Did Wallis Simpson and the Duke of Windsor Attend the Coronation?

Before there was mounting drama surrounding whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would attend the coronation of King Charles III in May, another high-profile royal couple's coronation speculation dominated headlines in the aftermath of one of the biggest controversies the British monarchy has ever faced.

Edward VIII, later the Duke of Windsor, inherited the throne in January 1936 but by November he was living in exile from Britain, before he could have his own coronation.

Here, Newsweek answers a reader's question as to whether the duke and his polarizing American-born wife, Wallis Simpson, attended coronations after the abdication.

Did Wallis Simpson and the Duke of Windsor Attend The Coronation of King George VI or Queen Elizabeth II?

The Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson did not attend any coronation in Britain after the abdication crisis of 1936.

When Edward VIII inherited the throne from his father, King George V, in January 1936 he was involved in a serious relationship with the twice-married American-born Wallis Simpson.

As a divorcee, and the king's mistress, senior members of the royal family such as the dowager Queen Mary refused to receive her. It became clear as Edward proceeded into his early reign that he one day wished to marry Wallis, something that would have been impossible in his capacity as monarch and head of the Church of England.

At the time, the church did not recognize divorce, it therefore could not sanctify the marriage of divorced people whose spouses were still living. Wallis obtained a decree nisi to divorce her second husband in October 1936, and Edward began discussions with Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin about marriage.

When told that the government and his family would not support his marriage to Wallis, Edward made clear he would do so even if it meant abdication—the first in the history of the British monarchy.

After failed attempts to dissuade him by politicians and his family, Edward abdicated in favor of his younger brother on December 10, 1936. His brother, Bertie, and his wife, Elizabeth, therefore became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The abdication meant that one day, their eldest daughter Elizabeth, would become Queen Elizabeth II.

After the abdication, Edward was given the title of Duke of Windsor, and the couple moved in exile to France.

Royal relationships within the family had become so severely strained during the process of abdication that Wallis and Edward were not included on the invitation list for George's coronation. It was also deemed inappropriate for an ex-king to be present at the new king's crowning.

On the evening before the great ceremony, Edward and Wallis announced their engagement, something biographer Andrew Lownie wrote in his book Traitor King, was a "gesture suspected of being an attempt to upstage the event." When the couple married on June 3, 1937, George VI angered his brother by not allowing Wallis the right to use an HRH (Her Royal Highness) style even though it was legally hers.

This move meant that as Edward's wife, Wallis would not rank equally in Britain with the other royal duchesses. This also meant that she would not automatically be bowed or curtsied to.

The family relationships had not improved by 1953, the coronation year of Elizabeth II, and when the ceremony came, the new monarch's uncle and aunt were again excluded from the event under the previous pretext that ex-kings do not attend coronations of their successors.

Where Did the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson Live?

The duke and duchess of Windsor lived in France after 1936.

After their initial move post-abdication crisis, Edward and Wallis leased a house in Cap d'Antibes, an elite area in the south of France. After World War II was declared in 1939, the former king moved to the Bahamas with his wife where he served as governor of the islands from 1940 until 1945.

After the war, the duke and duchess returned to France where the government gave them the lease of a large chateau in the center of Paris, 4 Route du Champ d'Entraînement, later nicknamed "Villa Windsor."

The couple never returned to Britain to live and split their time between France and the U.S. After their deaths, Villa Windsor returned to the government and was later leased by wealthy businessman Mohamed Al Fayed, former owner of Harrods department store.

Al Fayed restored the house as a museum to Wallis and Edward. Princess Diana visited the house the day before she died on a trip to Paris with Al Fayed's son, Dodi. The house remains under lease to Al Fayed.

Where Are the Duke and Duchess of Windsor Buried?

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor are both buried at the Frogmore burial ground in Windsor Great Park.

The duke died in 1972 at the age of 77. The duchess survived him by over a decade, passing away in 1986 at the age of 89.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.