Duke of Windsor
Encyclopedia
The title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
in 1937 for Prince Edward
, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication
in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle
, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is situated. Windsor
had been the house name of the Royal Family
since 1917.
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Edward had abdicated on 11 December 1936 so that he could marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson, who became upon their marriage The Duchess of Windsor.
At the time of the abdication there was controversy as to how the ex-King should be titled – other possibilities were the Dukedoms of Cambridge
or Connaught
, though neither was likely because the Marquessate of Cambridge and the Dukedom of Connaught were both extant at the time. One of George III's younger sons had borne the title Duke of Sussex, but for unknown reasons that specific title has never been resurrected and, so far as is known, no consideration was given to conferring it upon the abdicated king in 1936. Although the Duke of Connaught was also Earl of Sussex, that title was not in active use as his heir Prince Arthur of Connaught
was known as that. Nor do other available titles with Royal connections such as Kendal, Ross or Clarence appear to have been considered. One theory is that it was Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
's idea to create the title Duke of Windsor. Another is that the new King George VI
brought up the idea of a title just after the abdication instrument was signed, and suggested using "the family name".
Neither the Instrument of Abdication signed by Edward VIII on 10 December 1936, nor the Abdication Act of 11 December 1936, indicated whether the king was renouncing the privileges of royal birth as well as relinquishing the throne. In retrospect this was a serious oversight, and it is unclear why no one realised the implications of the omission. As recounted in Lady Frances Donaldson's biography of the Duke of Windsor, even before the formalities of abdication had been completed, some observers were of the opinion that the former king would be simply "Mr. Edward Windsor." But when consulted the future George VI gave sound reasons why his brother must remain a Royal Highness: the Duke had been born the son of a (royal) duke – their father George V
was Duke of York
at the time of Edward VIII's birth. Therefore after the abdication, the former king would be at least Lord Edward Windsor, as a duke's son is known. George VI then pointed out that as Mr Windsor or Lord Edward Windsor, his brother could sit in the House of Commons. His advisors at once agreed that to make it impossible for that to happen, the ex-king must remain "His Royal Highness" (HRH). At the new king's order, Sir John Reith, head of the BBC, introduced the former king as "His Royal Highness, Prince Edward" when the latter broadcast from Windsor Castle on the evening of 11 December 1936. Thus at the time of Edward VIII's Abdication, the prevailing view – formulated by George VI himself – was that the former king had reverted to the rank of HRH, his right as the son of a British sovereign. Since neither the Instrument nor the Act of Abdication explicitly stated otherwise, this was a reasonable conclusion.
At his Accession Council
on 12 December 1936, moreover, King George VI announced, in the allocution
usually given by the monarch just before taking the oath relating to the security of the Church of Scotland
, that he would create his brother Duke of Windsor, and that he wished him to be known as His Royal Highness the Duke of Windsor. That declaration is recorded in the London Gazette
.
Thus letters patent creating the title in May 1937 restricted the attribute of Royal Highness to the Duke of Windsor alone, denying it to the woman for whom he had given up the throne. This denial became the focus of constitutional debate for the rest of the duke's life. The most easily understood notice of the issues involved is found in Lady Donaldson's book, published in the United States as Edward and Mrs Simpson. A detailed review of the original documents which record the discussions between the Crown's advisors on the topic, and the considerations which led to the letters patent of 1937, has been produced by Francois Velde from documents released into the public domain in 2003.
Letters patent issued by Queen Victoria in 1864 provided that the children and male-line grandchildren of a British Sovereign bear the attribute of Royal Highness by right of birth. Victoria made no provision for an abdicated Sovereign since in 1864 that possibility was virtually unimaginable. A straightforward construction of those letters patent leads to the conclusion that the Duke of Windsor reverted to Royal Highness on his abdication, since the language of the Instrument and Act of Abdication can only be construed to mean that he relinquished the throne, but not his status as a Sovereign's son. Given the general rule in British law that a wife automatically takes her husband's rank upon marriage, Mrs Simpson consequently should have been addressed, upon marriage to the duke, as Her Royal Highness.
Queen Victoria's Letters Patent, however, made reference to birth in the "lineal succession to the Crown", and the Duke of Windsor, although born in the line of succession, had succeeded to the Crown and then relinquished it. Furthermore, the Act that gave effect to the abdication excluded the Duke's potential descendants from the line of succession established by the Act of Settlement. George VI's Letters Patent interpretively declared that the intention of Queen Victoria's Letters Patent was only to grant the style of Royal Highness to children and grandchildren of the monarch who were in lineal succession to the Crown, a situation which no longer held for the Duke.
