When the story of the King’s relationship with the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson broke in the press, Edward VIII believed his abdication was inevitable.  But for a brief moment on the 4th and 5th of December, it looked as if a flicker of public support might light a path for his survival.

In the latest episode of “Royal Revolutions”, RHG founder Gareth Streeter and Royal commentator James Taylor discuss:

• Wallis’s tumultuous escape from Britain to France
• The motivations of the King’s supporters
• The media reaction and hints of public support for the King
• Why Harry Enfield ruined a teenage Gareth’s life back in the 90s
• Wallis’s latest attempts to break it off with the King
• The King’s planned broadcast appeal to the nation that never aired
• Baldwin’s fears of the constitutional settlement being overturned
• Winston Churchill’s outspoken role in the crisis
• Concerns about the legality of Wallis’s divorce

We are again joined by historian Adrian Phillips who helps us make sense of what the so-called “King’s Party” was.

By Gareth Streeter

Until recently I’d never given Wallis Simpson any serious thought.

As a Royal history geek from a young age, I encountered her role in the origin story of Elizabeth II, but by the time I was old enough to digest any relevant comment, the “what a wicked woman that stole the King away” narrative had largely dissipated.  The 90s, compared to previous decades, was a more sympathetic time.

Subconsciously, I think I had viewed her as a kind of 20^th-century Anne Boleyn.  She was supposedly not conventionally beautiful so there must have been something captivating about her that could tempt a King away from the lures and responsibility of ruling his empire.  I assumed that like Anne, she must have been a sparkling intellect, an unapparelled wit and a woman of fierce ambitions.

Devoted Royal history geeks will know that we are currently in the midst of a podcast series on the Abdication crisis.  While studying sources and scholarship, I’ve had big reasons to doubt this take on Wallis.  Here are three reasons why:

• Even Anne Boleyn’s fiercest critics would concede that the ill-fated Tudor Queen was a woman of impressive intellect.  With Wallis, there is little sign of much intellectual curiosity.  She certainly appealed to Edward VIII through her directness and – most importantly – her willingness to put him down.  But while Henry VIII was a reasonably clever man that required a very intellectual woman to outsmart him (as both his first two wives seem to have done), getting one over on Edward VIII was a much easier task
• Historians and enthusiasts debate the extent to which Anne Boleyn pursued a political agenda but I would argue she was a driving force behind religious reform.  Wallis seems to have no real political or societal agenda.  She may have wanted to be Queen when she thought it required little beyond wearing jewellery and entertaining friends at a palace but she seems to have shrunk away from any role in public life.  Years after the abdication, when asked about pressing social issues, she talked about the plight of rich widows who now received fewer dinner invitations.  A social reformer, she was not
• Anne also understood politics.  Yes, she ultimately came undone through a political miscalculation to take on Cromwell.  But this was after years of successfully using every tool at her disposal to get what she wanted, even when she had to move heaven and earth to do so.  Wallis, as one half of the doomed duo known as “Wallis and Edward”, habitually misread the public mood and made huge political errors.  Though I reserve the right to change my mind, I currently view the couple’s Nazi associations as an example of complete naivety, selfishness and foolishness rather than an act of decided political calculation

Do check out the first season of “Royal Revolutions” to join us as we journey through the tumultuous events of 1936…

As Wallis Simpson awaits her divorce hearing, the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, pleads with Edward VIII to change course.  From that moment, the relationship between the King and Mrs Simpson becomes an official issue of government business and the event can truly be called a constitutional crisis.

In the latest episode of our series on the abdication crisis, James Taylor and Gareth Streeter discuss:

• The King’s attitude toward the Prime Minister and the government
• Wallis’s divorce and the fallout
• The King’s dinner with Queen Mary, when he broke the news that he intended to marry Mrs Simpson
• The idea of a morganatic marriage and the attempts to find a compromise
• A controversial speech by an obscure Bishop
• The breaking of the story in the press

We were also joined by historian Adrian Phillips to learn more about Stanley Baldwin and his attitude toward the crisis.

