A love story from Cr0atia

Im Sommer des Jahres 1936 verweilte König Edward in seinem Sommerurlaub zusammen mit Wallis Warfield an der kroatischen Adriaküste. Warfield, besser bekannt unter dem Namen Wallis Simpson, eine zweimal geschiedene bürgerliche US-Amerikanerin, hatte er durch seine ehemalige Geliebte Thelma Furness kennengelernt. König Edward erhielt angeblich damals von den lokalen jugoslawischen Behörden sogar die offizielle Genehmigung, nackt in der Bucht Kandarala auf der Insel Rab zu baden. Dieser Teil der Raber Halbinsel ist heute als die "Liebesinsel" bekannt und in der Sommerzeit ein offizieller FKK-Strand.

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It was the summer of 1936 when Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (later: The Duke of Windsor) spend his holiday with Wallis Warfield, better known as Wallis Simpson, at the Adriatic coast. King Edward allegedly got the official permission of the former Yugoslavian monarchy to bath nudely in the bay of Kandarola on the island of Rab. This part of the Rab peninsula is nowadays known as the "island of love" and is an official nudist beach in the summertime.

Kandarola-Bucht / Bay of Kandarola
April 2009

Das Verhältnis Edwards VIII zu Wallis Simpson war der Presse bekannt, jedoch schwiegen die britischen Zeitungen fast allesamt über diese Romanze. Die internationale Presse berichtete hingegen offen darüber, vor allem die US-amerikanischen Magazine des Pressemagnaten William Randolph Hearst, die sich Edwards Person als Staatsoberhaupt nicht verbunden sahen und zum Teil anti-monarchistisch eingestellt waren. Gestärkt wurde ihre Neugier durch die Tatsache, dass seine Geliebte eine US-amerikanische Staatsbürgerin war.
Edward dankte schließlich auf Druck der konservativen Regierung von Premierminister Stanley Baldwin, der Dominions und der anglikanischen Kirche durch Erzbischof Cosmo Gordon Lang am 11. Dezember 1936 ab, um Wallis Warfield am 3. Juni 1937 heiraten zu können. Es war offiziell nicht möglich, dass der britische Souverän als Oberhaupt der anglikanischen Kirche eine geschiedene Frau heiraten konnte. Versuche Edwards, eine morganatische Ehe einzuleiten und den Thron zu behalten, wurden abgelehnt.
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On 16 November 1936, Edward invited Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin to Buckingham Palace and expressed his desire to marry Wallis Simpson when she became free to re-marry. Baldwin informed the King that his subjects would deem the marriage morally unacceptable, largely because remarriage after divorce was opposed by the Church of England, and the people would not tolerate Wallis as Queen.
As King, Edward held the role of Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and the clergy expected him to support the Church's teachings.
Edward proposed an alternative solution of a morganatic marriage, in which Edward would remain King but Wallis would not become Queen. She would enjoy some lesser title instead, and any children they might have would not inherit the throne. This too was rejected by the British Cabinet as well as other Dominion governments, whose views were sought pursuant to the Statute of Westminster 1931, which provided in part that "any alteration in the law touching the Succession to the Throne or the Royal Style and Titles shall hereafter require the assent as well of the Parliaments of all the Dominions as of the Parliament of the United Kingdom." The Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada and South Africa made clear their opposition to the King marrying a divorcée; the Irish premier expressed indifference and detachment, while the Prime Minister of New Zealand, having never even heard of Mrs. Simpson before, vacillated in disbelief. Faced with this opposition, Edward at first responded that there were "not many people in Australia" and their opinion didn't matter.
The King informed Baldwin that he would abdicate if he could not marry Mrs. Simpson. Baldwin then presented Edward with three choices: give up the idea of marriage; marry against his ministers' wishes; or abdicate. It was clear that Edward was not prepared to give up Mrs. Simpson, and he knew that if he married against the advice of his ministers, he would cause the government to resign, prompting a constitutional crisis. He chose to abdicate.