7. King Edward VIII fell from the throne and became a Nazi supporter.
As a young man, the future King Edward VIII of England served with relative distinction in the British Army. He was also groomed to take over the throne from an early age. He undertook several royal tours, first in the company of his father, George V, but then on his own, in the place of the King. As Prince of Wales, he enjoyed significant popularity, especially among veterans who respected his own service in the trenches. Edward was also popular with the ladies too: his good looks, wealth and future prospects made him not just a major celebrity but Europe’s most eligible bachelor. What’s more, by visiting working-class and poverty-stricken parts of Britain, Edward made himself even more popular among those people who would usually have been opposed to the monarchy.
So, when George V died, and Edward VIII was crowned King, everything looked set for a long and happy reign. Within a matter of months, however, he had provoked a constitutional crisis. Edward planned to marry Wallis Simpson, an American woman who was not only a commoner but a divorcee. The scandal not only lost Edward the support of many members of the elite, including politicians but of the public in general, especially the more conservative and traditionalist members of society.
Edward felt he had no choice but to abdicate the throne. But his fall from grace didn’t end there. As a private man, he and Mrs. Wallis not only toured Nazi Germany, they even spoke out in favor of the regime. To keep him out of harm’s way, Edward was appointed Governor of the Bahamas, a thankless, insignificant role. After the war was over, he moved to the south of France to live in a state of retirement until his death in 1972.