Edward, the uncrowned king

by Christopher Hibbert

This magnificent pictorial record comprising nearly 300 photographs unfolds, with growing momentum, one of the most dramatic royal stories of our time. Gathered from a collection of more than 5,000 photographs built up from many sources -- including the Duke of Windsor's own private family albums -- the pictures in this book, many of them reproduced here for the first time, cover every aspect of the Duke's life: from his Edwardian childhood, his early years in the Navy, at Oxford, in the first World War and as Britain's Ambassador Extraordinary in America, Canada, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand, to the romantic story of his love for Wallis Simpson, the year of the abdication crisis, and on through nearly 40 years of happiness with the woman he loved.

Edward was no conventional king. The rigid parental discipline of his formative years mad him in turns both shy and rebellious. His charm, good looks and obvious concern for the poor made him a popular Prince of Wales; but his growing independence of spirit--and a certain naivete, which was to mislead even Hitler--prepared him for the central role he was soon to play in the year of abdication. For love of an American divorcee, and for the fulfillment she brought him, Edward was prepared to sacrifice all.

Christopher Hibbert, author of such outstanding royal histories as The Court at Windsor and Charles I, and currently writing a two-volume history of George IV, has contributed a short biography that vividly recaptures the excitement of the period and perfectly complements the most complete visual record of the Windsor story ever to be published.

217 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Christopher Hibbert, MC, FRSL, FRGS (5 March 1924 - 21 December 2008) was an English writer, historian and biographer. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the author of many books, including Disraeli, Edward VII, George IV, The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici, and Cavaliers and Roundheads.

Described by Professor Sir John Plumb as "a writer of the highest ability and in the New Statesman as "a pearl of biographers," he established himself as a leading popular historian/biographer whose works reflected meticulous scholarship.

Reviews

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great pictures.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

The text preceded the (myriad of) pictures, and ruined a smooth sequence of events. A LOT was omitted. If one is seeking any sort of biography, this would not be the ticket.