Edward reigned for less than a year during 1936. He decided to step down because he wanted to marry Mrs Simpson, the divorced American lover he had been having an affair with for several years. Although she did arrange for a second divorce, Edward was still not able to marry her and sit on the throne, as both the Church of England and the general public would have protested against Mrs Simpson. However, Winston Churchill – an MP at the time – came up with a plan which meant Edward could have been both the monarch and married to his lover.

David Freeman, writing for the 2011 issue of The Churchillian, revealed how the esteemed politician came up with a plot to keep Edward on the throne.

He explained: “Essentially [Churchill] opposed any marriage between the King and Mrs Simpson.

“He felt a natural sympathy for the King, however, and believed the solution was a morganatic marriage.”

A morganatic marriage refers to a union where one spouse is of a lower social rank than the other. Mrs Simpson would, therefore, receive a courtesy title instead of becoming known as Queen.

Mr Freeman continued: “Under this plan, Mrs Simpson would become the Duchess of Cornwall, but not Queen.”

This is the current title Prince Charles’ second wife, formerly known as Camilla Parker-Bowles, currently has.

However, she did not take the title of Princess of Wales – to correspond with her husband’s title Prince of Wales – out of respect for the late Princess Diana.

A question still hangs over what Camilla’s title will be once Charles’ ascends to the throne.

Edward supported Mr Churchill’s proposition of a morganatic marriage – the two had been friends for 25 years – and even planned a broadcast to explain his decision to the public.

His proposed speech read as follows: “Neither Mrs Simpson nor I have ever sought to insist that she should be queen.

 “All we desired was that our married happiness should carry with it a proper title and dignity for her, befitting my wife. 

“Now that I have at last been able to take you into my confidence, I feel it is best to go away for a while, so that you may reflect calmly and quietly, but without undue delay, on what I have said.

“Nothing is nearer to my heart than that I should return. But whatever may befall, I shall always have a deep affection for my country, for the Empire and for you all.”

However, the then-Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin blocked the speech, supported by the rest of his cabinet, fearing it would shock the British public, the Dominions, and breach the British constitution.

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He rallied his counterparts in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and explained how such a broadcast should never go ahead.

The government’s legal experts also reportedly believed that the broadcast would have created a crisis akin to the beginning of the English Civil War.

According to the 2013 book, ‘Bristol Prime Ministers from Balfour to Brown’ by Robert Pearce and Graham Goodlad, Mr Baldwin had a different idea.

He “would have been content” if the King had kept Mrs Simpson as “a respectable whore… kept out of the public view”.

Yet, Edward was determined to marry Mrs Simpson.

Mr Freeman explained: “Churchill’s only hope then became that the King would see reason, accept his duty as Sovereign, and give up Mrs Simpson.

“To this end, Churchill began pressing time – which put him out of step with most of the nation.”

He added: “Nevertheless, Churchill preserved and, pressing the House of Commons for the King to be given more time, found himself shouted down by both parties on Monday, 7 December.”

Apparently Mr Churchill thought defending the King was “my duty”, and was unaware that Edward was perceived by many as an unreliable monarch who was not tied to duty himself.

The future Prime Minister raged that Edward “had given up the greatest throne in world history” when he abdicated on December 11, 1936.

He married Mrs Simpson and the two of them lived in exile in France with the titles of Duke and Duchess of Windsor. However, Mrs Simpson was not permitted to use the style, ‘Her Royal Highness’.

The following year, Mr Churchill said he “had the honesty to admit that when he stood up in favour of the ex-King, he did not know that public opinion was so much against him”.

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