England's monarchy has faced many threats
to the stability of the realm.
But on two days in history,
the affairs of their own hearts have thrown the country into crisis.
The execution of Queen Anne Boleyn
and the abdication of King Edward Vlll.
Two unprecedented moments separated by exactly 400 years.
Based on eye witness accounts,
this is a dramatised reconstruction of events as they happened on two days that shook the world.
It's the 19th of May 1536.
In Rome, Michael Angelo has started painting
the Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel.
In Argentina, pedro de Mendoza has founded
Buenos Aires.
In England, it's four months since the death of Catherine of Aragon,
King Henry Vlll's first wife.
And in London, preparations are underway
for the execution of his second queen.
Dawn. The Tower of London.
The formidable granite fortress built to defend the capital city.
And a notorious prison
for the country's most dangerous enemies.
Locked up in the royal apartments within the tower walls
is the queen consort of England. Anne Boleyn.
Until very recently, Anne, a clever and spirited woman,
led the most powerful faction in the English court.
But now, the 35 year old
is on the verge of complete nervous collapse.
The man who ordered her arrest is her husband,
the King of England, Henry Vlll.
Once this most capricious of men had risked wars
and reformed religions to win Anne's love.
Now, afterjust three years of marriage he sanctioned her death.
Her crime? A refusal to curb
the bold manners he once found so attractive
and her failure to provide him with a son and heir.
At her trial three days ago, she was found guilty of adultery.
Today, Anne Boleyn waits to go to the scaffold.
In another part of the fortress,
the man charged with organising the first ever execution of an English queen
has his breakfast.
Sir William Kingston
has been the Constable of the Tower of London for over 12 years,
a position of great dignity and prestige.
But his close contact with the prisoners
also makes him the perfect spy.
And since Anne's arrest,
he's been ordered to keep her under close surveillance.
20 miles along the River Thames at Hampton Court,
King Henry's first minister
waits for news on how the execution plans are progressing.
Thomas Cromwell
is a charming if utterly ruthless politician.
He has risen from humble origins as the son of a black smith
to become the Kings most trusted advisor,
and was once also one of Ann's closest allies.
But she has since become
a major political threat,
and resent research suggests it was Cromwell
who seized the opportunity to arrange Ann's downfall.
So far everything seems to be going to plan.
Anne is waiting for an indication from Kingston, Constable of the Tower,
of exactly when her execution will take place.
But as yet, there's been no word.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Our Father who are in heaven,
hallowed be thy name...
Like the majority of people in England,
the Queen is devoutly religious.
As a committed reformer,
Anne knows that her faith in Christ will protect her,
so long as she continues to trust and does not give in to despair.
Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,
thy will be done.
She believed that when she's killed in a few hours' time,
she will be united with God in the glory of heaven.
And deliver us not into temptation.
Anne was 21 when she made her debut at court.
She was the daughter of an English courtier, Thomas Boleyn,
whose family seat was Hever Castle in Kent.
But aged 13,
she was sent to France to complete her education.
By the time she met the king,
she was a highly accomplished woman
with strikingly bold and flirtatious manners.
Early in 1526, Henry Vlll became fascinated with Anne.
He began to write her a stream of love letters.
My mistress and friend,
I and my heart put ourselves in your hands,
begging you to have...
Necessity compels me to plague you for a reply,
having been for more than a year now stuck by the dart of love.
...in my arms or I in yours,
for I think it long since I kissed you...
...written by the hand of him
who would willingly remain yours. Henry.
Unfortunately, Henry was already married to Catherine of Aragon.
So instead, he asked Anne to become his mistress,
a role her sister had fulfilled before her.
But Anne decided to play for much higher stakes.
She knew the king craved a son and heir,
something his wife had been unable to give him.
So Anne said she would only sleep with Henry
if he agreed to marry her.
Henry needed little persuading.
But getting rid of Catherine of Aragon
proved harder than they both thought.
It took seven long years
and an alliance with Thomas Cromwell
before Anne and Henry achieved their objective.
Henry could only divorce Catherine of Aragon
with the permission of the pope.
But the pope refused.
So instead, Cromwell convinced
parliament to bypass Rome
and grant Henry's divorce themselves.
The Catholic Church was furious.
And Henry was excommunicated.
But Anne and Henry could finally be married.
In May 1533, Anne was crowned the new Queen of England.
But she received a mixed reception.
At her coronation procession,
she remarked to Henry on the lack of enthusiasm shown by the English spectators.
I like the look of the city well enough,
but I saw a great many caps on heads
and heard but a few tongues.
In the eyes of many people,
Anne, a clever and educated woman,
was no more than the common whore who'd bewitched their King.
