Best romantic couples countdown - # 44 - Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII

February 21, 10:00 AMRomance ExaminerSally Painter

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Wallis Simpson was an American socialite and married the former King of England. It was a love affair that caused great upheaval. Rumored to be lovers while she was still married to her third husband, Wallis divorced her husband when Prince Edward ascended to the throne in 1936.

The new King of England proposed to her, but there was such an outcry within the royal court because she’d been divorced two times and both ex-husbands were still alive. Gossip and whispers surrounded the love affair and engagement and escalated to the point where King Edward had to choose between his love for Wallis or his duty as King.

On December 11, 1936 it shocked the world when King Edward VIII announced that he was abdicating the throne to “marry the woman I love”.

The controversy their relationship caused didn’t stop there. Gossip followed them wherever they went with rumors about their loyalties to the crown throughout World War II and long after. They were married for 36 years until Edward died in1972.