I.

Introduction

Edward VIII (1894-1972), king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and emperor of India (January 20-December 11, 1936), later known as the duke of Windsor.

Edward was born June 23, 1894, in White Lodge, Richmond Park, and was educated at the naval preparatory college at Osborne; the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth; and Magdalen College, University of Oxford. During World War I he served with the Grenadier Guards in France, Italy, Flanders, and Egypt. In 1919 he undertook the first of many official goodwill tours to Canada and other countries. In the 1920s and 1930s he supported slum-clearance projects, aid to the unemployed, and improvement of the working conditions of British miners.