Scandal that led Elizabeth to the throne
New baby third in line to reign
When Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on April 21, 1926, few could have predicted that she would one day be Queen of England.
The first child of Elizabeth and her husband Prince Albert, the new baby was third in line to the throne with her uncle Edward as its heir.
King George V’s death in 1935 saw Edward installed as monarch in one of the shortest and most controversial reigns that history has ever seen.
The new King Edward VIII had little time for court protocol and showed disregard for constitutional conventions.
Months into his reign he proposed to Wallis Simpson, an American who divorced her first husband and was in the throes of divorcing her second.
The Prime Ministers of England and the Dominions of the British Empire, where Edward was also king, were against the marriage. They argued that a woman who had two living ex-husbands was unacceptable as a prospective queen consort.
The king also held the titular head of the Church of England which disapproved of marriage if an ex-spouse was still alive.
Aware that he could not remain as King if he was married to Wallis, Edward stepped down from his reign after just 326 days.
He said: “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.”
On abdication, Edward became Duke of Windsor. He tied the knot with Wallis six months after he surrendered the throne and she became Duchess of Windsor.
Elizabeth’s father succeeded the throne and was crowned King George VI. Known as Bertie among his family and close friends, he was afflicted with a stammer which he learned to control as shown in the film The King’s Speech.
King George VI led the country through the Second World War, seeing his popularity soar as he shared the hardships of his populace. He and his wife were in Buckingham Palace when it was bombed during the Blitz and his younger brother, the Duke of Kent, was killed on active service.
The king’s health was undermined by smokingrelated issues towards the end of his reign and he died of coronary thrombosis in 1952.
His eldest daughter Elizabeth became Queen and has gone on to reign as England’s longest serving monarch.
‘I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility’ King Edward VIII