Now, three years later
as Anne reflects on her life, she knows many still hate her
for her treatment of Catherine of Aragon.
Even the ladies in waiting attending Anne during her imprisonment
lack any sympathy for her.
They include Margaret Coffey,
Lady Boleyn, Anne's aunt,
and the Constable of the Tower's wife, Lady Kingston.
All have been especially chosen by Henry.
I shall be in heaven.
For I have done many good deeds in my days.
This I think much unkindness on the King
to put such about me as I never loved.
I would have had of mine own privy chamber which I fay the most.
But Henry knows Anne's own supporters
may have tried to engineer her escape.
Until she's safely on the scaffold,
she will remain under constant scrutiny.
Kingston receives a message from the Queen.
Anne's decided she wishes to hear mass before her execution
and wants Kingston to come to the service.
In fact it's vital for Anne
that there are witnesses.
She intends to use the mass
to send a defiant message to her enemies.
One that will later convince the world of her innocence.
Anne's biggest enemy is the Emperor,
Charles V of Spain.
Ruler over much of the known world
and Catherine of Aragon's nephew.
Henry's divorce from Catherine was seen as an act of great dishonour
and Spain casts Anne as the whore Queen.
But at the root of their hatred is something far more fundamental.
They see Anne as a threat to the stability of the Catholic faith.
The protestant reformation is sweeping Europe.
Lamb of god, taketh away the sins of the world.
Already Henry has broken with the pope
and made himself head of the Church of England.
He's now starting to dissolve the monasteries.
While Anne still accepts the Catholic mass,
her views are seen as dangerously progressive.
Even as she prepares for her execution,
one of the emperor's spy's is waiting to report back
exactly what Anne says at mass.
The recipient of the information
is one of the most successful diplomats of his generation.
The Spanish ambassador. Eustace Japwee.
A shrewd and clever man,
Japwee has manoeuvred his way into the inner sanctum of the English court.
From this position
he's been a witness to every stage in Anne's downfall.
His letters home to the Emperor
have been full of reports of the woman he refers to as the King's mistress.
First, he wrote of Henry's disappointment
when Anne gave birth to a girl
and not the expected male heir.
On Sunday last, the eve of our lady, about 3 o'clock,
the King's mistress was delivered of a daughter,
to the great regret both of him and the lady.
Then, Japwee reported back
Henry's anger when Anne
miscarried their son.
I learn from several persons of this court
that for more than three months
this King has not spoken ten times to the concubine.
And that when she miscarried,
he scarcely said anything to her,
except that he saw clearly
that god did not wish to give him male children.
Finally, he wrote of Anne's own fury
when the King switched his attentions
to a new arrival at the English court.
The meek and obedient noblewoman, Jane Seymour.
The new amours of this King with a young lady of whom I have before written
still go on to the intense rage of the concubine.
Henry was now faced with a dilemma.
A marriage to Jane Seymour
might finally give him a son and heir.
But how could he rid himself of a wife
he'd scandalised Christendom to marry.
Henry turned to the man who always excelled at giving him exactly what he wanted.
Anne's former ally, Thomas Cromwell.
Cromwell saw an opportunity to both win favour with the King
and remove a growing threat to his political career.
So he began to plot Anne's downfall.
First, he arrested two courtiers
and accused them of adultery with the Queen.
The next day, Anne and her brother were sent to the tower
followed by two other courtiers.
Finally Cromwell questioned
the women of Anne's privy chamber.
But he still lacked the hard evidence he needed to make the charges stick.
Then, in an ironic twist of fate,
the information Cromwell craved
came from the most unlikely source.
Anne herself.
She approached a courtier, Francis Weston,
whom she suspected had been cheating on his wife.
...because I spoke to him
because he did love my kinswoman, Mrs Scalcen.
And he loved not his wife.
And then he made answer that he loved one in the house.
...them both. And then I asked him, who is that.
To which he answered, that it is yourself.
The three exchanges were all part of the innocent ritual of courtly love.
But in an atmosphere of suspicion,
they were ripe for misinterpretation.
Each time Anne talked, Kingston reported
her incriminating words straight back to Cromwell.
And now he had all the evidence he needed.
At her trial two days ago, she was found unanimously
guilty of adultery and sentenced to death.
Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world,
have mercy upon us. Grant us...
Kingston arrives in time to witness Anne
as she takes the sacrament.
She believes that later this morning she will be beheaded.
By law, she should be burned,
but the court has passed a special judgement
allowing Henry to decide.
But while she's forced to accept the judgement of the court,
more important to her now
is whether she's guilty in the eyes of God.
She will use her attendance at mass
to make a declaration of her innocence.
If she's been adulterous and dies with a lie on her lips,
it will be to the damnation of her immortal soul.