There was, consequently, the possibility of conflicting interpretations of Queen Victoria's letters patent. A meeting of high-ranking royal advisors concluded that resolution of the matter rested with the Sovereign, who as the fount of honour was alone empowered to decide who could and could not bear the attribute of Royal Highness. George VI then granted the attribute of Royal Highness to the Duke as a matter of royal favour, but restricted the use of the style so as not to include its enjoyment by a wife.
As Lady Donaldson explains, moreover, the Royal Family and ranking members of the Establishment were unwilling for the former Wallis Simpson to receive the HRH because no one believed that the Windsors' marriage would endure. In the event of divorce, there was then no mechanism in place to deprive the duchess of the attribute of Royal Highness; such provision came about only in 1996 before the divorce of the current Duke of York
and Sarah Ferguson
, when Elizabeth II
issued Letters Patent providing that divorced wives of Princes of the United Kingdom lose the royal attribute. Thus at the time the Duke of Windsor married Mrs Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor would remain HRH for life even if she and the Duke divorced, no matter whom else she might marry. The duke, moreover, might marry again – for which he no longer needed the Sovereign's assent – and in that case another new HRH would come into existence, perhaps even less suitable than Mrs Simpson was judged to be.
The only solution was for George VI to proceed as if the Duke of Windsor had to be re-created HRH, and that creation was framed so as to restrict the HRH to him and deny it to his wife and future offspring. With the deaths of the Duke in 1972 and of the Duchess in 1986, without issue, the matter has become purely academic.
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
in 1937 for Prince Edward
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, the former King Edward VIII, following his abdication
Edward VIII abdication crisis
In 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire was caused by King-Emperor Edward VIII's proposal to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite....
in December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
, a residence of English monarchs since the Norman Conquest, is situated. Windsor
House of Windsor
The House of Windsor is the royal house of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V by royal proclamation on the 17 July 1917, when he changed the name of his family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor, due to the anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom...
had been the house name of the Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
since 1917.
History
At the time of the abdication there was controversy as to how the ex-King should be titled – other possibilities were the Dukedoms of Cambridge
Duke of Cambridge
Duke of Cambridge is a title which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family several times. It was first used as a designation for Charles Stuart , the eldest son of James, Duke of York , though he was never formally created Duke of Cambridge...
or Connaught
Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
The title Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was granted by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur....
, though neither was likely because the Marquessate of Cambridge and the Dukedom of Connaught were both extant at the time. One of George III's younger sons had borne the title Duke of Sussex, but for unknown reasons that specific title has never been resurrected and, so far as is known, no consideration was given to conferring it upon the abdicated king in 1936. Although the Duke of Connaught was also Earl of Sussex, that title was not in active use as his heir Prince Arthur of Connaught
Prince Arthur of Connaught
Prince Arthur of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the British Royal Family, a grandson of Queen Victoria. Prince Arthur held the title of a British prince with the style His Royal Highness...
was known as that. Nor do other available titles with Royal connections such as Kendal, Ross or Clarence appear to have been considered. One theory is that it was Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
's idea to create the title Duke of Windsor. Another is that the new King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
brought up the idea of a title just after the abdication instrument was signed, and suggested using "the family name".
Neither the Instrument of Abdication signed by Edward VIII on 10 December 1936, nor the Abdication Act of 11 December 1936, indicated whether the king was renouncing the privileges of royal birth as well as relinquishing the throne. In retrospect this was a serious oversight, and it is unclear why no one realised the implications of the omission. As recounted in Lady Frances Donaldson's biography of the Duke of Windsor, even before the formalities of abdication had been completed, some observers were of the opinion that the former king would be simply "Mr. Edward Windsor." But when consulted the future George VI gave sound reasons why his brother must remain a Royal Highness: the Duke had been born the son of a (royal) duke – their father George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
was Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
at the time of Edward VIII's birth. Therefore after the abdication, the former king would be at least Lord Edward Windsor, as a duke's son is known. George VI then pointed out that as Mr Windsor or Lord Edward Windsor, his brother could sit in the House of Commons. His advisors at once agreed that to make it impossible for that to happen, the ex-king must remain "His Royal Highness" (HRH). At the new king's order, Sir John Reith, head of the BBC, introduced the former king as "His Royal Highness, Prince Edward" when the latter broadcast from Windsor Castle on the evening of 11 December 1936. Thus at the time of Edward VIII's Abdication, the prevailing view – formulated by George VI himself – was that the former king had reverted to the rank of HRH, his right as the son of a British sovereign. Since neither the Instrument nor the Act of Abdication explicitly stated otherwise, this was a reasonable conclusion.
