The King Who Had to Go: Edward VIII, Mrs Simpson and the Hidden Politics of the Abdication Crisis

by Adrian Phillips

that has fascinated the public for decades. Unwilling to accept the idea of the twice-married American as future Queen of England, the government was determined to pressure the King into giving up Mrs. Simpson and, when that failed, into giving up his crown. The King's phone lines were tapped by his own government, dubious police reports poisoned Mrs Simpson's reputation, and threats to sabotage her divorce were deployed to edge the King towards abdication.

The hopeless attempts of the King's allies, particularly Winston Churchill, to keep him on the throne were dismissed as sinister conspiracy, whilst the King wrecked his own chances with wildly unrealistic goals and ill-thought-out schemes that served only to frame him as erratic and unreliable as a monarch. As each side was overwhelmed by desperation and distrust, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin fought to steer events to a smooth conclusion.

In this fascinating behind-the-scenes account of the royal abdication crisis of 1936, Adrian Phillips reveals the previously untold story of the hidden political machinations and insidious battles in Westminster and Whitehall that settled the fate of the King and Mrs Simpson.

Genres: History, Royalty, Nonfiction, Politics, British Literature, Biography, 20th Century

416 pages, Paperback

Published September 4, 2018

Reviews

[Jill Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Britain in the year 1936 had three kings upon its throne. George V died in January, he was succeeded upon his death by his son, Edward VIII, who then abdicated to his younger brother, George VI, in December. British author Adrian Phillips has written an excellent account of the year and how Edward made a right mess of things. Phillips' book is called "The King Who Had to Go: Edward VIII, Mrs Simpson, and the Hidden Politics of the Abdication Crisis".

Edward VIIl’s short, turbulent reign has been covered in a few books, mostly as part of larger biographies or in general histories of the year. (1936 was a very important year, even discounting the abdication.) Phillips' book is the first I've seen devoted directly to the abdication, and part of his title - "the Hidden Politics of the Abdication Crisis" - is what sets his book apart from the others. I think everyone knows about Edward's (known to his family as "David") love and devotion to Wallis Simpson, an American woman with "two husbands still living" and both a dubious past and present.

Prince Edward - the Prince of Wales - had long been worrisome to his family and the politicians who ran the government. He didn't marry and was attracted to married women who he kept as mistresses. He was a popular Prince of Wales, but his father George was dubious that he would be a good king. Unfortunately, as the oldest male child, Edward would succeed his father. In the early 1930's, Edward met Wallis Simpson in London and she soon took over from the previous mistress. By 1935, Edward was determined to both marry her and make her queen when he followed his father to the throne. And it is here where the politicians stepped in to manage - both sides - of the issue - should Edward marry Wallis and make her his queen or should he abdicate?

Winston Churchill, Stanley Baldwin, David Lloyd George, and Neville Chamberlain are only a few of the politicians and other important personages involved in the abdication. Churchill, by this time in his "wilderness years", supported Edward in his plans to keep both the throne and his lady, but failed badly with his support. The Conservative Party, led by Stanley Baldwin, worked with Edward but was in turmoil within the party. Would the government of Baldwin "hold"? The newspaper barons had their own intense interest in the case and published - when they were finally allowed to print details of the King and his romance - stories that affiliated their own political views. Adrian Phillips identifies everyone involved in the resolution of the King and Wallis messy problems and while the book is long, it's certainly never boring.

If you're looking for an excellent book on the Abdication and the people and the politics, this book's the one to pick.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the title, and the exciting blurb, this is a pretty scholarly book. If you want an extremely detailed account of the “top-level machinery of British government” during the abdication crisis of 1936, this is the book for you. If you’re mostly interested in the scandalous and questionably romantic story of the king who gave up his throne for the woman he loves, this is not so much the book for you. I ended up skimming parts of it.

The author has a low opinion of Edward and Mrs. Simpson, and cites an example of how the scandal affected the broader course of history: Churchill’s vocal support for the King damaged his political standing “just at the moment when Britain needed a strong voice warning of the dangers of Nazi Germany.” But mostly this is about the struggle for power between the politicians and civil servants who used the crisis to their advantage, or became paranoid that their opponents would use it to gain power.

I also read The Crown in Crisis, which is a bit more gossipy and offers a less detailed overview of the politics, and I found it more readable for my level of interest. It’s (only slightly) more sympathetic towards Mrs. Simpson, giving her a little credit, unlike the author of this book, for her futile attempts to call a halt to everything at the last moment.

