Does Edward get a little too much hate by the family?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The Crown
JDoe18 — 9 years ago(November 12, 2016 03:31 PM)
Okay it isnt likely he abdicated for money, or loyalties for other countries or any thing terribly seedy. At least that is how the show presents it. Im sure like all television there are big details missing but why do they all dislike him so? Yes he seems like a bitter, know it all old man as well as unlikable at times but seems like there were much worse things he could of done. Was it just the timing of abdicating in war times?
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bpollen — 9 years ago(November 13, 2016 01:43 PM)
It was very dramatic at the time. There have been a couple of tv movies about it, and more than a few documentaries.
He gave a very dramatic, public speech when he abdicated, declaring that he couldn't fulfill his duties as King, "without the loveand support.of the woman I love." The address was broadcast by radio around the world. It was a VERY big deal.
You can read up on it in Wikipedia. Jayne Seymour plays the twice divorced commoner Wallace Simpson in one of the tv movies.
That's when his brother, affectionately called Bertie, who had a bad speech impediment (see the wonderful movie "The King's Speech"), was forced to become King. He had not been raised to be King, and couldn't speak publicly.
Why he abdicatedhe had fallen in love with Simpson, who had been divorced two or three times, and was currently married when Edward took up with her. The Church of England doesn't recognize divorce. So there's that. Plus, she was an unlikable, pushy woman, by some accounts. England would not allow him to get married and retain his crown. So he abdicated.
It's all very dramatic. Don't go feelin' too sorry for him, though. He was a boozing playboy who sympathized with the Nazis. I believe his family descends from German stock, but I'm not sure. Maybe Austrian. There's some connection there. -
politicidal — 9 years ago(November 13, 2016 03:00 PM)
Oh good, someone noted his Nazi sympathies. Had he been king, I'm sure Britain would have become a Nazi satellite.
What's missing in movies is same as in society: a good sense of work ethic and living up to ideals. -
Julie-30 — 9 years ago(November 12, 2016 05:49 PM)
As I suggested before, you would really benefit by reading up on Edward VIII and his role in history. Not only did he let down his family and the empire, the man was also a Nazi sympathizer.
what part of all this do you have trouble understanding?
http://currentscene.wordpress.com -
tinagchristensen — 9 years ago(November 13, 2016 06:50 AM)
Yes you are right - -actually the family had every reason to hate him - Edward and his wife were the worst anyone could be - Nazi sympathizers. Thank God he found an excuse to abdicate from rhe throne (never wanted to be King in the first place)
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bevaremeg — 9 years ago(November 13, 2016 12:39 PM)
Thank God he found an excuse to abdicate from rhe throne (never wanted to be King in the first place)
Having watched many documentaries over the years about the Duke of Windsor, this is the impression I always had. He didn't really want to be king - and Wallis Simpson was his excuse to get out of the gig, while deluding himself that he was doing it for love. I think Wallis Simpson got out of her depth - I'm not sure that she wanted to be queen, and I'm not sure she wanted Edward Viii for keeps. But once he became King the situation changed, and it all got out of hand.
I've always viewed it as a kind of 'marriage made in hell'. Once they married, they were stuck with one another whether they wanted to be or not. How could you divorce a man who game up a Kingdom and an Empire for you. And just like King Lear, who gives up his power but somehow still wants to maintain his position, the Duke of Windsor, having been the 'Golden Boy' of the 20s and 30s, just couldn't cope with being a nobody. He wanted a position in royal circles, but not the responsibility.
He'd spent 40 years being prepared for the throne. His younger brother - an ungainly, not terribly bright stammerer got landed with the job instead. He burst into tears and cried on Queen Mary's shoulder when he became King. He felt he was not fit for the job. And that's why the Queen Mother hated him with a vengeance - she blamed him for his brother's earlier death, the strain, particularly in war time, being so bad for his health.
So from what I've read, and what I remember seeing from the body language on TV when they met in later years, that hatred, particularly from the Queen Mother, was very real. -
tinagchristensen — 9 years ago(November 13, 2016 03:04 PM)
Great post and very interesting - I do believe you are VERY close to the thruth about what really happened and WHY it happened.
I really love the show, but two things bothered me 1) that Queen Elisabeth asked Edward if he would be her advisor - after all the misery he had brought on the family and the country - NO WAY she would ever ask him about anything 2) that the Nazi scandal is completely left out of the show. Well, I still give it 10/10 - It's not a documentary after all but scripted drama based on a true story. That said I do think it's more realistic and authentic than expected. Also there are limits how far they can go. -
CrabbyJack — 9 years ago(November 13, 2016 07:39 PM)
Edward was thoroughly despicable and selfish and deserves the low regard in which he is remembered. He was also a notorious Nazi sympathizer.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3173871/Was-Queen-s-uncle-Edward-VIII-Nazi.html -
supergran — 9 years ago(February 02, 2017 03:03 AM)
I think the notion of the abdication for "the woman I love" is viewed as rather romantic by other countries. Certainly not here in Britain.
If there aren't any skeletons in a man's closet, there's probably a Bertha in his attic. -
firstwinsgop-1 — 9 years ago(February 03, 2017 08:38 PM)
Oh good, someone noted his Nazi sympathies. Had he been king, I'm sure Britain would have become a Nazi satellite.
Then you are an idiot. Hitler never had any ambitions in Western Europe. According to Speer, Hitler frequently remarked that had Edward not abdicated, Germany and England would have remained at peace.
So the likely outcome of Edward remaining on the throne was not German domination, but rather a half million Englishmen would have not thrown their lives away for nothing in a pointless war.