The People's King: The True Story of the Abdication

by Susan Williams

The People's King follows the six intense weeks leading up to the abdication of Edward VIII, considered by many to be among the most compelling love stories of the last century. Just six months before their wedding, the only people who had heard of Wallis Simpson were those people who belonged to the tiny social circle surrounding the royal family. Press coverage and newsreels were strictly censored. Through contemporary letters and diaries, many never before published, Susan Williams demonstrates the huge popularity of the King and the events that led to his downfall.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction

293 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2003

About the author

Susan Williams has published widely on Africa, decolonisation and the global power shifts of the twentieth century. Her widely acclaimed book on the founding president of Botswana, Colour Bar (Penguin, 2006), recently became a major motion picture (A United Kingdom). Who Killed Hammarskjöld? (2011) triggered a fresh UN inquiry into the death of the secretary general. She is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London.

Reviews

[Ant Koplowitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

The People’s King: The True Story of the Abdication by Susan Williams is pretty much standard fare about the subject. It’s a competently written account, but relies far too heavily on long transcripts of contemporaneous letters from members of the public (mostly), and sent to the government and Edward VIII. I guess this is what the author was referring to as being “the true story”, as it provides an account of what some members of ‘the public’ thought about the abdication crisis at the time.

My disappointment concerns the limited analysis of the public’s views. So, although clearly well-researched, we don’t really gain any depth of understanding about the abdication or the main protagonists in the drama. Stanley Baldwin, the British Prime Minister, comes in for a lot of flack, and the theory that that there was a long-standing conspiracy to force Edward from the throne (because he was seen as too radical for the role of king) is mentioned in passing, but it is never explored in any depth. Williams does not provide any further insights, and we have no better understanding of the motivations of those involved.

I didn’t learn anything new - Philip Ziegler’s official biography of Edward, published in 1990, contains all you need to know about the subject. All in all, this was a missed opportunity.

© Koplowitz 2016

[Duckpondwithoutducks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was reading and thoroughly enjoying Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness mysteries in which Wallis Simpson makes several catty appearances and I was curious to know whether this portrayal of her was accurate. So I got two biographies from the library, this one, and The Duchess Of Windsor: A Secret Life by Charles Higham. When learning about historical characters, I always like to read several books, to get a well-rounded portrait, as every historian writes from their own particular bias or viewpoint. But if several sources agree, then you can be pretty sure that the facts are accurate. Well, these two books painted quite different pictures. In this book, the author stated that Wallis' father died before she was born. In The Duchess Of Windsor: A Secret Life, the author said that at the time of Wallis' birth her parents weren't married, but did marry a bit later, and then her father died while she was still very young. There's definitely a contradiction there! In this book Edward VIII is portayed as being a breath of fresh air, clearing out stuffy and unnecssary traditions in the royal household. In The Duchess Of Windsor: A Secret Life, he is portrayed as being uncaring as to the feelings of those in the royal household and changing things arbitrarily. I guess I'll have to read a third biography and see what they say!

[Kathy Sheridan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spurred by curiosity after watching "The King's Speech" I picked this book up at the library so I could better understand about the abdication of King Edward. This was a well researched and documented book that has totally changed my mind about the King's love affair with Wallis Simpson. This was truly a great love and the abdication was forced upon him by the Prime Minister and his cabinet because they didn't want a king that was interested in helping the poor and unemployed. How different the world would be if he hadn't been hounded out of the throne. How different if he had been able to hear the support he had from the common (non-noble)people of England and the Dominians. The author read a lot of diaries to make her point. I recommend this book, but you may want to skim large passages of it, as she seems to say the same thing over and over.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and well-researched book about a situation I always found fascinating! It seems quite fitting--reading something about choices and love--in today's modern America. There will always be "Roundheads" and "cavaliers" and a huge battle over the right to marry the person you love. English society seemed ok with the "secret American girlfriend". Just always a big problem when people in love want to make it official.

I learned so much about Edward and his world views...his disposition. He wasn't like the others, which made him unacceptable to the old guard but beloved by the masses.

Also, as a historian, I find the amount of extant resources and archival material that Susan Williams drew her story from quite fantastic.

[Helen Birkbeck · Rating 2 out of 5]

The good points: a lot of research must have gone into this and it maintains pace well enough as the abdication crisis unfolds. When the author describes certain people and their actions and reactions, she makes them come alive so we can sympathise with them.

The not-so-good: I began to lose focus because of the pages and pages of letters to and about Edward that the author says he himself probably never saw. There is a clear bias against the PM, the government, the royal family and the upper classes, which may be fair, but there is little attempt to explain why they acted as they did. Edward's visit to South Wales is praised over and over again and seems the main reason for objecting to the abdication. But surely anyone with a heart would have said, 'Something must be done', and he knew he couldn't and wouldn't be able to do much about it, so it doesn't seem to me to make him the 'working-class hero' the book tries to depict. The Windsors' relationship is described as a great romance, but others have shown that it was not necessarily what it seemed.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.5 really It was a bit repetitive- there are so many letters here from the public all saying the same thing - this really could have been shorter and I’m not sure if the writer is biased but there was no nuance in the writing you could tell she was a fan of Edward. I did enjoy this book though - I knew nothing about the abdication and didn’t realise Edward was such a popular figure among the working classes and such a disliked figure among those in power! I would like to read another book on the subject though. Also is there really such a thing as a People’s King!?! The book praises Edward for being a man of the people but he grew up in huge privilege and continued to live a privileged life so not sure that can ever be said for anyone in this position?!?

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

surprisingly i did not prefer this account of the abdication.

[Rita Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much better than the recent tv series, which was very unsupportive of the king.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dry, particularly compared with the salacious stories surrounding the abdication, but it does present an interesting view of Edward as king that you usually don't read about.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really well researched, but mind-numbingly detailed slog through a series of facts and quotes, and not readable writing.