[Anne Zook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a tough book to rate. It’s one of the most interesting books I’ve read about the abdication. The story is told from the government point of view using diaries, and cabinet minutes among other sources. Unfortunately the author has taken a scunner on two senior civil servants, and spends an inordinate amount of time speculating about what they really meant in their notes. I ended up skipping many pages just to get past this; it doesn’t worry me that Sir Horace Wilson may have been unnecessarily gloomy in his outlook, supposedly expecting rioting in the streets. Since none of this had any impact on Stanley Baldwin’s handling of the crisis, it hardly matters. The book does shine an interesting light on Neville Chamberlain. It’s almost as difficult to find an unbiased biography on Chamberlain, so the light thrown on his character is quite interesting. Trouble is, I feel that the author does so much reading between the lines that it’s hard to know what to think of any of it. Overall though it’s quite a good read, and, if you’re interested in the abdication, this book provides a different angle on what was decidedly not the romance of the century.

[Rho · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is for the reader who is seriously interested in the politics of the abdication. The author shows Mrs. Simpson is not completely at fault. It's an interesting book if you like English history and especially the history of the current royal family. It is a very scholarly book about the constitutional crisis but it needed a better editor. Neither the author or the editor was ever introduced to the concept of a paragraph which made the events hard to follow. The book is meticulously researched describing in detail all the events of the constitutional crisis. Thus there is a large cast of characters that makes the story hard to follow. But the bottom line to the entire story is that Edward, is a highly flawed character, immature to the extreme. His companion, Wallis, also seems to have a limited grasp of reality. The truth is told that Edward really did not want to be King . Thank goodness for George VI and Elizabeth -

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful, extremely well-written and constructed, factual background to one of the most significant royal events of last century. I, like many I suspect, have always held a fascination for the story of Wallis and Edward and as a result have had mixed feelings over the outcome of the crisis. No more. This book, researched to within an inch of its life and with the author gaining full and unencumbered access to previously unread diaries, secret documents and letters has opened my eyes to the real story, one which would have been denied the general public of the time. As a result of reading The King Who Had To Go, I have been drawn to reading around the subject as much as I can as I have gone along, and have revelled in the feeling of being greatly enlightened. If our present Prince of Wales were ever in this situation, we would be bombarded with political and social opinion from every media outlet and social media site. The fact that all the background and political management of the crisis was hidden from view has forced public opinion into an almost mythological view of the 'romance' by looking back through rose tinted specs. Phillips' book peels back the layers and shows us that there was much, much more to this story that we had no way of knowing - until now. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in, of course the abdication, but also anyone who wanted to know more about how the government moved to manage the crisis, and how decisions were made about what the public could be told and what and how the real truths were kept from them. Sadly, I suspect little has changed over the years.

[Rho · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is for the reader who is seriously interested in the politics of the abdication. The author shows Mrs. Simpson is not completely at fault. It's an interesting book if you like English history and especially the history of the current royal family. It is a very scholarly book about the constitutional crisis but it needed a better editor. Neither the author or the editor was ever introduced to the concept of a paragraph which made the events hard to follow. The book is meticulously researched describing in detail all the events of the constitutional crisis. Thus there is a large cast of characters that makes the story hard to follow. But the bottom line to the entire story is that Edward, is a highly flawed character, immature to the extreme. His companion, Wallis, also seems to have a limited grasp of reality. The truth is told that Edward really did not want to be King . Thank goodness for George VI and Elizabeth -

[Richard Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a fascinating description and analysis of the abdication of King Edward VIII. The author is clearly unsympathetic (and rightly so) to the King whom he depicts as a light weight utterly self centred man who lacked the quality and patience to be a successful and suitable constitutional monarch. He acknowledges Baldwin’s skills and understanding in the whole affair, contrasting him with Chamberlain’s immaturity. The author writes well and so the book is well worth reading.

[ron holt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly insightful well-written narrative

Reading this book requires total immersion into the substance and fabric of an English life and gives an astute overview of the times and trials which devastated a family and a nation! Well researched and documented book brought this reader into the drawing rooms of people struggling to deal with a looming crisis of major shattering devastation. Human nature for kindness and good intentions were quickly discarded by the forces of incredible deceit, obfuscation and a weak man spoiled by his exalted position. It is clear to this reader that HRH David, Duke of Windsor, was in pure panic at the idea of being King, and desperate to run away. His choice of a woman who was so far from being acceptable was done with the thought of his easily maneuvered attempt to flee the burdens of a life rigidly closing in and abdication with a sizable income and no worries became his mantra. A boy who never reached mental adulthood and a pathetic whiner was free to become a lapdog, wasteful, laughed at, brunt of homosexual jokes, and totally lost. England was saved an horrible future.

