In April 1941, the former British King Edward VIII (at this time he abdicated as Duke of Windsor) and his wife, Mrs. Simpson, came to Florida, USA for vacation. A private trip by the former British head of state and wife who had abdicated aroused the strong vigilance of the US President Roosevelt. He immediately arranged intelligence personnel to track and monitor the Duke and Duchess of Windsor for every move.
Why was President Roosevelt so alert to a former head of state in his ally Britain? Is Edward VIII's abdication just as simple as "not loving the country and loving beauty"?
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With the death of "super long standby" Queen Elizabeth II of England , the story about the British royal family was once again talked about. Among all the stories of the British royal family, the story of King Edward VIII abdicating in order to marry the divorced Mrs. Samples is the most famous.
People have always explained this story by "not loving the country and loving beauty", and for a long time, this incident was even praised as a beautiful love story.
The general context of this story is like this: Edward VIII fell in love with Mrs. Simpson at first sight. Even though the latter had been divorced, Edward VIII still decided to marry her.
However, the British people generally do not accept that the king marry a divorced woman. At the same time, Mrs. Simpson is a Catholic. For the Protestant British royal family, a Catholic cannot be allowed to become a queen.
The cabinet headed by Prime Minister Baldwin gave Edward VIII two choices: either give up marrying Mrs. Simpson or abdicate.
Edward VIII finally chose not to love the country and beauties, and gave way to his younger brother George VI (the father of Elizabeth II) to marry Mrs. Simpson.
George VI, who inherited the throne, conferred his abdicated brother as Duke of Windsor. Later, George VI fought side by side with Prime Minister Churchill and others and finally defeated Nazi Germany with other allies. The abdicated Duke of Windsor traveled around the countries and spent a happy life.
If this is the whole truth of the story, everyone in the story gets what they want, and leaves a romantic love story for the world. However, as more truths are revealed, we will find that beautiful love is just a fig leaf, and behind it is the cancer of the Nazis, the marriage of the century, the intrigue and betting of the British royal family, each of which makes people feel creepy.
The shadow of the Nazi
Edward VIII ascended the throne in January 1936 and abdicated in December. He only stayed in the position of the King of England for 326 days. In the same year, the Berlin Olympics was held, and Hitler delivered a speech at the Olympics, showing the world the powerful strength of Nazi Germany.
In 1937, the Duke of Windsor, who had just abdicated for less than a year, met with Hitler. It is said that the two discussed many issues, and the meeting between them was very pleasant.
In fact, Hitler's attention to the former British king began a few years ago. In 1933, Hitler, who had just become the head of Germany, actually cared about the marriage of Edward VIII, who was still the Prince of Wales at that time.
Hitler once expressed his hope that the prince of Wales would marry the German princess Friedric, who is the granddaughter of the German emperor William II.
This marriage was rejected by the British royal family on the grounds that the age difference between the two was too large, but this largely reflected Hitler's calculations: to show kindness to the British royal family through family marriage, laying the groundwork for future actions.
The marriage between Britain and the German royal family has been around for a long time. The British king The Hanover dynasty , which started Hannover dynasty is from Germany . During World War I, in order to appease the British people, King George V of England gave up his German surname and changed the royal surname to "Windsor".
"Big Beard" Hitler was not a lunatic from the beginning. He also hoped to use political means to stabilize Britain and ease the relationship with Germany. This time, he was so "minded" about the Prince of Wales' marriage.
The marriage between Edward VIII and Nazi Germany is much more than that. After retreating from the position of British King, the exchanges between the Duke of Windsor and the German senior management never stopped.
The Duke of Windsor has his wife with him after his abdication Walice Simpson has lived in France for a long time, where the couple had close contacts with some senior officials of the Nazi German government. One of them also had an affair with Mrs. Simpson. The person who had a affair with Mrs. Simpson is very important, as will be explained in detail below.
Behind the Appeasement
In the movie "Darkest Moment", King George VI of England encouraged the morale of the British people and called on the people to fight to the end when the Nazi German army swept across the European continent. The image of George VI in the movie is also roughly in line with reality. In the early days of the war, George VI rejected the cabinet's proposal to withdraw the royal family from London, and delivered a speech to the British people on Christmas that year, inspiring the British people to unite and fight against Nazi Germany to the end.
However, what is portrayed in the movie is the image of King George VI of England after the war begins, and before the war begins, King George VI of England's attitude towards Nazi Germany is quite interesting.
Germany blitz Poland Before the UK had always had fantasies about Germany, and Prime Minister Chamberlain always insisted on believing that it was feasible to avoid war through negotiations.
In 1938, Nazi Germany made territorial demands on Sudeten region. Although Hitler repeatedly stated in a manner similar to making a poisonous oath: this is Germany's last territorial demand, Chamberlain, as a politician, should not be blinded by this obvious lie. When Chamberlain returned to the UK with the " Munich Agreement" that sacrificed the interests of Czechoslovakia and announced that peace had arrived, King George VI of the British praised Prime Minister Chamberlain's "merits".
