''Edward & Mrs. Simpson'' is a seven-part British television series that dramatises the events leading to the 1936

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 ...

of King

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 ...

, who gave up his throne to marry the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson. The series, made by Thames Television for ITV, was originally broadcast in 1978. Edward Fox played Edward, and Cynthia Harris portrayed Mrs. Simpson. The series was scripted by Simon Raven, based on Fox's maternal aunt Frances Donaldson's biography of the King, ''Edward VIII''. It was produced by Andrew Brown, overseen by the Head of Drama at Thames Television Verity Lambert and directed by Waris Hussein. The

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

was by Ron Grainer. The series, broadcast in the US in 1979 as instalments of the nationally syndicated Mobil Showcase Network, won the 1980

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Outstanding Limited Series, and BAFTA Awards in 1979 for Best Actor, Best Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Series or Serial. It has been released on DVD in Region 2 (UK) by Network, and in Region 1 (United States) by A&E.

Episodes

# "The Little Prince": Edward's life in the 1920s as Prince of Wales, his romances with Freda Dudley Ward and Lady Furness, his introduction to Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Simpson. There is a slight historical query as the first official meeting of Edward and Mrs Simpson took place at Burrough Court near

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a market town in the Borough of Melton, Melton district in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, Leicestershire, River Eye, known below Melton as the Rive ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, on Saturday 10 January 1931. The episode suggests a short meeting took place at the London residence of Lady Furness in the autumn of 1930 (which is not documented and therefore cannot be proved). # "Venus at the Prow": The romance between Edward and Mrs. Simpson develops, with regular weekends at his country home Fort Belvedere outside London near Windsor. # "The New King": Edward succeeds to the throne on the death of his father,

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 ...

, in January 1936, and asks Mrs. Simpson to marry him. Mr. Simpson agrees to a divorce. The King, Mrs. Simpson, and friends cruise the Mediterranean, an event widely reported by the press outside Britain. Mrs Simpson is invited to Balmoral Castle, which causes difficulties with Edward's brother Bertie and his wife Elizabeth. # "The Divorce": Edward convinces Mrs. Simpson to go forward with her divorce; she would then be free to marry him and be crowned Queen at the coronation scheduled for May 1937. The King and the government pressure the British press to maintain silence about the King's romance, but news dribbles into Britain and gossip abounds. # "The Decision": Edward is warned that British press silence about his 'friendship' with Mrs. Simpson is about to be broken. The King tells the royal family and the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

that he intends to marry Wallis Simpson, and will abdicate if he cannot do so as King. # "Proposals": Attempts are made to resolve the problem without Edward abdicating, including a proposal put forth by the King for a

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

with Wallis Simpson. The British and Dominion governments oppose the marriage in any form. # "The Abdication": The final days of Edward as King as attempts to gain more time are undercut by Edward himself. The signing of the Deed of Abdication on 10 December 1936 at Fort Belvedere. The radio broadcast to the nation on 11 December 1936 from the Augusta Tower,

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 ...

. Edward's exile sailing on from Portsmouth. The marriage of Edward and Mrs Simpson on 3 June 1937.

Music

In 1978, RK Records released an official soundtrack album (UK cat No: RKLP 5003). It had 12 tracks, some composed or arranged by Ron Grainer and all played by his orchestra.Edward & Mrs Simpson, Soundtrack, RK Records, 1978 The track listing is as follows: ;Side one # " I've Danced with a Man" ( Herbert Farjeon) # " The Very Thought of You" ( Ray Noble) # "A Room with a View" (

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

) # "If I Had You" ( Al Bowlly) # "Of Cabbages and Kings" # "Bring Down the Curtain" ;Side two # "One More Dance" # "Dance Little Lady" (Coward) # "Tango" # "When Love Grows Cold" # "Rumours in the Wind" # "I've Danced with a Man" (End Titles/Reprise) (Farjeon) The theme music used for the opening and closing titles was a composite of Herbert Farjeon's 1927 song " I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales" and the opening of the British national anthem "

God Save the King "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is ''de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of national anthems of New Zealand, two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle ...

." The vocalist for "I've Danced with a Man", "Bring Down the Curtain" and "One More Dance" is Jenny Wren. Al Bowlly's original recordings of "Isn't It Heavenly" and " Love Is the Sweetest Thing" are also used in the series. The soundtrack album was produced and engineered by Barry Kingston for Robert Kingston Productions Ltd.

Cast

* Edward Fox as King Edward VIII * Cynthia Harris as Wallis Simpson * David Waller as

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...

* Nigel Hawthorne as Walter Monckton * Dame Peggy Ashcroft as Queen Mary * Marius Goring as

* Cherie Lunghi as Lady Thelma Furness * Kika Markham as Freda Dudley Ward * Jessie Matthews as Aunt Bessie Merryman * Charles Keating as Ernest Simpson * Andrew Ray as the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

* Amanda Reiss as the Duchess of York * John Shrapnel as Alexander Hardinge * Maurice Denham as Cosmo Lang,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

* Ed Devereaux as Lord Beaverbrook * Geoffrey Lumsden as Geoffrey Dawson * Patrick Troughton as

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

Trevor Bowen Trevor Bowen (sometimes T. R. Bowen, born 1941) is a British actor and screenwriter who has appeared frequently in British television dramas since the mid-1960s. Early life He is the son of Major General W. O. Bowen and was educated at Dulwic ...

Duff Cooper Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich, (22 February 1890 – 1 January 1954), known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party politician and diplomat who was also a military and political historian and writer. First elected to Parl ...

Patricia Hodge Patricia Ann Hodge (born 29 September 1946) is an English actress. She is known on-screen for playing Phyllida Erskine-Brown in '' Rumpole of the Bailey'' (1978–1992), Jemima Shore in '' Jemima Shore Investigates'' (1983), Penny in '' Miranda ...

as Lady Diana Cooper * Elsie Randolph as Lady Sibyl Colefax * Bessie Love as Emerald (Maud) Cunard * Tony Church as Sir Samuel Hoare * Wensley Pithey as

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

* Gary Waldhorn as Chips Channon * Hugh Fraser as

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achi ...

* Gerald Sim as Theodore Goddard * Jeremy Child as equerry Piers “Joey” Legh * Simon Cadell as equerry Major John Renton Aird * Michael Stroud as Esmond Harmsworth * William Hoyland as Lord-in-waiting Lord Brownlow

Production

The series was made by Thames Television, part of the

ITV network ITV, legally known as Channel 3, is a British free-to-air public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television network. It is branded as ITV1 in most of the UK except for central and northern Scotland, where it is b ...

, at its Teddington Studios.

Response

The series was produced and aired during the Duchess of Windsor's lifetime and it is reported that although becoming increasingly ill, she found the series to be a gross invasion of her privacy. Her requests to be sent a copy of the script were apparently ignored and she received correspondence from people who said they would not watch the series.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography *

External links

*
British Film Institute Screen Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edward and Mrs. Simpson 1978 British television series debuts 1978 British television series endings 1970s British drama television series 1970s British television miniseries ITV television dramas Television series set in the 1920s Television series set in the 1930s Films directed by Waris Hussein Cultural depictions of the Edward VIII abdication crisis Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries winners Cultural depictions of George V Cultural depictions of George VI Television shows produced by Thames Television British English-language television shows Cultural depictions of Stanley Baldwin Cultural depictions of Winston Churchill Television shows shot at Teddington Studios Cultural depictions of Mary of Teck Cultural depictions of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Television series about kings