[pauline high · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything to do with Wallis Simpson and Edward keeps my attention. A very well written book, a lot of detail, I may read it again at some stage. Their affair caused a constitutional crises, when the Government saw that Edward would not give up Wallis they sought to get rid of him. It is now known to anyone interested in this subject, that Wallis Simpson did not really want to marry Edward. She enjoyed being the mistress of the King, but having an obsessional dependent man stripped off his kingdom and power for the rest of her life, was not something she had planned on. She tried to talk him out of abdication but he refused to let her go. She had the rest of her life, to live the life she never wanted. "Edward VIII had not the vital gifts which make a King - patience and devotion to duty. It was fortunate for the country that he went when he did, the downfall would have been more catastrophic in later years." Stanley Baldwin.

[Liz Pardey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! This book looks at the constitutional problems Edward caused when he decided that he couldn't live without Wallis. There were wheels within wheels and schemes within schemes at Westminster. The Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin had to juggle political pressure from a most ambitious Churchill hoping to profit from the King, and up and comers within his own party. He also had to deal with a reckless irresponsible Edward, highly unsuitable to be king and determined to get his own way no matter who was hurt (including Wallis) on the way. It's a book that smashes the myth of the great love story and makes us realize that the world was much better off without Edward VIII.

[Sue Kelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting information

But presented as dull as a bad textbook. It took me over a month to read it, simp!y because it was so boring I had to keep taking breaks to read something else. Given the personalities of the people involved (none of which sparkle in this book) and the excitement of the period, its hard to imagine how the author could have made it more yawn inducing. Meticulously researched. If the reader wants a thorough rendition of England's laws about divorce in the 1930s, read this book. Otherwise skip it and read 17 Carnations or watch the Windsor episodes of the Crown. Probably not as factual but much more entertaining.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scholarly but not overly

Meticulously researched and engrossing. The large cast of characters and convoluted machinations can make it hard to follow what going on, so have a pen and paper nearby to keep notes. While I can't say I pity her exactly, this book gave me a different understanding of the stresses on Wallis before and during the abdication discussions as well as for the rest of their lives.

[Denise Matthess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually more for the historian and parliamentary scholar, this book tracks how Whitehall pushed Edward along the path to go

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really found this fascinating but it is a book of a very particular angle. Phillips is interested in the politics; specifically, the political machinations that occurred within government and between them, the press, and the royal family - and only that. He leads us through letters and telegrams and meetings where men wrangle about constitutional detail and, in the process, weds the constitutional detail with the occasionally farcical. (I was struck by the chap who flew over to France as part of events, decided to take his doctor because he was freaked out by flying, turns out the doctor's an obstetrician, and now everybody thinks that Mrs Simpson's pregnant).

In terms of style, it does take a while to get going but it's worthwhile persisting. Phillips is comfier in a more academic style but I was amused when his feelings came to the fore. Certain characters are painted in certain lights and I found it interesting that he had some sympathies as well. I don't know as much as I'd like about this period, hence my reading of this in the first place, and I found that he handled an enormous cast of characters pretty well. I'd have welcomed a cast of characters list, perhaps, or maybe a little more contextual detail for newcomers, but overall he does well.

I think what fascinated me the most was just the idea of all these blokes sat in an office and going "what if" and teasing out all these awful and outlandish scenarios. Some of them, Phillips is careful to add, bore little relationship to what was actually was happening, and many of them seemed to be rather more about the settling of old political scores. Fascinating. Exhausting! Politics!

[Elissa Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to read this book, mostly after seeing it in my Kindle suggestions, the cover photo is what drew me to it, and my fascination with Edward and Wallis.

It was a pretty big letdown, I’m afraid to say.

This book entirely revolved around the politics and mechanizations behind the abdication, which after 350 pages, becomes eye-wateringly dry. It was hard to get through.

I did enjoy getting a detailed history of the behind the scenes politics that went into the abdication, but was left with feeling like it was too many boring facts and not enough humanization between the main characters: Edward, Wallis, and the PM Baldwin. This was a love story, perhaps even THE love story of that time period, it had scandal, intrigue, whispers of government collusion and involvement, and yet none of that was included in the manner it should have been in a book about these three people.

Whilst I understand this book was about “the politics surrounding the abdication”, I think this book could have greatly benefited from including some of the above mentioned aspects of this story that make it so desirous to study and understand.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting account of the abdication of King Edward VIII, told entirely from the perspective of the government rather than the royal family. It portrays a whole new side of this event and provides insights into the rising sense among memebers of the government that Edward VIII was totally unsuitable to be king. He was erratic, he was self centered, he was a narcissist, he was childlike in his naïveté. The affair with Wallis Simpson through these characteristics into sharp contrast and he did indeed have to go.

