Crisis point: King may leave

December 2, 1936

King Edward VIII's reign is coming "perilously close to a breaking tonight after a day of such fantastic happenings as the proud old British monarchy has not had to experience for hundreds of years," reports the New York Times.
A constitutional crisis has burst upon the country, and may involve the possible abdication of the King tomorrow, and "the succession of the Duke of York to the throne."
The crisis "is no longer hidden."  There is now open conflict between the King and his Ministers. 
Edward's Cabinet has made it clear that the marriage of the sovereign is not a private matter, "but a public and imperial concern."  On the other hand, the King is said "to feel that the Cabinet has no constitutional right to dictate his private life, no matter how closely he must follow his Ministers' advice in public affairs."
Early this evening, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin went to Buckingham Palace for a "stormy one-hour interview which must have been one of the most anxious that any Prime Minister has ever had to face."
No one knows what happened after the meeting, as the Prime Minister saw no one afterward, apart from Sir John Simon, Home Minister and the "greatest legal expert of the government."
The "most wildly accepted" of all the rumors that "whirled through London tonight" was a a statement that Mrs. Wallis Simpson, the American-born friend of the king, plans to leave the country tomorrow.  The King may go with her.
It appears now that after the Prime Minister left the palace this evening, the King had a "long talk with Mrs. Simpson."  He drove out to his country residence, Fort Belvedere, where he met with Mrs. Simpson.   She is now returning to her London home.  The King will remain overnight at the Fort.
The King's brother, the Duke of York, the heir presumptive to the throne, will be returning to London tomorrow. 
The "great London newspapers" have turned on the King "with warnings and last minute entreaties" to remind Edward of his kingly obligations.   Also noted is the publicity "build up" in the London papers of the Duke of York and his "radiant British wife."  There has been a "sudden spate" of photographs of the Duke and Duchess of York and their two young daughters in the afternoon papers.
Tonight there is "no hint" of the oppositions "veiled threats."  The King has kept his counsel "while the empire's hopes of years were crumbling around him."
British newspapers, including the august Times have admitted that the American newspapers had a "basis in solid fact" regarding their coverage of the King and Mrs. Simpson.  The Times noted that King is "entitled to his relaxation and companionship with chosen friends," but he cannot "afford to let private inclination come into conflict with public duty."
The strongest criticism of the King came from an editorial in The News Chronicle, which not only mentioned Mrs. Simpson's name, but wrote:  "It is for the King to say like every other man who shall be his partner for life.  It is for Parliament to say who shall be the Queen of this country and regulate the succession to the throne."
In others, Edward could marry Mrs. Simpson, and she could become the King's Consort "without the rights or powers of a Queen."  Any children born to the couple would not have succession rights.   But this is an unlikely scenario as the Cabinet and "others in high places who are determined to prevent any marriage with Mrs. Simpson at all."