Born – 23rd June 1894
Died – 28th May 1972
Father – King George V 1865 – 1936
Mother – Mary of Teck 1867 – 1953
Spouse – m. 1937 – Wallis Simpson 1896 – 1986
Children – None
King of England – 1936
Predecessor – George V – 1910 – 1936
Successor – George VI – 1936 – 1952
1894 (23rd June)
King Edward VIII was born Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David to Mary of Teck and Prince George, second son of Queen Victoria, at White Lodge, Richmond Park, Surrey. He was called David by the family.
1894 (16th July)
Edward was baptised in the Green Room of White Lodge, Richmond Park by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
1895 (14th December)
Edward’s brother, Albert Frederick Arthur George was born to Mary of Teck and Prince George at York Cottage, Sandringham, Norfolk. He was officially styled Prince Albert of York.
1897 (25th April)
Edward’s sister Mary was born.
1899 (during)
Edward was tutored at home by a governess, Helen Bricka.
1900 (31st March)
Edward’s brother Henry was born.
1901 (22nd January)
Queen Victoria died. She was succeeded by her son Bertie, who became King Edward VII. Edward was now second in line to the throne after his father.
1901 (February)
Edward and his siblings went to stay with their grandparents, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra while their parents made an extended tour of the British Empire.
1901 (9th November)
Edward’s father, Prince George, was created Prince of Wales.
1901 (late)
Edward was tutored by Henry Hansell.
1902 (20th December)
Edward’s brother George was born.
1905 (12th July)
Edward’s brother John was born.
1907 (during)
Prince Edward joined Osborne Naval College.
1909 (during)
Edward joined the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth.
1909 (during)
Edward’s brother, John began having epileptic seizures. He may also have been autistic.
1910 (6th May)
King Edward VII died. Edward’s father became King George V and Edward, now heir to the throne, was created Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothsay.
1910 (23rd June)
Prince Edward was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.
1910 (Summer)
Edward was taken out of the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth and put on the battleship Hindustan as a midshipman.
1910 (September)
Edward joined Magdalen College, Oxford.
1911 (13th July)
Prince Edward was formally invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle.
1913 (during)
Edward left Magdalen College having failed to gain any qualifications.
1914 (June)
Edward joined the Grenadier Guards.
1914 (28th July)
World War One began after Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. Edward was not allowed to serve on the front line but often visited troops on the battlefields.
1917 (during)
Edward had a romantic relationship with Parisian Marguerite Alibert.
1918 (during)
Edward ended his relationship with Marguerite Alibert and began a relationship with Freda Dudey Ward a married heiress.
1919 (during)
Prince Edward made a tour of Canada.
1919 (18th January)
Edward’s brother John died following a severe epileptic seizure.
1919 (31st July)
Edward’s brother, Albert qualified as an RAF pilot. He was the first member of the royal family to become a qualified pilot.
1923 (26th April)
Edward’s brother, Albert, married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey.
1926 (21st April)
A daughter, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, was born to Prince Albert and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at 17 Bruton Street, London. She was known as Lilibet by the family.
1930 (during)
Edward’s father gave him Fort Belvedere in Berkshire.
1930 (21st August)
A daughter Margaret Rose was born to Prince Albert and Elizabeth at Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland.
1931 (January)
Edward and his brother George made a four-month tour of South America .
1931 (June)
Prince Edward met Wallis Simpson at a party hosted by Lady Furness.
1936 (20th January)
Edward’s father, King George V died and Edward, took the throne as King Edward VIII.
1936 (16th July)
Jerome Bannigan, aka George Andrew McMahon was seen on Constitution Hill with a loaded revolver as Edward was riding in the area. He claimed that he had been hired to kill Edward but was not believed and was imprisoned for a year.
1936 (August)
King Edward and Wallis cruised the Mediterranean on the yacht Nahlin.
1936 (27th October)
Wallis Simpson filed for divorce from her husband.
1936 (November)
King Edward VIII opened parliament.
