Windsor and married Simpson in France on June 3, 1937.
The famous phrase “the woman I love” summarizes Edward’s public explanation, but the crisis involved more than romance. Ministers feared the political and constitutional consequences of the marriage, while the established rules and attitudes toward divorce made Simpson unacceptable as a queen consort. Edward VIII’s reign lasted less than a year.