Armisan Royals Watch the documentaries

The King who gave up the throne, and the men who made sure he did

The full story of Edward VIII, Wallis Simpson and the courtiers who opposed them, told with the letters, diaries and conflicting accounts that our documentaries didn't have time for.

Buy the ebook $12

PDF and EPUB, about 160 pages, delivered by email straight after purchase.

Six years that changed the monarchy

The book follows the crisis in order, from the first meeting to the wedding no royal attended, and stops at each point where things could have gone differently.

  1. The Prince of Wales meets Wallis Simpson, an American married to her second husband, at a country house party.

  2. His 16-year relationship with Freda Dudley Ward ends, and Wallis becomes the centre of his life.

  3. George V dies. Edward becomes King, and his courtiers start to worry about what comes next.

  4. After weeks of pressure from the government and the palace, Edward signs the Instrument of Abdication.

  5. He tells the nation by radio that he cannot carry on "without the help and support of the woman I love".

  6. Edward and Wallis marry in France. Not one member of the royal family attends.

Inside the book

  1. The Prince and the women before Wallis
  2. Tommy Lascelles and the courtiers who doubted him
  3. Wallis Simpson in her own words
  4. 326 days as King
  5. The government, the Church and the ultimatum
  6. Exile, the wedding and the family that stayed away

What you get

  • PDF for reading on a laptop or tablet
  • EPUB for phones, Kindle and other e-readers
  • A family tree of everyone involved, on one page
  • A full timeline of the crisis, month by month
  • Sources at the end of every chapter, so you can check our work

Read the first chapter free

Get Chapter 1 and the family tree by email. You'll also hear from us when a new documentary or book comes out.

Send me the free chapter

From the makers of Armisan Royals

We are Sachin Adatiya and Suman Mahto. On Armisan Royals we make long documentaries about British royal history, built on published biographies, letters and archive records.

This book grew out of that research. We wrote and edited it ourselves, compared the sources where they disagree, and say clearly where something is documented fact and where it is our interpretation.

Questions

How do I get the book after paying?

You'll get an email with download links straight away. You can also download it again any time from your Gumroad library.

Can I read it on Kindle?

Yes. Use the EPUB file and send it to your Kindle with Amazon's Send to Kindle. On phones and tablets, the EPUB opens in Apple Books, Google Play Books and most reading apps.

How do I pay, and in which currency?

Checkout is handled by Gumroad, which accepts cards and PayPal. Prices are in US dollars, and your card converts the amount into your own currency.

What if it isn't for me?

Email us within 14 days of buying and we'll refund you in full.

Is this the same as the documentaries?

No. It covers the same story in much more depth, with sources, quotes and details that don't fit in a video.

The whole story, in one book you can keep

Buy the ebook $12