Duke Of Windsor
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Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch
Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...
, following his
abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...
on 11 December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where
Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
, a residence of English monarchs since the time of Henry I, following the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
, is situated. Windsor has been the house name of the
royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...
since 1917.


History

King Edward VIII abdicated on 11 December 1936, so that he could marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson. At the time of the abdication, there was controversy as to how the former King should be titled. The new monarch, King George VI, apparently brought up the idea of a title just after the abdication instrument was signed, and suggested using "the
family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
". Neither the Instrument of Abdication signed by Edward VIII on 10 December 1936 nor its enabling legislation,
His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 ( 1 Edw. 8. & 1 Geo. 6. c. 3) is the act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that recognised and ratified the abdication of King Edward VIII and passed succession to his brother King George ...
, indicated whether the king was renouncing the privileges of royal birth as well as relinquishing the throne. On 12 December 1936, at the Accession Council of the
Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...
, George VI announced he would make his brother the "Duke of Windsor" with the style of ''
Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Kings and their female consorts, as well as queens regnant, are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of a ...
''. That declaration is recorded in the ''
London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
''. The Dukedom was formalised by Letters Patent on 8 March 1937. Edward, as a royal duke, could neither stand for election to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
nor speak on political subjects in the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. On 3 June 1937, Edward married Simpson, who upon their marriage became the Duchess of Windsor. Following his abdication, Edward and Wallis lived in exile in Paris, France, except while he was Governor of the Bahamas. When Germany invaded France in May 1940, the duke and duchess moved to Spain and then Portugal until August when they set sail for the Bahamas. After the war, they became members of café society often splitting their time between Paris and the United States, which they visited frequently. During their stays in New York, they were fond of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The Duke suffered from ill health in his later years and died of cancer on 28 May 1972 in Paris. As the Duke died without issue, the title became extinct upon his death.
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
banned the title from being recreated during her reign. , Prince Edward
House of Windsor
1937–1972 , , 23 June 1894
White Lodge, Richmond
son of
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...
and Queen Mary , Wallis Simpson
3 June 1937
, 28 May 1972
Villa Windsor,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

aged 77 , - , - , colspan=5, ''Edward had no children and all his titles became extinct on his death.''


Royal arms

As the royal arms go hand-in-hand with the crown, the undifferentiated royal arms passed to George VI. It was and is common heraldic practice for the eldest son to differentiate his
arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...
in his father's lifetime, but the Duke of Windsor was left in the unusual position of the eldest son needing to difference his arms after his father's death. This was done by means of a label argent of three points, bearing on the middle point an imperial crown proper.


Family tree


See also

* Baron Windsor * Earl of Windsor * Viscount Windsor


References


Further references

Lownie, Andrew 2021. ''The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor''. Blink. {{DEFAULTSORT:Windsor Extinct dukedoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his Abdication of Edward VIII, abdication on 11 December 1936. The Duchy, dukedom takes its name from ...
Edward VIII Abdication of Edward VIII
Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his Abdication of Edward VIII, abdication on 11 December 1936. The Duchy, dukedom takes its name from ...
Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his Abdication of Edward VIII, abdication on 11 December 1936. The Duchy, dukedom takes its name from ...