King Edward, Jerry!

When I think of Edward VIII, the one time King of the United Kingdom, I typically think of the TV show Seinfeld. Fans of the show know of the episode where George is dumped by a girl due to a difference in their religions. In a classic Costanza move, George decides he can get her back by converting from Judaism (his faith) to Latvian Orthodox (her faith). The idea for this wasn't thought of by George (how could it have been?), but rather by Elaine. She compared the act to King Edward VIII abdicating the British throne to be with his love, Wallis Simpson. Sounds romantic, doesn't it? Maybe it was, but more on that later (George got screwed in the end by the way).

So, King Edward VIII, Britain's very own playboy. I can imagine Edward would've gotten along very well with the Kennedy's. Prior to his ascent to the throne, he was the worry of the British Royal family and the government. He was a prolific womanizer and was known to have had many affairs. Combine this with a few other rather scrupulous activities, people were really worried that he could one day be King. Then, it happened. He ascended the throne in January of 1936, where he would stay for just under a year, which brings us back to the abdication.

Edward had fallen for Wallis Simpson, who was a twice-divorced American. After consulting with the Prime Minister, various leaders of the Church of England, it became clear that the best option, if he really wanted to marry Wallis Simpson, was to abdicate the throne, which Edward ultimately did on December 11, 1936. It sounds rather romantic, but personally, I don't see how either of them would've had much romance left in them. She'd clearly been around the block at least a couple of times, and we KNOW he had been known to have his fun. Nevertheless, he abdicated the throne, leaving it to his brother, and King Edward VIII became the Duke of Windsor.

Things really were never dull, especially early on, for the new couple. Leading up to and during WWII, there were rumors that they were Nazi Sympathizers. I mean, how could you blame someone for thinking such when you see a picture like this:

Edward finally pissed off enough people in the British government that he was sent to the Bahamas, where he was actually the Governor of the Islands until the end of the war. After that, however, the couple retired to France, where they lived for the rest of their lives. Relations between themselves and the rest of the Royal Family were constantly strained, and really never fully healed. So, that's a brief overview of King Edward VIII. Clearly, he's more known for his abdication and subsequent activities as the Duke of Windsor, but he's most definitely one of the most interesting monarchs to have ever sat upon the British throne.