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1. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
3rd June 1937: Edward, Duke of Windsor, marries Wallis Simpson
On 16 November 1936, king Edward VIII invited British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin to Buckingham Palace and expressed his desire to marry Wallis Simpson when she became free to remarry. Baldwin informed him that his subjects would deem the marriage morally unacceptable, largely because remarriage after divorce was opposed by the Church of England, and the people would not tolerate Simpson as queen. As king, Edward was the titular head of the Church of England, and the clergy expected him to support the Church's teachings.
Edward informed Baldwin that he would abdicate if he could not marry Simpson. Baldwin then presented Edward with three choices: give up the idea of marriage; marry against his ministers' wishes; or abdicate. It was clear that Edward was not prepared to give up Simpson, and he knew that if he married against the advice of his ministers, he would cause the government to resign, prompting a constitutional crisis. He chose to abdicate.
Edward duly signed the instruments of abdication at Fort Belvedere on 10 December 1936 in the presence of his younger brothers. On the night of 11 December 1936, Edward, now reverted to the title and style of a prince, explained his decision to abdicate in a worldwide radio broadcast. He famously said, "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love." Edward departed Britain for Austria the following day; he was unable to join Simpson until her divorce became absolute, several months later.
On 12 December 1936, at the accession meeting of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, George VI announced he was to make his brother "His Royal Highness The Duke of Windsor". He wanted this to be the first act of his reign, although the formal documents were not signed until 8 March the following year. During the interim, Edward was universally known as the Duke of Windsor. George VI's decision to create Edward a royal duke ensured that he could neither stand for election to the House of Commons nor speak on political subjects in the House of Lords.
The Duke of Windsor married Simpson, who had changed her name by deed poll to Wallis Warfield, in a private ceremony on 3 June 1937, at Château de Candé, near Tours, France. When the Church of England refused to sanction the union, a County Durham clergyman, the Reverend Robert Anderson Jardine (Vicar of St Paul's, Darlington), offered to perform the ceremony, and the Duke accepted. The new king, George VI, forbade members of the Royal Family to attend to the lasting resentment of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Edward had particularly wanted his brothers the Dukes of Gloucester and Kent and his second cousin Louis Mountbatten to attend the ceremony.
During World War 2 Edward was appointed governor of the Bahamas. At the end of the war, the couple returned to France and spent the remainder of their lives essentially in retirement as the Duke never occupied another official role. The Duke's allowance was supplemented by government favours and illegal currency trading. The Duke and Duchess effectively took on the role of celebrities and were regarded as part of café society in the 1950s and 1960s. They hosted parties and shuttled between Paris and New York. Edward died in 1972, an Wallis in 1986.
Though Edward subsequently denied being pro-Nazi in his memoirs, his personal elitist views, racism and anti-semitism certainly embarrassed the British Government and the Nazis clearly saw him as an ally - Edward received a warm reception in Nazi Germany on a visit in 1937. Edward's abdication and replacement by his brother, the much-less charismatic but popular George VI, meant that a king much more suited to the needs of the country in the war years and afterwards was on the throne.
2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Missus Time
Shift 1 of the Weekend Job
TV comedy night
Twitter Followers = 2,251 (down 1)
Never-followed unfollowers eliminated = 0
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Followed unfollowers eliminated = 1
@shirey_brian
New Followers followed back = 0
-Spammers not followed back = 0
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3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION
Yesterday was an excellent blend of me time and making Missus day, furnishing her with high tea, new tights and new jeans. With Son away, we could fully express ourselves in all ways and it was something of a honeymoon day.
I consciously chose to forget my Practice for a week and indulge self and Missus, and have no regrets doing so!
I feel fully entitled to revel in liking myself and the people around me after a life where that was not the case. I would very much like for the back third of this life experience to carry on being how it is now!
This of course is PREFERENCE and not necessarily occurrence. I must therefore be very grateful for but not identified with my current circumstances. Consciousness needs to be focused on this moment and the difference I'm making in it, in order for this life experience to be the most fulfilling. It's ultimate universal purpose is as a blueprint for the universe to increase its self-knowledge through its avatars.
I have effectively "made it" under circumstances I could not have possibly suspected would lead to bliss. I an scarcely believe I'm "here" and will savour every second I'm in it whilst still in it!
4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
What is your life for?
5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
In brief
Dry, cool and cloudy
Details
Moon
Weathertrack
Air Pressure
1019 millibars and falling slightly
6. TODAY'S ONELINER
To call a family meeting, simply turn off the WiFi router and wait next to it for everyone to arrive. :D
7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!
NMTB: Frankie Boyle on Michael McIntyre
8. TRIVIA
In the average adult, the skin covers 12-20 square feet and accounts for 12% of body weight.
9. ZEN WISDOM
Human beings are inherently endowed with the power to bring out the best possible results from the worst possible circumstances.
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