George VI is by no means a political novice. He will not be unable to see what ambitions Nazi Germany has. His appreciation for Chamberlain makes people wonder whether there is any conflict between the overall interests of Britain and the interests of the royal family in the British king's calculations?
Of course, after the British and Nazi Germany broke up completely, King George VI of Britain made up his mind to stand on the side of Britain and the United States. In addition to constantly encouraging the British people to fight against the German army, he also turned to the United States to consolidate the British and American alliance.
George VI can only be called "ambiguity" in his attitude towards the Nazis, but his brother Duke Windsor's attitude towards the Nazis is no longer enough to describe it as "ambiguity", and a more appropriate description is "suspicious".
unknown forced ward
When discussing the abdication of Edward VIII, people will mention that Prime Minister Baldwin threatened Edward VIII by threatening the collective resignation of all cabinet members, demanding that he either give up marrying Mrs. Simpson or abdicate.
In this single storyline, Prime Minister Baldwin's image seems to be very aggressive, but in fact, during Edward VIII's less than one year term, there was not only Prime Minister Baldwin's forced palace, but Edward VIII also threatened Prime Minister Baldwin with abdication as a threat.
The incident that threatened Edward VIII with abdication was the Nazi German army entering the Rhine Demilitarization zone. Hitler's order to enter the Rhine Demilitarization zone was undoubtedly a blatant violation of the "HTM1 Treaty of Versailles ", but when Prime Minister Baldwin planned to convene an anti-German alliance to impose sanctions on Nazi Germany, Edward VIII said that "no interference in Germany's internal affairs."
"The Rhine region is German territory. The Treaty of Versailles prohibits Germany from garrisoning troops on its own territory is a trampling on Germany's sovereignty." These statements are exactly the core view of the Nazi Party, but it is obvious that compared with the Treaty of Versailles that safeguards British interests, King Edward VIII seems to care more about Germany's interests.
Edward VIII had this special relationship with Germany, on the one hand, it was related to his German descent and his life in Germany, and on the other hand, it was related to an important person.
Edward VIII is different from his father George V . He attaches great importance to bloodline. The blood relationship between the British king and the Tsar made him feel extremely angry when the Bolsheviks overthrew the Tsar's rule. The fact that the British royal family came from Germany made Edward VIII have an inexplicable sense of identity with Germany. This sense of identity can be reflected in the repeated praises of Germany when he was the Prince of Wales.
Of course, this alone is not enough to make Edward VIII (including his wife) still get along with Germany in the hostility of Britain and Germany. The induction of an important person in also played a significant role, and this person is another protagonist of the scandal incident of Mrs. Simpson.
Important figure
Joachim von Ribbintrop 1893 was born in Seville, Germany. You may feel unfamiliar with the name, but friends who are familiar with the history of World War II must know the "Soviet-German Treaty of Non-aggression" signed by the Soviet Union and Germany. Another name of this treaty is "Molotov-Ribbintrop ".
Molotov and Ribbintrop are the foreign ministers of the Soviet Union and Germany.
Ribbintrop was an important member of the Nazi German government, which promoted the establishment of the three-way alliance between Germany, Italy and Japan, and directly participated in the invasion of the Sudetenland region and the military operation of blitzkrieg attack on Poland. After World War II, he was captured by the British army and sentenced to hang in the Nuremberg trial .
Ribbintrov served as ambassador to the UK for a long time before serving as the Minister of Defense of Nazi Germany. He was handsome and eloquent. After meeting Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson, who were still Prince of Wales, he quickly gained the favor of both of them. They deeply agreed with many of Ribbintrov's views. There are rumors that Mrs. Simpson also maintained an improper relationship with Ribbintrov after marrying Edward VIII, who has become the Duke of Windsor. Regardless of whether the rumors are true or false, it is a foregone conclusion that Ribbintrov had a huge impact on Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson.
It is reported that the Duke of Windsor who moved to France after abdication was not happy, and he drank all day long to relieve his sorrows, while Mrs. Simpson seemed more free and easy. She often attended banquets of local celebrities and maintained close contact with Ribbin Trov, and during this period it was likely that intelligence transmission was involved.
If we look at the abdication of King Edward VIII from this dimension, we can draw another conclusion: the so-called love between Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson is just an appearance. The Edwards' pro-German position and the ambiguous relationship with the Nazis are the key. Compared to marrying a divorced Catholic woman, a king and queen who agree with Nazi Germany in her heart is absolutely unacceptable to British society.
All of this can also be verified from the outbreak of World War II, the appointment of the Duke of Windsor by Churchill.
In August 1940, the Nazi German army was sweeping Europe. British Prime Minister Churchill transferred the Duke of Windsor, who was in Europe, to the Americas to serve as the governor of Panama. At first, the Duke of Windsor was unwilling to accept this appointment, but Churchill said with a tough attitude that this order must be implemented, and the Duke of Windsor and his wife went to Panama to take office.
