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THE LOVE OF A KING (Peter Dainty) 1. A LONELY CHILD     

Edward is born in 1894 in Richmond, England. His father, King George V, was a tall, cold man who didn’t like children. The family lived in Buckingham Palace, which was very big, so people usually got lost. Edward didn’t go to school with other children, but stayed at the Palace. He had a private teacher, Mr. Hansell, who never smiled and usually got angry and hit Edward with a stick when he got distracted in his lessons.  Edward usually spent many days alone in his bedroom and never played with other children nor had any friends. He was always lonely, sad and afraid of his parents, whom he didn’t see very often. 2. THE PALACE OF WALES  10th June 1911: Ceremony to make Edward ‘Prince of Wales’ in Caernarvon Castle (North Wales). Edward (16 years old) feels horrible during the whole ceremony. 3. THE ROYAL STAR

 1914: Edward goes to fight World War I after 1 year at Oxford University and fights on the front line in Belgium.  He lives in a house with 25 other soldiers where he has the opportunity to talk with different people (rich, poor, young and old) but also sees the blood and noise of war.  1918: The War finishes and Edward returns to Buckingham Palace, claiming not to understand why countries fought and nothing changed afterwards.  King George tells him that he needs to travel and talk to people to be able to make things better when he becomes King.  1920: Edward leaves England again and visits 45 different countries during the next 5 years. Thousands of people wait for him and begin to think he is different when he goes out of his car to walk among the people, talks, laughs and smiles with them. 4. THE MEETING

 Autumn 1930: Edward stays with friends Lord and Lady Furness.  There (in the occasion of a weekend house party) he meets Mrs. Wallis Simpson, an American woman, married to Mr. Ernest Simpson and friend of Lady Furness. Edward is impressed by her beauty and smile.  Edward notices Wallis not feeling well and comments on the lack of American Central Heating, which disappoints Wallis and makes her think Edward is boring since everyone always asked her about that.  Edward finds amusing that Wallis tells him the truth and laughs, which surprises Wallis.  Edward observes her during the lunch and thinks she is beautiful. Later he asks Lady Furness to tell him everything about her. 5. WALLIS  Born in Baltimore in 1896. She never knew her father, but her mother was a strong, loving woman and she was a happy child.  1916: Wallis is 20 y/o and marries a man called Winfield Spencer. They are happy at first but he changes when he loses money in the street, gets angry and begins to drink. He hits Wallis after that leaving her bleeding and shaking, causing her to go back to her family the next morning and ask for a divorce (1927).  1928: meets Ernest Simpson, a quiet but interesting man. They get married and go to live in a flat in London.  Edward and Wallis keep seeing each other once or twice a week for the next 2 years after their first meeting in 1930.

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 Edward thought Wallis knew a lot about life. She loved books, foods, people and travel. She was beautiful, friendly and easy to talk to, so he opened up his heart and talked about everything with her.  Wallis thought Edward’s eyes were always sad and that he sometimes looked like a child, but he was a warm and kind man. She felt her heart jump every time they talked.  June 1933: Edward throws a birthday party for Wallis and visits her flat almost every day during the next few months.  Edward and Wallis go skiing to Austria without her husband (who has to work in America) and come back in love. A few months later he asks her to marry him. 6. THE KING IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE KING!    

January 1936: Edward goes to Windsor because he is tired of town life. Queen Mary calls shortly after to tell him his father is ill so he must come back. The King tells Edward to be a good King and be good to his mother and dies after midnight. Edward becomes King, his mother and three brothers come to him and kiss his hand. Later he calls Wallis to tell her the news and that he has to stay in town for a while. Wallis understands but feels afraid of what will happen to her.

7. THE CHURCH  Spring 1936: Wallis writes her husband telling him that their marriage is finished and she is in love with the King. He replies that he will do as she says but will never stop loving her and will always be there if she needs him.  Next day: Gordon Lang (Archbishop of Canterbury) goes to see Edward to ask him about the marriage news. Edward confirms the news but the Archbishop tells him the church is very strong and will not accept Wallis as Queen, which angers Edward. 8. THE STORM

 July and August: Wallis and Edward sail the Mediterranean. Between Athens and Istanbul Edward takes off his shirt to get tanned and falls sleep without noticing a photographer taking pictures of him. Mr. Albert Thompson of Birmingham gets angry and sends him a letter to complain about his bad dressing.  Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin agrees with Thompson and reaffirms Edward he cannot marry Wallis, which makes Edward make the decision of giving the crown to his brother and leave England.  Edward calls Wallis and tells her that the Prime Minister said a storm (great problems) was coming, so she should leave. Wallis packs her bags and goes to France.  Edward has a strange, sad and angry meeting with his mother to explain his feelings.  Edward calls his friend Winston Churchill to tell him the sad news. Churchill tells Edward that what he is planning is not right and he should stand and fight, but Edward doesn’t want to start a war over it. 9. THE WOMAN I LOVE  A few days later: Churchill goes to see Edward at Buckingham Palace. He tells Churchill he wanted to be a modern, kind King and change the world, but they didn’t let him and now he has to leave.  Outside there are hundreds of people singing and calling his name, which makes Edward cry.  10th December 1936 (next morning): his family waits for him to sign his abdication to the crown in favor of his brother George, who is not happy about it.  Edward exchanges a few words with his mother, who claims not to understand him and says he is breaking her heart, but that she loves him anyway. Edward walks away.  Next day: Edward returns to Windsor Castle. From there, he speaks on BBC Radio to Britain and the world to say goodbye. Then he leaves towards France.

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10. THE WEDDING

 3rd June 1937: Edward (43) and Wallis (41) get married. None of the Royal Family attends. They take the new names of ‘Duke and Duchess of Windsor’.  A few weeks later: Edward writes his brother surprised he didn’t come, and adds he would want to live in Windsor with Wallis. George replies he will never like her and that she can’t live there with him. Edward decides he doesn’t want his family anymore. 11. PARIS  Next 30 years: Edward and Wallis live in Paris, give parties and travel, but never return to the Buckingham Palace.  1952/1961: King George and Queen Mary die. Edward returns to Windsor for a few days without Wallis.  1966: Edward and Wallis meet Queen Elizabeth (daughter of King George VI) at a small party in London. She is very kind to them and says that it’s time to forget the past.  1969: Edward and Wallis give an interview for BBC TV. Edward confesses he never met a more beautiful woman than Wallis. He says he loves giving her presents, like jewels.  May 1972: Edward becomes ill and asks Wallis to take his body back to Windsor. He dies shortly after.  3 days later: Wallis goes back to England with Edward’s body and enters Buckingham Palace for the first time.  A week later: Wallis returns to Paris, where she lives alone for the next 14 years.  1986: Wallis becomes ill. She goes to a near hospital and dies a few days later. She had written once that without Edward her life was empty.  Wallis is buried next to Edward at Windsor, England. 12. LONG LIVE LOVE!  Extracts of a letter Edward wrote in 1970 (2 years before his death): “When I was young, I lived in Buckingham Palace. (…) But I wasn’t happy because my heart was empty. Then I met Wallis and everything changed. (…) She is everything to me. (…) On my last night in London I spoke with Winston Churchill. (…) (And) he said: “I think, Sir, that the best things in life are free.” (…) I understand (now) what they (these words) mean. You cannot buy happiness. And you cannot buy love. To be happy inside your heart is the most wonderful thing in the world. (…)”

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