At his Accession Council
Accession Council
In the United Kingdom, the Accession Council is a ceremonial body which assembles in St. James's Palace upon the death of a monarch , to make a formal proclamation of the accession of his or her successor to the throne, and to receive a religious oath from the new monarch...
on 12 December 1936, moreover, King George VI announced, in the allocution
Allocution
Generally, to allocute in law means "to speak out formally." In the field of apologetics, allocution is generally done in defense of a belief. In politics, one may allocute before a legislative body in an effort to influence their position on an issue...
usually given by the monarch just before taking the oath relating to the security of the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
, that he would create his brother Duke of Windsor, and that he wished him to be known as His Royal Highness the Duke of Windsor. That declaration is recorded in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
.
The Duchess of Windsor
Although George VI's accession allocution had already declared that his first act was to create his elder brother Duke of Windsor, and that he willed his brother to be styled His Royal Highness the Duke of Windsor, Letters Patent were issued in 1937 to formalise the creation of the Dukedom, and further Letters Patent were issued in May of that year to regulate the Duke's right to the attribute of Royal Highness – although the pretext of the Letters Patent was the confirmation of the style of Royal Highness upon the Duke, its actual purpose was to restrict the title to the Duke alone, so as to exclude any future wife from sharing in it.Thus letters patent creating the title in May 1937 restricted the attribute of Royal Highness to the Duke of Windsor alone, denying it to the woman for whom he had given up the throne. This denial became the focus of constitutional debate for the rest of the duke's life. The most easily understood notice of the issues involved is found in Lady Donaldson's book, published in the United States as Edward and Mrs Simpson. A detailed review of the original documents which record the discussions between the Crown's advisors on the topic, and the considerations which led to the letters patent of 1937, has been produced by Francois Velde from documents released into the public domain in 2003.
Letters patent issued by Queen Victoria in 1864 provided that the children and male-line grandchildren of a British Sovereign bear the attribute of Royal Highness by right of birth. Victoria made no provision for an abdicated Sovereign since in 1864 that possibility was virtually unimaginable. A straightforward construction of those letters patent leads to the conclusion that the Duke of Windsor reverted to Royal Highness on his abdication, since the language of the Instrument and Act of Abdication can only be construed to mean that he relinquished the throne, but not his status as a Sovereign's son. Given the general rule in British law that a wife automatically takes her husband's rank upon marriage, Mrs Simpson consequently should have been addressed, upon marriage to the duke, as Her Royal Highness.
Queen Victoria's Letters Patent, however, made reference to birth in the "lineal succession to the Crown", and the Duke of Windsor, although born in the line of succession, had succeeded to the Crown and then relinquished it. Furthermore, the Act that gave effect to the abdication excluded the Duke's potential descendants from the line of succession established by the Act of Settlement. George VI's Letters Patent interpretively declared that the intention of Queen Victoria's Letters Patent was only to grant the style of Royal Highness to children and grandchildren of the monarch who were in lineal succession to the Crown, a situation which no longer held for the Duke.
There was, consequently, the possibility of conflicting interpretations of Queen Victoria's letters patent. A meeting of high-ranking royal advisors concluded that resolution of the matter rested with the Sovereign, who as the fount of honour was alone empowered to decide who could and could not bear the attribute of Royal Highness. George VI then granted the attribute of Royal Highness to the Duke as a matter of royal favour, but restricted the use of the style so as not to include its enjoyment by a wife.
As Lady Donaldson explains, moreover, the Royal Family and ranking members of the Establishment were unwilling for the former Wallis Simpson to receive the HRH because no one believed that the Windsors' marriage would endure. In the event of divorce, there was then no mechanism in place to deprive the duchess of the attribute of Royal Highness; such provision came about only in 1996 before the divorce of the current Duke of York
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Prince Andrew, Duke of York KG GCVO , is the second son, and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
and Sarah Ferguson
Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York is a British charity patron, spokesperson, writer, film producer, television personality and former member of the British Royal Family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, whom she married from 1986 to 1996...
, when Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
issued Letters Patent providing that divorced wives of Princes of the United Kingdom lose the royal attribute. Thus at the time the Duke of Windsor married Mrs Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor would remain HRH for life even if she and the Duke divorced, no matter whom else she might marry. The duke, moreover, might marry again – for which he no longer needed the Sovereign's assent – and in that case another new HRH would come into existence, perhaps even less suitable than Mrs Simpson was judged to be.
The only solution was for George VI to proceed as if the Duke of Windsor had to be re-created HRH, and that creation was framed so as to restrict the HRH to him and deny it to his wife and future offspring. With the deaths of the Duke in 1972 and of the Duchess in 1986, without issue, the matter has become purely academic.