Turmoil and controversy are nothing new for the British royal family, nor are the attempts to discredit those who have left its protective embrace, e.g. Princess Diana. In 1936, King Edward VIII of Great Britain (the present Queen’s uncle) gave up his crown and his empire to marry the woman he loved, American divorcée Wallis Simpson. The match was opposed by the royal family, the Church of England, and the British government.
This extraordinary drama unfolded before the world which followed the daily media coverage with the same devoted attention paid to Princess Diana. Edward was even more popular in his day than Diana was in hers. Although the Diana/Charles/Camilla story can be compared, it pales next to the story of a fabulously popular British king renouncing his throne for the love of a divorced AMERICAN!
People talked of nothing else for months. There was an unrelenting frenzy of attention. Edward and Wallis endured public condemnation, denouncement by church and government leaders and, particularly in Wallis’ case, brutal hate mail which was demoralizing and devastating.
The background of the approach of WWII brought still more intrigue and tension to the circumstances and the political repercussions reverberate to the present throughout the former British Empire and world.
Why did Wallis mean so much to the king? ONLY A KINGDOM, an elegant new musical, answers this question as it depicts the unique struggles of this man and woman and reveals the true story behind the most romantic public gesture in history.
Read Judith Shubow Steir's Author Notes on ONLY A KINGDOM >
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