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Edward VIII (1894–1972) -

Edward VIII, later Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, was born on June 23, 1894, at White Lodge, Richmond Park, on the outskirts of London. He was created Prince of Wales on his 16th birthday and served in the British Army during the First World War. 

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Wallis Simpson (1896–1986) -

Born Bessie Wallis Warfield on June 19, 1896, in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, Wallis Simpson was an only child. Her father died when she was five months old, and for her first few years, she and her mother were dependent on the charity of wealthy relatives. 

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Royal celebrity -

Throughout the 1920s, Edward, as the Prince of Wales, represented his father, King George V, at home and abroad on numerous occasions. His rank, travels, good looks, and unmarried status gained him much public attention. In fact, at the height of his popularity, he was the most photographed celebrity of his time and a men's fashion trendsetter. 

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High society -

Wallis Simpson's uncle paid for her to attend one of the most expensive girls' schools in Maryland. Always immaculately dressed, she pushed herself hard to do well and was soon mixing with high society. In 1916 she met and married US Navy aviator Earl Winfield Spencer Jr. They divorced in 1927, by which time she'd met ship broker Earnest Aldrich Simpson. The couple tied the knot in London in 1928. 

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Meeting Wallis Simpson -

Meanwhile, Edward's womanizing and reckless behavior during the 1920s and 1930s worried those close to the Prince, not least his father and the British Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin. In 1930, Edward was introduced to the still-married Wallis Simpson by his mistress, Lady Furness. By this time the Prince was living at Fort Belvedere, a country house in Great Windsor Park. It was here that their relationship blossomed, and by 1934 the pair were inseparable.

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The beginning of the affair -

A totally besotted Prince of Wales showered Wallis with money and jewels. In 1935 he holidayed with her in Europe, a vacation covered by the foreign press corp (the British media remained deferential to the monarchy, and no stories of the affair were reported in the domestic press). 

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Death of King George V -

On January 20, 1936, George V died at Sandringham, and Edward ascended the throne as King Edward VIII. He's pictured second right with his three brothers during the funeral. It soon became apparent to court and government circles that the new king meant to marry Wallis Simpson. 

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The King and Mrs Simpson -

On October 27, 1936, Wallis Simpson indicated that she was divorcing her second husband. King Edward VIII was now free to marry the love of his life. However, Wallis's relationship with the King had by now become public knowledge in the UK and as the scandal broke, she fled to the south of France in an attempt to outrun the press. 

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Hands off our King -

The British public's reaction to the news was predictably hostile. In 1936, remarriage after divorce was opposed by the Church of England and besides which, the people would not tolerate Simpson as queen. But as rumors of possible abdication by the King began to circulate, dismay turned to palpable anger. The sign reads: "Hands Off Our King. Abdication Means Revolution."

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The King must not abdicate -

However, Edward was determined to marry Wallis even though she had in fact indicated in France that she was willing to give up the King to avoid a constitutional crisis. The sign in the photograph reads: "The King Must Not Abdicate."

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Edward VIII abdicates -

But by mid-December 1936 the King had decided he had no option but to abdicate if he wished to marry Wallis. He signed the Instrument of Abdication on December 10. In his radio broadcast to the nation the next day he said, "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility, and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do, without the help and support of the woman I love." 

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Engagement to Mrs Simpson -

Wallis Simpson pictured on top of the world wearing her Cartier emerald engagement ring and a sapphire and diamond bracelet. 

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Marriage and wedding -

Wallis Simpson's divorce was made final in May 1937. On June 3, Edward, now titled as the Duke of Windsor, married Wallis at Château de Candé, near Tours, France. She was thereafter formally known as the Duchess of Windsor, but was not allowed to share her husband's style of "Royal Highness." Relations between the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and the rest of the royal family would remain strained for decades. 

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Honeymoon -

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor spent their honeymoon away from the glare of cameras at Schloss Wasserleonburg in Austria. But the couple were now celebrity news and their pre-war public appearances, such as this one in Venice, were closely scrutinized by public and paparazzi alike. 

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Exiled -

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor at their home, the Villa La Croe in Cap D'Antibes, France. The couple leased the château in May 1938, in addition to a property in Paris. 

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Meeting Adolf Hitler -

Now living in France, the Duke and Duchess visited Nazi Germany in October 1937, against the advice of the British government, and met Adolf Hitler at his Berghof retreat in Bavaria. Before, during, and after the Second World War, the Duke and Duchess were suspected by many in government and society of being Nazi sympathizers, and this ill-advised sojourn served only to reinforce this suspicion. 

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Nazi sympathies? -

The visit was highly publicized by the German media, during which the Duke gave full fascist salutes and met with senior Nazi officials. The couple are pictured with Hitler and his staff at Berchtesgaden.