Amen.
Body of our Lord Jesus Christ broken for you.
The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ shed for you.
Amen.
I swear before God, and on the most sacred host.
That I am innocent for all that I am accused of.
Twice, Anne denies that she has ever committed adultery.
In an age of such piety,
this is compelling proof of her innocence.
And just as she intended,
Kingston reports her declaration
straight back to the court and to Cromwell.
But there's no last minute pardon.
And Henry signs her execution warrant.
Anne's death is now imminent.
But one last cruel twist... threatens to completely destroy her fragile state of mind.
I hear say I shall not die afore noon.
And I am very sorry therefore.
For I thought to be dead by this time.
But madam, you should be aware
that the execution is and always has been planned for tomorrow morning.
It is unlikely Anne has been deliberately misled.
But her mind could be playing tricks on her.
Be not distressed, madam,
for the lethal blow is so subtle,
you shall feel no pain.
Kingston tries his hardest to console her.
But he finds her hysteria hard to cope with.
During similar states of mind, Anne has claimed her arrest
is just a test from Henry
and that she'll soon be sent to a nunnery.
I heard say the executioner was very good.
And to have a little neck.
But now she appears to find humour in her execution.
I have seen many men and also women executed
and they have been in great sorrow.
And to my knowledge
this lady hath much joy and pleasure in death.
She must now wait until the morning to die.
She spends the rest of the day in prayer.
Closeted with her priest.
15 miles north of London,
at the royal palace of Hatfield in Hertfordshire,
Anne's two and a half year old daughter, princess Elizabeth,
plays with her nurse.
Like all royal children,
she was removed from court as a baby
and established in her own household away from the polluted air of the city.
It is unlikely Elizabeth was close to her mother
whom she's seen only during an occasional visit.
But now, with her death,
Anne is about to affect not just her daughter's life,
but the whole course of history.
Within the walls of the Tower of London,
a four foot high wooden scaffold has been specially erected.
Henry has decided Anne should not be executed as female traitors traditionally are,
by being burnt at the stake.
He's even spared her the crude hacking of the Tower of London's axe man.
Instead, Henry has paid a hundred crowns for the executioner of Calais to travel to London
and behead his wife with a sword.
Anne makes the short journey from the royal apartments.
She catches her first sight of the scaffold.
There's now no chance it's just been a test from Henry.
Around a thousand people have gathered to watch her execution.
Including Thomas Cromwell.
But Japwee, the Spanish ambassador,
who's chronicled so many events in Anne's life,
will not see her die.
Such a public conclusion to the breakdown of a royal marriage
is not something Cromwell wants England's enemies to witness.
And last night, he ordered Kingston to throw all foreigners
out of the Tower.
Anne mounts the scaffold.
May I have leave to speak...
Following the etiquette of state executions,
she then requests Kingston's permission to speak to the crowd.
Good Christian people.
I am not here to preach a sermon.
I am here to die.
For according to the law and by the law I am judged to die.
And therefore I will speak nothing against it.
I am come hither to accuse no man,
nor speak of that where of I have been accused
and condemned to die.
But I pray God, Save the King
and send him long to reign over you.
For a gentler nor a more merciful prince there never were.
To me, he was a good, a gentle,
and a sovereign lord.
Anne is careful not to show any defiance
which could have consequences for her family.
But she also makes no admission of her guilt.
And word later gets round that she has died boldly.
And thus I take my leave of the world.
And of you all. And I heartily desire you all pray for me.
Eye witnesses comment on the obvious distress of the ladies in waiting.
Finally, Anne's plight has won their sympathy.
The executioner is paid 20 pounds
to ensure a merciful death.
Anne kneels down in front of him.
She keeps looking nervously behind her,
worried he's going to strike before she's ready.
But the executioner is prepared.
And signals to his assistant
to distract her attention.
Before grabbing his sword from the straw.
With her lips still moving,
Anne Boleyn, the Queen of England, is beheaded.
After the execution, it is the ladies in waiting
who carry Anne's body
the 70 yards from the scaffold to the Tower of London's chapel.
They lay her in an elm chest
originally intended to transport a consignment of arrows to Ireland.
She's buried in the chancel in an unmarked grave.
Two years later, Jane Seymour
dies after giving birth to the son Henry has always craved.
Cromwell is asked to find the King a new wife.
But his choice, Anne of Cleeves,
is an unmitigated disaster.
Cromwell falls out of favour
and is forced to face heresy charges
that will later send him to the scaffold.
After her mother's death,
princess Elizabeth is declared illegitimate.
And for the next 20 years her future remains in doubt.
