Edward VIII was a King of England. He was born Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David in 1894 at Richmond and died in 1972. He was Prince of Wales from 1910 until he became king in 1936, when he abdicated in the same year to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson, and was then given the titleDuke of Windsor. As the Prince of Wales, Edward VIII had successfully carried out a number of regional visits (including areas hit by economic depression) and other official engagements. These visits and his official tours overseas, together with his good war record and genuine care for the underprivileged, had made him popular. The first monarch to be a qualified pilot, Edward created The King's Flight (now known as 32 (The Royal) Squadron) in 1936 to provide air transport for the Royal family's official duties.
During the Second World War, Edward, then the Duke of Windsor escaped from Paris, where he was living at the time of the fall of France, to Lisbon in 1940. The Duke of Windsor was then appointed Governor of the Bahamas, a position he held until 1945. He lived abroad until the end
of his life dying in 1972 in Paris (though he is buried at Windsor). Edward was never crowned; his reign lasted 325 days. His brother Albert became King, using his last name George. Research Edward VIII
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