1936: The year that changed British history forever

by Siân Evans

In December 1936 King Edward VIII made history when he abdicated the British throne. The orthodox story is that he gave up his crown to marry the woman he loved, the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson, who the establishment deemed unsuitable to become Queen.

But now historian Siân Evans suggests instead that a visit that the King made, in November 1936, to the distressed areas of South Wales was the tipping point that led to the abdication. Edward VIII's public sympathy for the unemployed, many of whom had fought alongside him in the Great War, caused him to overstep his constitutional role by drifting into politics. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin was determined that he had to go, and he used the King's clandestine relationship with Mrs Simpson as the means to replace him.

1936: The Year of Three Kings explores the private motivations and public actions of the reluctant new King, month by month, from the death of his father George V, through to his abdication and the accession of his brother George VI. And it addresses the lasting repercussions for the British royal family that continue to this day, including the ultimate dilemma that Edward VIII should desire for personal happiness and fulfilment triumph over the obligations imposed by an accident of birth?

467 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 27, 2026

About the author

Siân Evans is a prolific author, journalist, commentator, speaker, publicist and film consultant specialising in social history. She is the author of a plethora of popular social histories including Mrs Ronnie: the Society Hostess who collected Kings; The Manor Reborn (tied in with a major 4 part BBC1 TV series); Life Below Stairs in the Victorian and Edwardian Country House; Ghosts: Mysterious Tales from the National Trust; 7 National Trust Guidebooks between 2008 and 2014 and Great Hostesses (John Murray, 2016), a book examining the role of six influential interwar society hostesses. Siân regularly writes for BBC Antiques Roadshow Magazine, Daily Mail, The Express, Coast Magazine National Trust Members’ Magazine and Royal Oak Foundation Newsletter. She works as a freelance consultant to the National Trust Film Office and is an experienced public speaker.

Reviews

[Simon Dane]

I didn’t know that much about the abdication crisis and thought the telling of the fateful year pretty compelling if occasionally repetitive. Things I learned:
1. Baldwin forced the king’s hand and painted him in a corner
2. Edward VIII was completely self absorbed and infatuated like a lovesick teenager
3. Mrs Simpson was cooler about the whole affair wanting to call it off on many occasions.
I cannot help thinking the monarchy dodged a bullet with Edward VIII. Wholly unsuitable and probably politically dangerous.