As the events of 1936 heat up, the King abandons the traditional Balmoral summer for a pleasure cruise of the Balkans. The world media goes crazy for pictures of the King and Mrs Simpson. The pressure begins to get too much for Wallis.

In this episode, Royal commentator James Taylor joins RHG founder, Gareth Streeter to discuss:

• Churchill’s “failure” to tell the King and Wallis what they want to hear
• Edward’s “sulky” attitude toward his duties
• Why someone, please, in the name of mercy, needs to think of the poor debutantes
• Whether Wallis was intelligent
• Observations of Edward and Wallis’s behaviour on the Balkan trip, based on eye-witness testimony
• Wallis’s attempt to break it all off
• The King abandoning his duties to collect Wallis from Aberdeen station

Gareth also embarks on a rant about Edward acting like a rebel within the system, rather than the head of the system with real agency to make change if only he had the courage to confront.

The second part in our series on the Abdication crisis of 1936.

Edward VIII ascends the throne and immediately begins a subtle but determined campaign to position Wallis Simpson as his consort.

But even without the dangers posed by Wallis, Edward soon begins to ruffle feathers.  Among government, fears abound around the new King’s reliability, capability and political instincts.

This episode again sees Royal commentator James Taylor team up with RHG founder, Gareth Streeter to discuss the unfolding crisis.  It also features a guest interview with Adrian Phillips, author the “The King who had to go”.

We discuss:

• The circumstances of Edward’s ascension and his immediate decision to break protocol by watching his own proclamation with Wallis
• Concerns about the new King’s reliability and work ethic
• The early intervention of Cosmo Lang and Edward’s relationship with this seasoned Archbishop of Canterbury
• The politics of the 1930s and the circumstances that made Edward’s German sympathies more difficult to manage
• A potential plot to assassinate the King?
• Wallis Simpson’s first steps in divorcing her husband Ernest

Unfortunately, there are a few moments in this episode where there is bit of feedback sound.  RHG apologies for this but wants to reassure you that such distractions only crop up a few times and last for just a few seconds.

The love affair between Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson could never have been a truly private matter.  But when their relationship began in 1934 few could have predicted that it would lead to Britain’s most recent Royal Revolution.

This is the first episode of our series on the Abdication crisis of 1936.  It forms season one of our “Royal Revolutions” podcast.

Royal commentator James Taylor once again joins RHG founder, Gareth Streeter.  They discuss:

• The upbringing and early lives of Edward and Wallis
• Life in the early twentieth century Royal family
• George V and Queen Mary’s parenting skills
• The character, personality and limits of the dashing but dangerous Edward, Prince of Wales
• The Prince’s love affairs with Freda Dudley Ward and Thelma Furness
• Wallis and Edward’s meeting and early relationship
• The King and Queen’s reactions
• Wallis and her husband Ernest’s motivations for tangling with the Prince

Today marks the paperback release of “Spare” – the tell all biography written by the Duke of Sussex.

It’s now been some years since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their decision to step back as working members of the Royal family.  Now that the dust – to at least some extent – has settled – it’s possible to review that decision, and the controversies that followed with an open mind and a level head.  In this two-part podcast, this is what we have tried to do.

In part 1, Royal commentator James Taylor and history writer Gareth Streeter discuss:

• Harry and Meghan’s engagement and initial clash with the media
• The Royal wedding and the huge optimism that surrounded it
• The couple’s early married life as working Royals
• Their decision to step back
• The “Sandringham summit” and the Royal family’s response
• The controversial Oprah Winfrey interview
• How Royal titles work and the reason that the couple’s children were not initially a Prince and Princess

In part 2 we discuss:

• The Netflix series and the background (as far as we understand it) of the deal
• The treatment of the Duchess of Sussex in aspects of the UK media and how this compares with the way the Princess of Wales is discussed
• The importance of source criticism in dealing with any media
• The book Spare, and why Gareth got too angry to finish it
• Harry’s bravery and honesty in being vulnerable about his mental health
• The book’s strengths and weaknesses

These episodes are also available from wherever you get your podcasts.