Edward VIII: Friend of Hitler, Jewellery Thief, and A Scandalous Sex Life

In this episode, we explore the dramatic love story between King Edward VIII and the twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson - a romance that shook the British monarchy to its core. Set against the backdrop of rising tensions in 1930s Europe, the scandal divided the government, the public and the royal family. And ultimately, Edward chose love over the crown. To hear all about this, we're joined by Kate Williams, a historian and broadcaster who specialises in Royal history. She unpacks how their romance spiralled into a constitutional crisis. 0:00 Introduction 1:16 The Movie Star Prince: Edward’s Popularity 3:03 A Strict Victorian Upbringing 5:01 The Prince of the Working Class 6:20 A Modern Man’s Search for Love 7:37 The Attraction to Married Women 11:43 Meeting Wallis Simpson: The "Central Heating" Gaffe 14:28 The 3-Month Babysitter Who Stole the King 18:42 The King is Dead: 1936 Constitutional Crisis 22:37 The Abdication: Love or a Way Out? 29:46 The Traitor King? Nazi Meetings and Exile Produced by Mariana Des Forges, James Hickmann and McKenna Fernandez, edited by Matthew Wilson & the channel manager is Vilde Øksnes. You can find more Dan Snow's History Hit on the audio podcast here: https://podfollow.com/dan-snows-histo... Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. #DanSnowsHistoryHit #HistoryPodcast #RoyalHistory