What would have happened if Edward VIII had not abdicated?

History often turns on seemingly personal decisions that cascade into world-changing consequences. Few such moments are more intriguing than Edward VIII’s 1936 abdication from the British throne.

The conventional narrative presents this as a simple choice between love and duty – the King who gave up his crown to marry the woman he loved.

But what if Edward VIII had chosen differently? What if he had remained King, setting Britain and the world on a dramatically different course during one of the most crucial periods of the 20th century?

Table Of Contents

1. The Immediate Aftermath: 1936-1939
2. The Gathering Storm: 1939-1941
3. King Edward VIII's Impact on the Commonwealth
4. The Special Relationship
5. The Monarchy's Future
6. Impact on Post-War Britain
7. Cultural and Social Impact of Edward VIII as King
8. Final Thoughts: What if Edward VIII Remained King
Further Reading

1. The Immediate Aftermath: 1936-1939

The most immediate impact of Edward VIII decision to remain king would have been a constitutional crisis unlike anything Britain had experienced since the Glorious Revolution.

Edward VIII’s determination to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee, would have forced a showdown with both the Church of England and Stanley Baldwin’s government.

As Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the King’s marriage to a divorced woman whose previous husbands were still living was doctrinally impossible to reconcile with church teaching at the time.

Prime Minister Baldwin, who had strongly opposed the marriage, would likely have been forced to resign. This could have triggered a governmental crisis at a crucial moment in European history.

The mid-1930s were a period of mounting international tension, with Nazi Germany rapidly rearming and Italy pursuing aggressive expansion in Africa. A Britain consumed by internal constitutional turmoil would have been distracted from these gathering storms.

The likely compromise would have been some form of morganatic marriage, where Wallis Simpson would not have been recognized as Queen. This unprecedented arrangement would have damaged the monarchy’s prestige and created ongoing tension between the Palace and government.

The British public, initially enthusiastic about their new, modern king, would have found their loyalty tested by this constitutional improvisation.

2. The Gathering Storm: 1939-1941

The most profound implications of Edward VIII remaining on the throne would have emerged with the outbreak of World War 2.

Edward’s well-documented Nazi sympathies, including his 1937 visit to Germany where he met Hitler and gave Nazi salutes, would have placed Britain in an impossible position as war approached.

Unlike the steady leadership of George VI, who alongside his wife became a symbol of British resistance during the Blitz, Edward VIII’s presence on the throne would have been deeply problematic. His known defeatist attitudes and admiration for Nazi Germany would have undermined Churchill’s leadership and Britain’s war effort.

There are even suggestions, based on wartime intelligence files, that Nazi Germany saw Edward as a potential puppet monarch in the event of a successful invasion of Britain.

The government would have faced an excruciating dilemma.

Removing the King during wartime would have been destabilizing, but leaving a Nazi sympathizer as head of state during Britain’s finest hour would have been unthinkable.

Churchill, who had been one of Edward’s strongest supporters during the abdication crisis, would have found his position as wartime leader severely compromised by his association with the King.

3. King Edward VIII’s Impact on the Commonwealth

The ramifications would have extended far beyond Britain’s shores.

The Dominions – Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa – had strongly opposed Edward’s marriage to Wallis Simpson in 1936. Their continued opposition to a morganatic marriage arrangement could have accelerated the loosening of imperial bonds.

The King was a crucial symbolic link between Britain and its Empire.

Edward VIII’s controversial marriage and pro-German leanings might have pushed the Dominions to assert greater independence earlier than historically occurred.

Canada, particularly vulnerable to any hint of Nazi sympathy given its crucial role in the North American alliance with the United States, might have led such a movement.

4. The Special Relationship

Anglo-American relations would have suffered significantly.

President Roosevelt, who viewed Edward VIII with suspicion and was well-informed about his pro-Nazi leanings, would have found it difficult to forge the close wartime alliance that proved crucial to Allied victory.

Wallis Simpson’s American nationality, rather than strengthening trans-Atlantic ties, would have complicated them further, given her own alleged connections to Nazi Germany.

The “special relationship” that developed between Britain and America during World War 2, personified by the friendship between Churchill and Roosevelt, might never have materialized in the same way. This could have had profound implications for the conduct of the war and the post-war international order.

5. The Monarchy’s Future

Perhaps the most lasting impact would have been on the British monarchy itself.

The modernization and renewal of the institution under George VI and Elizabeth II might never have occurred. George VI and his wife Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother) proved exceptionally skilled at adapting the monarchy to democratic age expectations while maintaining its dignity and mystique.

Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson had no children, meaning the succession would eventually have passed to Princess Elizabeth anyway. However, she would have inherited a very different institution.

The monarchy’s prestige, severely damaged by Edward’s wartime position, might not have recovered. The Queen’s seven-decade reign, marked by stability and careful adaptation to changing times, might instead have been spent rebuilding a tarnished institution.

6. Impact on Post-War Britain

A weakened monarchy would have had significant implications for post-war Britain. The Royal Family’s role in national rebuilding and renewal after 1945 was considerable. George VI and his family’s shared experience of the Blitz with ordinary Londoners created a powerful bond between crown and people. Edward VIII, with his luxury-loving reputation and Nazi sympathies, would have offered a very different model.

The social changes of the 1960s might have proved fatal to a monarchy already compromised by its wartime record. Republican sentiment, historically weak in Britain, might have found fertile ground in a country questioning its institutions and traditional values.

7. Cultural and Social Impact of Edward VIII as King

The abdication crisis generated countless books, films, and television shows, most recently “The Crown.”

In our alternative timeline, the narrative would be very different – less a romantic sacrifice for love, more a cautionary tale about duty and democracy in conflict.

Edward VIII’s decision to stay would have denied history one of its great love stories, but provided instead a darker tale about the dangers of unrestrained privilege and the importance of constitutional restraints on monarchy. The public’s relationship with the Royal Family would likely be more questioning and less deferential.

8. Final Thoughts: What if Edward VIII Remained King

Had Edward VIII not abdicated in 1936, the course of 20th-century British and world history would have been profoundly different.

The most serious implications would have emerged during World War 2, where his presence on the throne could have fatally undermined Britain’s war effort and her crucial alliance with the United States.

The monarchy itself might not have survived in its current form, at least not with its present influence and respect. The institution’s success in adapting to modern democracy while maintaining its ceremonial dignity owes much to George VI and Elizabeth II – a legacy that would never have emerged had Edward VIII remained king.

This historical “what if” reminds us that personal choices can have vast historical consequences. Edward VIII’s abdication, while traumatic for the monarchy at the time, may have saved it by bringing to the throne individuals better suited to the challenges of war and democratic modernity. Sometimes, as this case suggests, apparent crises can prove to be disguised opportunities for renewal and adaptation.