Many times in its history the crown has been best served by those incumbents who were not supposed to inherit – the current Queen of the United Kingdom foremost among them. In February 2022, she will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee – a feat achieved by no other British monarch before her. Her long reign has been characterised by the unwavering sense of duty that she showed from the moment she inherited the throne. But if it had not been for the amorous inclinations of her uncle, Elizabeth II would never have been queen at all.
“I pray to God my eldest son will never marry and have children, and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne,” Elizabeth II’s grandfather, George V, remarked shortly before his death in January 1936. He had always preferred his younger son, Albert, to his elder, Edward, and doted on Bertie’s daughter Elizabeth (‘Lilibet’), who in turn called him ‘Grandpa England’. By contrast, George V’s relationship with his eldest son and heir had never been easy. Edward was the ultimate playboy prince. His striking good looks, charm and unmarried status made him the darling of the press and high society, and he became the most photographed celebrity of the day.
The prince of Wales had a weakness for married women and kept a string of mistresses. It was one of them, Lady Thelma Furness, who in January 1931 introduced the 36-year-old to her fellow American, Wallis Simpson. “She is flat and angular, and could have been designed for a medieval playing card,” was the verdict of one observer. Simpson was neither well educated nor accomplished and could boast few achievements beyond making the most of her second husband’s connections. None of this mattered to Edward. “To him, she was the perfect woman,” a close friend recalled. In
