Eighty years ago, on January 20, 1936, King George V died and Edward VIII acceded to the throne of the UK. He abdicated later the same year.
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| Edward VIII during his short reign in 1936 |
1. On December 11, 1936, he gave Royal Assent to his own Declaration Of Abdication Act.
2. He was christened Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, the last four names being patron saints of the British Isles countries.
3. He went to Magdalen College, Oxford but left after eight terms without a degree.
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| Edward VIII left his rooms at Magdalen College without a degree |
4. When George V died, Edward flew to London from Sandringham, becoming our first monarch to take an aircraft.
5. He was also the first British monarch with a pilot’s licence which he had gained around 1920.
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| He was the first British monarch to obtain a pilot's license |
6. Living in France, he was suspected of having Nazi sympathies. He was appointed Governor of the Bahamas during the Second World War.
7. There were postage stamps in 1936 with the face of Edward VIII, but no coins were ever issued.
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| It was suspected that Edward VIII was a Nazi sympathizer |
8. In 1970, a sealed box at the Royal Mint was found to contain 59 coins of Edward VIII designed as pattern pieces. They are now in museums.
9. He is the only English monarch to give up the throne voluntarily.
10. Edward V, Edward VIII and Lady Jane Grey are our only monarchs who were never crowned.
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