1936 (16th November)
Edward told Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin that he wished to marry Wallis Simpson when her divorce was finalised. The royal family, politicians and the Church of England were firmly opposed to Edward marrying Wallis Simpson.
1936 (10th December)
Edward signed abdication papers at Fort Belvedere. A clause was included that Edward would live abroad and would only be allowed to return to the UK by personal invitation of the sovereign.
1936 (11th December)
King Edward VIII formally abdicated the throne so that he could marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. He made a public broadcast to the nation explaining that he could not be King without the woman he loved. That evening he left Britain for Austria where he would wait for Wallis’s divorce to become final.
1936 (11th December)
Edward’s brother, Albert, reluctantly took the throne as King George VI of Great Britain and Emperor of India. He chose the name George to emphasise continuity with the reign of his father, George V.
1936 (12th December)
Edward was created Duke of Windsor by his brother King George VI. He retained the style HRH.
1937 (27th May)
Letters patent determined that the style Royal Highness would only be applicable to Edward and would not be held by his wife or his descendants. The government refused to grant Edward money from the Civil List. He was paid an allowance by George VI but did not feel that it was enough.
1937 (3rd June)
Edward married Wallis Simpson in a private ceremony at Chateau de Cande, Tours, France. Members of the British royal family were forbidden to attend by King George VI.
1937 (October)
Edward and Wallis Simpson travelled to Nazi Germany and met Adolf Hitler. The tour led to rumours that Edward was a Nazi sympathiser.
1939 (May)
The Duke of Windsor recorded a radio broadcast where he called for peace. The BBC refused to broadcast it though it was broadcast in other countries. The broadcast led to further accusations of Edward being pro appeasing Hitler.
1940 (February)
The German ambassador in the Hague claimed that Edward had leaked allied plans for the defence of Belgium. The claim was denied by Edward.
1940 (May)
Edward and Wallis fled to Biarritz in the south of France after the Germans invaded France.
1940 (June)
Edward and Wallis fled to Spain after France fell to Nazi Germany.
1940 (July)
Edward and Wallis moved to Lisbon. After a plot to kidnap Edward and place him on the British throne as a puppet king, Edward was ordered back to British territory. He was appointed Governor of the Bahamas and ordered to depart immediately.
1940 (1st August)
The Duke of Windsor was formerly appointed Governor of the Bahamas. He and Wallis left Lisbon and sailed to Bermuda.
1940 (15th August)
Edward and Wallis left Bermuda for the Bahamas.
1945 (Summer)
Following the end of World War Two, Edward and Wallis returned to Paris.
1951 (during)
Edward’s memoir ‘A King’s Story’ was published.
1952 (6th February)
King George VI died of lung cancer. He was succeeded by his daughter Elizabeth.
1952 (15th February)
Edward was allowed to return to England to attend the funeral of his brother, King George VI.
1953 (late March)
Edward was allowed to return to England to attend the funeral of his mother, Mary of Teck.
1953 (2nd June)
Edward, Duke of Windsor was not invited to attend the coronation of his niece, Queen Elizabeth II. Instead he and Wallis watched the ceremony on television.
1964 (December)
Edward underwent surgery for an aneurysm of the aorta.
1965 (February)
Edward underwent surgery for a detached retina.
1967 (during)
Edward and Wallis were invited to London to attend the unveiling of a plaque to Queen Mary at Marlborough House.
1968 (30th August)
Edward attended the funeral of his sister-in-law, Princess Marina of Kent.
1971 (1st late)
Edward Duke of Windsor was diagnosed with throat cancer.
1972 (28th May)
Edward died of throat cancer.
1972 (5th June)
Edward was buried in the royal burial ground at Frogmore.
Published Dec 18, 2017 @ 5:08 pm – Updated – [last-modified]
Harvard Reference for this page:
Heather Y Wheeler. (2017 – 2020). King Edward VIII Duke of Windsor 1894 – 1972 Timeline. Available: http://www.thetimelinegeekhttps://www.thetimelinegeek.com/edward-viii-duke-of-windsor-1894-1972 Last accessed [date]