The book paints a very positive picture of prime minister Stanley Baldwin as knowing the pulse of the situation - the people, the parliament and the king - far more than he has previously been given credit for. It also paints a rather damning portrait of Neville Chamberlain (as if that was necessary to prove). It was chamberlain who led the impatient effforts to push Edward off his throne, rather than Baldwin’s approach of letting the king do it to himself.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to call “finished” on this one in order to rate it, even tho I have not, and probably won’t “finish” it as a cover-to-cover read. I heartily recommend it for political science enthusiasts, and I think highly enough of it to keep it in my collection. It’s going into a category I call “dip in and reference.” It reveals a multilayered body of political deeds and events that played roles in driving this crisis, making the abdication a far more complicated event than any other book about it has more than hinted at. It’s probably a vital documentation of the process that rocked the nation and had ripple effects around the world. Highly recommended based on interest, but not easy!

[Grindy Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a number of volumes on Edward VIII and the abdication, and readily apparent in all is why the Royal Family disapproved of the King's intentions toward Mrs. Simpson - they're snobs. The government's level of interest and attention devoted to the matter has always eluded me, perhaps because I'm American. Phillips' book, though tedious in places, shines a light on the political side of things, and the motivations of most characters are clearer to the reader as a result. Highly recommended for Abdication fans.

[Leanne Berry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am very interested in this piece of history and have read many historical accounts of different topics. I got about 50 pages in and called it quits. The writing does not follow a linear timeline but bounces around all over the place, making it hard to follow. It may well have proven interesting if I could have gotten past the lack of a good editor but I just couldn't do it. It was also extremely boring - a bad combination. There must be other, better written accounts of this topic.

[Jackie Manley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a meticulously researched argument on why Edward VIII had to go
And the politics behind his abdication. It was very helpful for me to have read 15 Carnations, which really blows the lid off Wallis Simpson’s Pandora’s Box of political treachery, social climbing, sexual promiscuity , and espionage.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am going to say that I am not a interested in the politics of the abdication as I am the relationships so this book was not, in the end, as interesting to me as I had hoped. If you are interested in the politics surrounding the abdication then this is definitely the book for you.

[George Hodgson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dry in the beginning, but picked up speed later. The general incompetence and superficiality of the King was new to me. He and Wallis Simpson’s association with Nazis and the British Brownshirts was given a light touch. Otherwise a decent read.

[Thom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yet another largely anti-Wallis/David book which, although full of information, still defends those like David's brother, sister-in-law (later King and Queen) and others who shoved David out. Shame as this could've been one of the better books on the subject.

[Stephanie Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good and informative read

Good information not read about previously and a different historical view of the subject. I enjoyed reading this all of this book.

[hazel smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Give five stars. A good interlect read. A bit heavy going at times but worth sticking with till the end.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting details but a cobweb to get through and very poorly written. Other books on the subject are far better

[Megan Hellwig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book goes into extreme detail over the British politics of the time and the actions of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. This is a good pic for someone interested in 20th century British history.

[Arlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the read

I found that the book interesting and quite through. It represented various points of views from a wide variety of people. It seemed to flesh the story.

[Savita Ramsumair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too long

This book was too long. There was too much irrelevant details. There should have been more focus on how this affected Edward's relationship with his family.

[Gabby M · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re at all interested in the British Royal Family, the abdication of Edward VIII will be familiar to you. The broad outlines of the story are no less scandalous for being fairly straightforward: less than a year into his reign, before he’d even had a coronation, Edward renounced his throne for the sake of a singularly unsuitable woman, Wallis Simpson…not only American, not only already once a divorcee, but still married to her second husband. As the head of the Church of England, which did not sanction divorce, and with the unpopularity of Simpson herself, he had no choice but to abdicate if he wanted a future with her. This book is not particularly interested in the Edward and Wallis of it all (though there’s naturally some of that), but rather in exploring how, exactly, the abdication came to be from a government perspective. It’s fact-heavy, relying on primary sources like contemporaneous diaries and memoirs and full of detail about Cabinet meetings. I think it would be a bit too dry for many readers, though the writing itself is pretty lively and it’s pretty easy to tell who author Adrian Phillips likes (like Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin), and who he doesn’t (like Edward and Wallis) because he does not pull punches with his opinions. As someone who works in politics for a living, I found it really interesting because I’m well-acquainted with the way behind-the-scenes political dramas play out and the way they are often quite different than what is presented to the public. I enjoyed this and learned a lot from it, but if you’re looking for something more focused on the Royal Family itself this may not be for you.