The pomp and splendour of the coronation marked a new chapter for the monarchy.
But the historic event might never have happened if a royal scandal almost a century ago hadn’t changed the course of history, setting in motion a chain of events that ultimately led to this month’s spectacular ceremony in Westminster Abbey.
Indeed, the monarchy might have collapsed altogether had the King’s grandfather George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth not taken the helm, according to respected US royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith.
The couple unexpectedly found themselves in the top job in December 1936, when George’s older brother Edward VI I I abdicated to marry US divorcée Wallis Simpson.
A MOMENT OF CHANGE
Although this triggered a constitutional crisis, Sally says it was actually a blessing for the royal family because not
