Redigerer Edvard VIII av Storbritannia (avsnitt)

== Konge ==
[[File:King Edward VIII opening Parliament.jpg|thumb|Edward VIII omgitt av ''Heralds of the [[College of Arms]]'' i forkant av hans eneste åpning av parlamentet, 3. november 1936]]
Kong Georg V døde den 20. januar 1936, og Edvard tok over som kong Edvard VIII. Neste dag brøt han med kongelig sedvane i det han iakttok den offentlige kongskunngjøringen fra et vindu i St. James's Palace. Den fortsatt gifte Simpson sto sammen med ham.
 
Edvard ble den første britiske monarken som reiste med fly. Det skjedde da han fløy fra [[Sandringham (Norfolk)|Sandringham]] til London for å delta i [[Accession Council]].

Etter abdiskasjonen levde Edvard og hans kone et klassisk jetsetliv uten noen meningsfylte oppgaver.

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Edward caused unease in government circles with actions that were interpreted as interference in political matters. His comment during a tour of depressed villages in [[South Wales]] that "something must be done"<ref name="matthew" /> for the unemployed coal miners was seen as directly critical of the Government, though it has never been clear whether Edward had anything in particular in mind. Government ministers were reluctant to send confidential documents and state papers to Fort Belvedere because it was clear that Edward was paying little attention to them and there was a lack of confidence in his discretion in constitutional and political matters. It was feared that Simpson and other house guests might see state papers and that confidential information in them might be improperly or inadvertently disclosed in ways that could be detrimental to the country's national interests.<ref>Ziegler, pp. 273–274</ref>

Edward's unorthodox approach to his role also extended to the currency which bore his image. He broke with the tradition that on coinage each successive monarch faced in the opposite direction to his or her predecessor. Edward insisted that he face left (as his father had done),<ref>Windsor, pp. 293–294</ref> to show the parting in his hair.<ref>A. Michie, ''God Save The Queen''</ref> Only a handful of test coins were struck before the abdication, and when George VI succeeded to the throne he also faced left, to maintain the tradition by suggesting that had any coins been minted featuring Edward's portrait, they would have shown him facing right.<ref>{{citation|url= http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Symbols/Coinageandbanknotes.aspx|title=Coinage and bank notes|publisher=Official website of the British monarchy|accessdate=1 May 2010}}</ref>
[[File:EdwardVIIIcoin.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Left-facing currency portrait of Edward VIII]]
On 16 July 1936, an Irish fraudster called [[Jerome Bannigan]], alias George Andrew McMahon, produced a loaded revolver as Edward rode on horseback at [[Constitution Hill, London|Constitution Hill]], near [[Buckingham Palace]]. Police spotted the gun and pounced on him; he was quickly arrested. At Bannigan's trial, he alleged that "a foreign power" had approached him to kill Edward, that he had informed [[MI5]] of the plan, and that he was merely seeing the plan through to help MI5 catch the real culprits. The court rejected the claims and sent him to jail for a year for "intent to alarm".<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2003/january2/attempt.htm|title=George Andrew McMahon: attempt on the life of H.M. King Edward VIII at Constitution Hill on 16 July 1936|work=MEPO 3/1713|year=2003|publisher=The National Archives, Kew|accessdate=5 March 2011}}</ref> It is now thought that Bannigan had indeed been in contact with MI5 but the veracity of the remainder of his claims remains open.<ref>{{citation|last=Cook|first=Andrew|title=The plot thickens|periodical=The Guardian|date=3. januar 2003|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,867861,00.html|accessdate=1. mai 2010|location=London}}</ref>

In August and September, Edward and Simpson cruised the Eastern Mediterranean on the steam yacht ''[[Nahlin (yacht)|Nahlin]]''. By October it was becoming clear that the new king planned to marry Simpson, especially when divorce proceedings between the Simpsons were brought at [[Ipswich]] [[Assizes]].<ref>Broad, pp. 56–57</ref> Preparations for all contingencies were made, including the prospect of the coronation of King Edward and Queen Wallis. Because of the religious implications of any marriage, plans were made to hold a secular coronation ceremony not in the traditional religious location, [[Westminster Abbey]], but in the [[Banqueting House]] in Whitehall.<ref>''[[Antiques Roadshow]]'', BBC One, 14 October 2007. Banqueting House staff discovered plans for the coronation, including a hand-drawn scheme for the decoration of the hall.</ref>

Although gossip about his affair was widespread in the United States, the British media kept voluntarily silent and the public knew nothing until early December.
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