JFK+50 TOP POST #1
Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) Today we complete a review of the ten most popular posts of our JFK+50 blog since we began in November 2010. This review will include updates and revisions of the original posts.
The following post of December 11, 2010 has received more than 30,000 hits.
The following post of December 11, 2010 has received more than 30,000 hits.
BRITAIN'S KING EDWARD VIII ABDICATES TO MARRY DIVORCEE
December 11, 2010, London (JFK+50) Seventy-four years ago today, December 11, 1936, Great Britain's Edward VIII*, having been king for just eleven months, became the first British monarch to abdicate the throne voluntarily.
The King's abdication came in response to the condemnation by the Church of England and the British government of his decision to marry Wallis W. Simpson**, a married woman and a divorcee from the United States.
Duchess and Duke of Windsor
On the night of December 11, 1936, the King said on radio:
"I have found it impossible to carry on the heavy burdens of responsibility.....without the help and support of the woman I love."
*Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, a.k.a. King Edward VIII (1894-1972) was the son of King George V and Queen Mary. He became Prince of Wales at age 16 and served in the British armed services during WWI.
Edward became King upon his father's death on January 20, 1936. After his abdication, he became the Duke of Windsor and married Wallis Simpson after her second divorce was finalized.
Wallis Simpson, 1936
**Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson (1896-1986) was born in Blue Ridge Summit, PA. Her father died shortly after her birth. Her first marriage to US Naval Officer William Spencer ended in divorce in 1934 and her 2nd marriage to Ernest Simpson also ended in divorce.
