Edward VIII abdicated the nation on December 11, 1936. On 10 December Edward signed his written abdication decisions at Fort Belvedere, attested by his three younger brothers: Prince Albert, Duke of York (who followed Edward as George VI); Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester; And Prince George, Duke of Kent. The next day, it was put into effect by the Act of Parliament: His Majesty`s Declaration of Abdication Act 1936. [82] Amendments introduced in 1931 by the statute of Westminster replaced a single crown for the entire empire with several crowns, one for each Dominion carried by a single monarch in an organization then known as the British Commonwealth. [2] Although the British government, in the hope of expediency and to avoid the embarrassment that Dominions wanted to accept the actions of the “homeland” government, the Dominions noted that Edward`s abdication required the approval of each Commonwealth state. [83] Under the statute of Westminster, the law passed by the British Parliament could, at their request, become a Dominion Act. This was duly given by the Australian Parliament, which was in session at the time, and by the governments of Canada, South Africa and New Zealand, whose parliaments were on hold. [2] On 11 December, the Government of the Irish Free State, which was to take advantage of the opportunity of the crisis and an important step towards a definitive transition to a Republic, adopted a constitutional amendment on 11 December to remove references to the crown and to remove the post of Governor General of the Irish Free State; [84] The king`s abdication was recognized the next day in the Foreign Relations Act. [85] In South Africa, His Majesty King Edward on the eighth declared in 1937 that the abdication had come into force on 10 December. [2] Canada passed the Succession to the Throne Act in 1937 to symbolically confirm the abdication.

[2] The widespread reluctance to accept Simpson as the king`s husband and Edward`s refusal to abandon him led to his abdication in December 1936. [b] He was followed by his brother Albert, who became George VI. Edward received the title of Duke of Windsor and, after his abdication, stylized the Royal Highness and married Simpson the following year. They remained married until his death 35 years later. In July 1940, Edward was appointed governor of the Bahamas. [106] Edward reportedly told a friend: “After the war, it`s over and Hitler will destroy the Americans… We take over… They [the British] don`t want me as their king, but I`ll be back as a leader. [107] He said that “it would be a tragic thing for the world if Hitler were overthrown.” [107] Comments such as this reinforced the belief that the Duke and Duchess harboured Nazi sympathies and that the effect of the 1936 abdication crisis was to push a man of extreme political views from the throne. [108] Claims that Edward was a threat or that he was abducted by a political conspiracy to dethrone him remain speculative and “emphasize that contemporary public considerations have lost most of their strength since 1936 and therefore seem to provide an insufficient explanation for the king`s departure.” [109] His Majesty`s Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 (1 Edw. 8 – 1 Geo. 6 v. 3) was the law of the British Parliament that recognized and ratified the abdication of King Edward VIII and succeeded his brother King George VI.

The law also excluded future potential descendants of Edward from the line of succession. Edward VIII abdica to marry his beloved Wallis Simpson after facing resistance from the governments of the United Kingdom and the Dominions. In September, he returned to England for the first time in nearly six years.