Churchill's move made the Duke of Windsor away from Europe very obvious. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who were in the Americas, went to the United States for a trip the second year after taking office. This was the scene at the beginning of the article. It can be seen that not only the British government, but also Americans on the other side of the ocean have serious doubts about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The abacus behind
Churchill once said: There are no eternal friends, only eternal interests, and this sentence is also in line with the values of most British people: only actual interests are the highest criterion that drives British people to take action.
So German descent alone and Ribbintrop's brainwashing is not enough to make King Edward VIII have too strong recognition of Nazi Germany. What really makes Edward VIII willing to continue to maintain an ambiguous relationship with the Nazi top leaders is only the actual interests.
Edward VIII met Hitler the second year after abdicating and becoming the "Duke of Windsor", and after moving to France, contacted senior officials with Nazi governments significantly increased. After all, these were due to interests.
Hitler once made a fuss about the royal families of Britain and Germany, which made Edward VIII believe that Hitler still agreed with the British royal bloodline as a whole.
And according to Hitler's racist theory: Anglo-Saxons are relatively close to Germanic in terms of blood. In other words, although the Ansas are not as good as the Germanic, they are also "more excellent" nations. According to Hitler's habits, for "more excellent" nations, they generally use the method of supporting pro-Nazi regimes (even puppet regimes are not considered, and the heads of state still have a considerable control over the state) to exploit them instead of directly occupying them.
Based on this perception, it is not surprising that Edward VIII had the idea of using Nazi Germany to help himself regain the throne of the British king.
Some intelligence shows that the second-ranked Nazi Germany, Herman Goring, once clearly told Edward VIII that as long as the British Empire surrendered to Nazi Germany, it would support it to ascend the throne again.
If there is no such interest relationship, even if there is sympathy and recognition for Germany in the heart, when Britain and Germany are completely hostile, Edward VIII's reaction is likely to be the same as his younger brother George VI. If the intimate relationship that is obviously inconsistent with the country's relations, it will be difficult to maintain it after Britain and Germany have already started a full war.
bets on both sides
For the British royal family, the interest relationship is extremely complex. On the one hand, as the royal family of the British Empire, they should be consistent with the interests of the British Empire. But on the other hand, as far as their family is concerned, they are related to many European royal families and nobles such as Germany, Tsarist Russia, and . If you only protect the interests of the royal family, these relationships can be used.
England and Germany began fighting in 1939, and Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor) was sent to Panama by Prime Minister Churchill on August 8, 1940, which illustrates a problem: During the more than a year in between, the British royal family turned a blind eye to what the Duke of Windsor did.
If we combine the European war situation at that time, it is easy to understand this attitude of the British royal family. At that time, the German Nazi army was in full swing. It is still unknown whether Britain could block the German army with English Channel , and there are also many voices of peace with the Nazis in parliament. No one can determine where the relationship between Britain and Germany will go in the future.
From this perspective, it is not bad to leave a abdicated king close to the Nazis with the development of this abdicated Duke of Windsor back to Britain and become King Edward VIII, and the rule of the British royal family can continue.
When the Duke of Windsor had ambiguous relationship with Nazi Germany, King George VI of Britain went to the United States and became the first British king to visit the United States. Between the two superpowers of the United States, the British royal family also completed two bets. Nazi Germany's overall strength was not as strong as the United States, and even worse than Britain and the United States, so the bigger bargaining chips were pressed against Britain itself and the United States.
For the sake of self-interest, these small actions of the British royal family are understandable, but understanding does not mean support. As Britain and Germany are already in the same situation and the United States' support continues to increase, British Prime Minister Churchill transferred the Duke of Windsor to the Americas, cutting off the idea of betting on both sides of the British royal family.
The Duke of Windsor's Governor's position ended on July 28, 1945. At that time, Nazi Germany had surrendered, and the Duke of Windsor's position was no longer important. The Duke of Windsor, who ended his term as Governor, did not appear in politics again, but traveled around the world with his wife to spend his retirement. The outside world's attention to the legendary couple also decreased significantly. Until his death in 1972, the Duke of Windsor did not return to the public's vision again.
In order to maintain the reputation of the royal family, the UK and its allies have downplayed the political stance of King Edward VIII and only showed the public a chic and romantic love story. It was not until the beginning of this century that former officials of the FBI revealed some details, giving the world a chance to have a glimpse of the political calculations hidden behind the romantic love story. As for the full picture of this story, it can only be learned by people until the relevant documents are further decrypted.
When the unsetting sun sets from the sea, people have the opportunity to see how many secrets are hidden under the deep sea.
References:
[1] Gao Pei-chan. Edward VIII almost became Hitler's agent [J]. Contemporary Guangxi, 2015(10): 63.
[2] Gao Pei-chan. Edward VIII's "Friends of the Nazis" [J]. Science Grand View Garden, 2015(12): 55-56.
