Things were done much better in my day
I'm not sure what we were discussing at work when I said, "Things were done much better in my day." I caught the quick look that my tech gave me. I knew that look, it was the same look he gave me the day the store manager brought in an old jukebox full of 45s. I had to explain the concept of vinyl records to him. He had no idea.
I explained to him that what I had just said was a quote from Alice Keppel mistress to King Edward VII of England during the Abdication Crisis of King Edward VIII. I didn't expect him to know what that was so I gave him a very condensed version.
For those of you who don't know about King Edward VIII, I'll explain. In January 1936 King George V of England died and was succeeded by the popular Prince of Wales, who took the name King Edward VIII. The new king was unmarried and was seeing Wallis Simpson,wife of a British shipping executive. Later that year Mrs. Simpson filed for divorce. The King informed his Prime Minister that he planned to marry her.
This brought a crisis to Great Britain. There was opposition to the marriage on several grounds. The Church of England did not permit remarriage of divorced persons while the former spouses were still alive. Mrs. Simpson had been married twice. Since the monarch is also the head of the church clearly church rules must be followed. It was also thought that Mrs. Simpson would not make an appropriate consort for the King. She was an American and rumored to have other lovers. It was thought that she was exploiting the King for money. It was also thought that the people simply would not accept an American woman as a consort as many of the upper classes considered Americans to be inferior. There were also political reasons.
To make a long story short, eventually King Edward VIII abdicated in favor of his brother, Albert, who became King George VI. Afterward he gave a radio address explaining that he could not do his job without the support of the woman that he loved. He married her when her divorce was finalised. The marriage lasted until his death in 1972.
I thought about how much the world had changed in the 73 years since it happened. Three of the children of Queen Elizabeth II are divorced. Two of them have remarried. If the events of 1936 happened today it would not be the constitutional crisis it was then. Most likely we all would have been treated to endless TV and Internet reports and there would have been a cloud of paparazzi surrounding the couple until another scandal would take them away.
It would be difficult for someone like my tech, who is in his early 20s, to comprehend the Abdication. Divorce no longer carries the stigma it once had. I'm not sure he'd understand that at that time ruling a country was considered a calling from God. A duty that must be put ahead of personal desires. The fact that a king would choose a woman over his duty to his country was unthinkable.This is what Mrs. Keppel was referring to in her quote.
If it had happened today the result would not have been a quiet wedding in France followed by a life in exile. Some members of the British royal family never forgave him. Those kinds of consequences seem too extreme to someone who grew up in an era where divorce is more common.
Their marriage lasted for 35 years, had it happened today who knows how long it would have lasted. Maybe they would have been happier today. We'll never know.
I think the most interesting quote is one attributed to the the Duchess of Windsor herself. "You have no idea how hard it is to live out a great romance." Maybe Mrs. Keppel was right.
(Note: I used content fron Wikipedia for this column)
I explained to him that what I had just said was a quote from Alice Keppel mistress to King Edward VII of England during the Abdication Crisis of King Edward VIII. I didn't expect him to know what that was so I gave him a very condensed version.
For those of you who don't know about King Edward VIII, I'll explain. In January 1936 King George V of England died and was succeeded by the popular Prince of Wales, who took the name King Edward VIII. The new king was unmarried and was seeing Wallis Simpson,wife of a British shipping executive. Later that year Mrs. Simpson filed for divorce. The King informed his Prime Minister that he planned to marry her.
This brought a crisis to Great Britain. There was opposition to the marriage on several grounds. The Church of England did not permit remarriage of divorced persons while the former spouses were still alive. Mrs. Simpson had been married twice. Since the monarch is also the head of the church clearly church rules must be followed. It was also thought that Mrs. Simpson would not make an appropriate consort for the King. She was an American and rumored to have other lovers. It was thought that she was exploiting the King for money. It was also thought that the people simply would not accept an American woman as a consort as many of the upper classes considered Americans to be inferior. There were also political reasons.
To make a long story short, eventually King Edward VIII abdicated in favor of his brother, Albert, who became King George VI. Afterward he gave a radio address explaining that he could not do his job without the support of the woman that he loved. He married her when her divorce was finalised. The marriage lasted until his death in 1972.
I thought about how much the world had changed in the 73 years since it happened. Three of the children of Queen Elizabeth II are divorced. Two of them have remarried. If the events of 1936 happened today it would not be the constitutional crisis it was then. Most likely we all would have been treated to endless TV and Internet reports and there would have been a cloud of paparazzi surrounding the couple until another scandal would take them away.
It would be difficult for someone like my tech, who is in his early 20s, to comprehend the Abdication. Divorce no longer carries the stigma it once had. I'm not sure he'd understand that at that time ruling a country was considered a calling from God. A duty that must be put ahead of personal desires. The fact that a king would choose a woman over his duty to his country was unthinkable.This is what Mrs. Keppel was referring to in her quote.
If it had happened today the result would not have been a quiet wedding in France followed by a life in exile. Some members of the British royal family never forgave him. Those kinds of consequences seem too extreme to someone who grew up in an era where divorce is more common.
Their marriage lasted for 35 years, had it happened today who knows how long it would have lasted. Maybe they would have been happier today. We'll never know.
I think the most interesting quote is one attributed to the the Duchess of Windsor herself. "You have no idea how hard it is to live out a great romance." Maybe Mrs. Keppel was right.
(Note: I used content fron Wikipedia for this column)
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