Abdication Crisis

Question 1

When was the abdication crisis?

Answer 1

1936

Question 2

Who was king

Answer 2

Edward VIII

Question 3

summarise the beginnings of the abdication crisis

Answer 3

• 1936- fallen in love with the twice divorced, American Wallis Simpson
• in order to marry her, he abdicated from the throne
• this was because it posed a constitutional crisis- as head of the Church of England, Edward was expected to uphold church doctrine, which opposed remarriage after divorce
• led to his brother George VI becoming king

Question 4

Why did the situation cause problems for the government?
- constitutional principles

Answer 4

• direct challenge to constitutional principles- desire to marry Simpson conflicted with role as head of Church of England which would not allow divorced people to remarry in church
• king expected to uphold both church doctrine and constitutional convention which required him to act on the advice of ministers
• Edward refused to back down- clash between monarchy and elected government
• risked undermining parliamentary sovereignty

Question 5

What problems did this cause
- political interference

Answer 5

• king was considered to be politically indiscreet
• was also thought to be a nazi sympathiser and have links with fascist Italy and nazi germany
• this heightened political risk and international concern
• feared mrs Simpson, known to favour the company of nazis such as von Ribbentrop, may have access to state papers and influence royal views
• idea that the future queen could have ties to a hostile foreign power was deeply alarming
• if Edward and Wallis were seen to be sympathetic to fascism, it could have undermined britains position in Europe- king expected to be politically neutral
• may have also damaged diplomatic relationships with France , US etc
• had the possibility to make this more of a politically damaging and democracy threatening issue, rather than just personal scandal.

Question 6

What impact did this have on the British public?
- morale

Answer 6

• lowered morale at the time, Edward was a popular king
• if there was a clash with the cabinet, public opinion might well favour the king

Question 7

Baldwins handling of the crisis

Answer 7

• 20th October- Baldwin asked to consider opinion at home, abroad and in the empire and suggested that Simpsons divorce proceedings should not go ahead
• 16th November- told king the marriage would not be approved
• 25th November- told king that even a marriage that would not make her queen was unlikely to be approved by parliament
• Baldwin increased pressure on king in December- when there was the first open press coverage about the affair, warning him that with all the publicity, that someone may challenge the divorce decision
• king could not ignore the advice of his ministers or Baldwin
• 10th December- abdicated

Question 8

What was the impact of baldwins handling of events

Answer 8

The king departed without major upheaval

Question 9

Why was baldwins handling of events so important?

Answer 9

• preserved constitutional stability And maintained the support of parliament
• avoided potential danger of a constitutional crisis
• removed security threat quietly

Question 10

Baldwins handling of the abdication crisis was the most important part of his leadership

Answer 10

• yes- prevented constitutional crisis
• yes- prevented public outrage and solidified his leadership
• yes— compared to the poor handling of rearmament etc
• no- prevented rise of political extremism, public order act etc
• handling of general strike 1926 (careful if specific to time in Nat gov)
• equal franchise act