As Edward VIII was dying from throat cancer, he had one final wish for his niece, Queen Elizabeth II.
The late monarch’s fate forever changed when her uncle met and fell in love with Wallis Simpson, a married American woman. After she obtained her second divorce in 1936, Edward was determined to marry her despite objections. That year, he abdicated the crown, and the couple tied the knot the following year. Then-Princess Elizabeth was 10 at the time.
In October 1937, the couple embarrassed the British royal family by visiting Germany and dining with Adolf Hitler amid a blaze of publicity. Over the years, their visits to Britain were rare, brief and strictly private.
Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth’s uncle, abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson. The decision would change the late queen’s destiny. (Bettmann via Getty Images)
The queen’s father, George VI, went on to become king until his death in 1952 at age 56.
A new ITVX docuseries titled “The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor” will aim to take a closer look at the British royal family and the challenges they faced over the years. The special, which premieres on April 20, features new interviews with palace insiders, including Edwards’s former nurse Julie Alexander.
Alexander alleged that the late queen rejected her uncle’s last wish to have his wife styled as Her Royal Highness (HRH).
Edward VIII giving his abdication broadcast to the nation on December 11, 1936. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)
“He was terribly sick,” Alexander recalled, as quoted by People magazine on Tuesday. “He couldn’t have weighed — maybe 80 lbs if that, and he wasn’t eating at all.”
According to the outlet, the queen visited Edward at Villa Windsor in Paris in May 1972, a scene recreated in Season 5 of Netflix’s “The Crown.” She was accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, and their firstborn, then-Prince Charles.
Alexander alleged that Edward’s final request for his niece was to have his wife elevated to the HRH title. The outlet noted that while the couple was styled the Duke and Duchess of Windsor when they married, it was “a sore spot” that Simpson was never given the HRH title.
A 1928 portrait of the Duke and Duchess of York, who would become, after his brother Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The matriarch became known as the Queen Mother. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
“The queen said no,” said Alexander. “She said no, even on that sad day. It was, you know, breaking his heart, I think. That’s what he wanted. That’s what he wanted, that title for her. Not having that title for his wife was a slap in his face.”
George Carey, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, explained why the queen refused Edward’s request.
“[He] chose to put his marriage before the monarchy,” said Carey. “That forced this crisis upon our nation, upon his brother. We have to understand that background, I think, to understand the queen.”
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Queen Elizabeth II (left) and her husband Prince Philip (right) talking to the Duchess Of Windsor (center) after the Duke of Windsor’s funeral. (Keystone/Getty Images)
Edward died 10 days later at home in Paris. According to the outlet, his body was transported back to England where he was buried beside Frogmore Mausoleum at Windsor. According to the royal family’s website, he was never crowned in his lifetime and his reign lasted only 325 days.
In the last eight years of her life, Simpson was confined to her home and lived in seclusion. She wasn’t invited to Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981.
“Her life has changed simply because he is no longer here,” an aide once said. “She has become very lonely.”
The Duchess of Windsor became a recluse after her husband passed away from cancer. (Getty Images)
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Simpson passed away in 1986 at age 89. The couple had no children.
The queen, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, passed away in September of last year. She was 96. Charles, 74, became king upon her death. He will be crowned on May 6 at London’s Westminster Abbey.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