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The threat of court-martial -

With the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, the allegedly pro-fascist couple were ordered back to England. In fact, Prime Minister Winston Churchill threatened the Duke with a court-martial if he did not return to British soil. The pair are pictured at their temporary home near Ashdown Forest, Sussex, on their first visit to England after the Duke's abdication. 

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Bahamas-bound -

In 1940, Edward was appointed Governor of the Bahamas, a move engineered by Churchill to distance the Duke from Europe and Nazi influence. He is pictured with Wallis outside Government House in Nassau in 1942.  

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Governor of the Bahamas -

By all accounts the Duke did not enjoy being governor and privately referred to the islands as "a third-class British colony." Despite his barely concealed contempt for his hosts, he was praised for his efforts to combat poverty on the islands, and for his resolution of civil unrest over low wages in Nassau in 1942. 

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Contempt -

Wallis Simpson was equally contemptuous of the posting, believing the position of governor was beneath her husband and that of a socialite. 

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Under surveillance -

Allied suspicion of the couple's lingering regard for Nazi ideology and the perceived German plots revolving around the Duke led to the couple being placed under surveillance during their 1941 visit to Palm Beach in Florida (pictured). The couple remained a cause for concern throughout the war and until Edward resigned his post in 1945.  

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Retirement and socializing -

At the end of the war, the couple returned to France and spent the remainder of their lives essentially in retirement. Surviving on an allowance and supplemented by government favors, the couple lived in a house, on the Neuilly-sur-Seine side of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, for a nominal rent.    

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Home of their own -

In 1952, the couple bought and renovated a weekend country retreat, a converted mill, Le Moulin de la Tuilerie, at Gif-sur-Yvette, 23 km (14.5 miles) outside of Paris. This is the only home they owned together and where they would entertain guests, among them Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Cecil Beaton, and Marlene Dietrich.

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'A King's Story' (1965) -

'A King's Story' is a British documentary film about the life of King Edward VIII, from his birth until abdication in 1936. Released in 1965, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Pictured is a movie still taken of the couple while on Mediterranean vacation in 1936. 

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In vogue -

Indeed, throughout the 1950 and 1960s, the pair effectively took on the role of celebrities and were regarded as part of café society. They hosted many parties and often shuttled between Paris and New York on shopping and social trips. The couple are pictured in their Paris home for a Vogue magazine photo shoot, their beloved pug dogs at their feet.

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Looking dapper -

The Duke of Windsor photographed in the early 1960s looking happy and relaxed. 

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Looking regal -

The Duchess of Windsor pictured during the same period radiating grace and elegance. 

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Fashion and celebrity -

In another fashion magazine society piece in 1967, the pair are seen at their Le Moulin de la Tuilerie home. Edward is wearing velvet evening jacket, tartan kilt, argyle knee socks, and buckled shoes, while the Duchess wears a sleeveless printed silk dress. Both share a large club chair and clutch their pug dogs. 

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Guest of the Queen -

During the mid-1960s, relations between the Windsors and the British royal family began to thaw somewhat. In 1965, the Duke and Duchess met Elizabeth II, Edward's sister-in-law Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, and his sister Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood. But it was an invitation from the British monarch in 1967 to join the royal family for the centenary of Queen Mary's birth that marked the first time since his abdication that Edward had been formally received by the Queen as a personal guest. 

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Royal get-together -

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor with Queen Elizabeth II during the commemoration on June 7, 1967, at Marlborough House, London.  

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Failing health -

By the late 1960s Edward's health had visibly deteriorated. Overseas visits were less frequent, although the couple managed a trip to Washington, D.C. in 1970 as guests of President Richard Nixon. But by late 1971, the ailing duke had been diagnosed with throat cancer. 

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Duke of Windsor dies -

On May 18, 1972, Queen Elizabeth II visited the Duke and Duchess of Windsor while on a state visit to France. She spoke with the Duke privately for 15 minutes. Ten days later, Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, died. His body was returned to Britain, to lie in state at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Pictured are officers of the Grenadier Guards (the Duke's old regiment) standing in silent vigil around the coffin before his funeral service. 

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Funeral -

The Queen with a veiled Duchess of Windsor leaving St George's Chapel following the funeral service on June 5, 1972, for the Duke of Windsor. His widow stayed at Buckingham Palace during her visit. Edward is buried in the Royal Burial Ground behind the Royal Mausoleum of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at Frogmore Gardens, Windsor. 

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Death of the Duchess -

The Duchess of Windsor survived Edward by 14 years. Eventually succumbing to dementia, she lived her final years as a recluse. She died in Paris on April 24, 1986. Her funeral was held at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, attended by members of the royal family, including the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince and Princess of Wales. She is buried alongside her husband.    

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