1. Source 1 shows two reasons why Edward VIII abdicated from the British throne. The first well-known reason was that he wished to marry an American divorcee, which the Royal family, British Government and Church of England did not agree with. The other reason was that he’d always struggled and been overwhelmed with the responsibility of being a member of the family.
2. Source 2 examines some of the reasons the King loved Wallis. Edward VIII loved Mrs Simpson because he saw her as the perfect woman. He expressed that she was an inspiration to him. Edward was described as having a lonely nature but found an intellectual companionship with Wallis. He also believed “that he and Mrs Simpson were made for one another…” [2].
3. Various conclusions can be made from Source 3 in which Edward reveals his dilemma to his mother. One such conclusion is that Edward’s mother, Queen Mary was quite conservative in her attitudes. To her ‘the Monarchy was something sacred” [3] that she didn’t want her son to ruin by marrying Mrs Simpson. Another conclusion that can be drawn is that it seems likely that Edward wasn’t very close with his family, or at least his mother. He was apprehensive about telling his mother and sister his intention to marry Wallis Simpson because “…the subject had never been …show more content…
Edward’s mother in particular was not happy with her son contemplating giving up the throne. To her “the Monarchy was something sacred” [3] and could not give up the throne of his forebears. Although it can also be seen that having a twice-divorced American as a Queen would further ruin the sanctity of the British Monarchy. Despite the possibility of losing the support of the government and church Sources 4(a) and 4(b) show that Edward VIII seems to be quite popular with the people and ultimately the best support to have is the support of the