Windsor, duke of


An English nobleman of the twentieth century who ruled Britain as King Edward VIII in 1936. He gave up the throne after less than a year to marry an American divorcée, Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson, because British law did not permit a divorced woman to become queen.

Notes for Windsor, duke of

In a famous speech to the British people announcing his abdication, the duke said that he could not carry on as king “without the help and support of the woman I love.”

Words Nearby Windsor, duke of

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.