EDWARD AND MRS SIMPSON: June 3, 1937

One of the greatest social shifts in the last 100 years has been attitudes to divorce and here, perhaps, is where it began for the Royal Family.

Edward, Prince of Wales, the heir to George V, was in a relationship with Wallis Simpson, who was not only (very) unroyal and (dear God!) American, she was also divorced (twice), which left Edward with a choice after he became king and expressed a desire to marry her: it was Mrs Simpson or the crown. He chose Mrs Simpson.

Macdonald says it is hard to realise just how scandalous divorce was in the 1930s, especially for women. “It was seen as a sign of moral failing, even if the woman was the innocent victim of her husband’s infidelities or violent behaviour,” she says. “People said things like, ‘She must have driven him to it’. And Mrs Simpson was twice divorced.”

Macdonald believes another scandal as far as the royals were concerned was Edward’s public display of emotion and in this she believes a comparison can be drawn between Edward and Princess Diana.

“From the traditional royal perspective, Edward and Diana were putting individual hopes and fears and feelings above what might be good for the monarchy and for the nation,” says Macdonald. “Additionally, Edward and Diana were following a different emotional rulebook to many other Royal Family members. They valued emotional honesty and openness.

“This was a modern idea, at odds with royal traditions and with the royal understanding of marriage. Diana’s death changed all that, of course, and royal advisers (and presumably some royal individuals) became more sympathetic and understanding.”