Did you know King Charles was never actually supposed to be King? Charles and Diana, William and Harry - they all would have just been random side-royals if one of their far more important relatives hadn’t quit the royal family. Less than 12 months into his reign, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Even though she never wanted to marry Edward, Wallis was publicly blamed for the royal crisis, which resulted in the newly named ‘Duke and Duchess of Windsor’ being exiled from England for the rest of their lives. And Edward - so used to being treated like a King - found the downgrade to ‘regular citizen’ so difficult, that he and Wallis befriended Hitler and the Nazis, hoping to find a way back onto the world stage.

This is just the gist of Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII.

We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's Breakin' Nooz, JTG After Show AND Bonus eps! You can access them by joining the Gistener Club via the Just The Gist Patreon or Apple Premium Subscriptions.

Watch Just The Gist episodes on Youtube @JustTheGistPodcast

Follow Just The Gist on Instagram and TikTok @JustTheGistPodcast

Follow Rosie in all the places at @RosieWaterland

Want to give us a SuGISTion? Tell Rosie to stop singing so much? Email us at hello@justthegist.com.au

Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Producer and Host: Rosie Waterland | Senior Producer and Editor: James Joseph | Producer: Kate Leaver | Additional production support: Hayley Staveley | Acast Legends: Guy Scott-Wilson and Simon McDermott | Production Assistant: Pocket

Don't forget to follow and give us 5 stars, which means something apparently!

Thank you, as always, for Gistening. Now go say something impressive at a dinner party.

Traitor King — Andrew Lownie

King Edward VIII Abdication Speech (1936)

Edward & Wallis: The Full Story

The Abdication Crisis Documentary

People: Wallis Simpson, Convenient Scapegoat for King Edward VIII's Abdication

The National Archives: Abdication of Edward VIII

BBC Culture: The Shocking Moment King Edward VIII Announced His Abdication

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.