But finally, on the 17th of November 1558,
Anne Boleyn's daughter enters the gates of the Tower of London
and is crowned Queen Elizabeth I.
She goes on to become one of England's most successful monarchs.
It's the 8th of December 1936.
In Europe, Hitler and Mussolini
have agreed the Rome Berlin Axis.
In America, Franklyn D Roosevelt
had been re-elected for a second term as US president.
In Britain, Edward Vlll has acceded to the throne
following the death of his father, King George V.
But with preparations for his coronation underway,
the monarch is in crisis.
Fort Belvedere.
An 18th century gothic house seven miles from Windsor Castle.
And the countryside retreat of the current King of England, Edward Vlll.
He called it his getaway from people house.
A place of refuge from the formalities of life at Buckingham palace.
But tonight, the privacy of the fort is shattered.
It's an extraordinary gathering
involving the key players in a crisis
that has brought the country to a standstill.
At the head of the table is Edward.
The 42 year old became King in January
on a wave of unprecedented popularity.
He's seen as the modern monarch England needs
to lead the country out of depression.
To his right sits the Conservative prime Minister,
Stanley Baldwin.
At 69, he's at the peak of his political career,
having served three terms in office.
He and his party are suspicious of a King
known for his sympathy with the unemployed and destitute.
Finally, along with two of Edward's brothers,
is Walter Monkton, a barrister and close friend
of Edward from their years at Oxford.
Conversation never flags.
Gentlemen.
But the King makes sure the one topic
that has brought them all here is never mentioned.
His wish to married a divorced American socialite
called Wallis Simpson.
They first met six years ago through mutual friends.
Wallis was already married.
But during the last two years, Edward has fallen deeply in love
and the couple had begun an affair.
At the public proclamation of Edward's accession,
Wallis was one of the guests invited
to watch from a window of St James' palace.
God save the King.
The British press initially steered clear of the story.
But finally, five days ago, the news broke.
The King wished to marry Mrs Simpson,
a woman now going through her second divorce.
The establishment was horrified
and while many British people rallied round their King,
the prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, remained adamant.
Edward could not marry Wallis
and stay on the throne.
Tonight, Baldwin has got his answer.
Edward has confirmed he intends to abdicate immediately.
I reject the notion that faced with a choice between love and duty, I chose love.
I did not value the crown so lightly
that I gave it away hastily.
I valued it so deeply that I surrendered it
rather than risk any impairment of its prestige.
This is the last time the prime Minister will visit his King.
And Edward wants the meeting kept short.
I had already had quite enough of Mr Baldwin.
His part in my life was over
and I did not propose to have him on my hands that night,
storing up little homely touches for his report to parliament.
Gentlemen, shall we retire?
In the morning, the constitutional process of abdication will begin.
But Baldwin may have one last trick up his sleeve,
to try and stop the crisis in its tracks.
Approximately 600 miles away in a plane chartered by the British Government,
Wallis Simpson's solicitor is on his way to Cannes.
John Theodore Goddard
has been acting on behalf of Wallis during her recent divorce.
It's not due to be finalised for another four months.
But yesterday, Baldwin asked him
to arrange an urgent meeting with his client who's staying at a friend's villa.
There may be a chance Goddard can persuade Wallis
to call off her divorce,
removing at one stroke Edward's incentive to abdicate.
But it's a race against the clock.
He was due to arrive hours ago,
but bad weather and engine trouble
has dogged the flight since take off.
If Goddard is to have any chance of success,
he must reach Cannes by morning
before the abdication process gets underway.
The Lou Viei villa
in the exclusive district of Californi in Cannes.
Wallis Simpson fled Britain
five days ago after the news broke
of the King's desire to marry her.
But she cannot escape the press.
Several hundred reporters and photographers are now camped outside.
With her is the King's lord in waiting, perry Brownlow.
And her friend, Catherine Rogers,
the owner of the villa.
In seeking to escape from one trap
I have run blindly into another.
Worst still I was coming to realise that the crisis was at the explosion point.
Suddenly, the Scotland Yard inspector
assigned to protect Wallis bursts in.
I've just been handed this note.
Newspapers in England are running a story
that Wallis' solicitor is on his way to Cannes.
And that he is accompanied by a gynaecologist.
The press are anxious for any comment she might care to make.
It was a bombshell. I was shocked to the core of my being.
Gynaecologist? Had the prime Minister and my solicitor
taken leave of their senses?
Well somebody had obviously gone mad.
Perry Brownlow is furious
and rushes out of the villa, denying the report
and instead concocting a cover story.
Any respect the press had for the King's privacy has clearly vanished.
A world away from the dramatic events in Cannes,
74 year old Francis Stevenson has his breakfast.
He's yet to retire
and works as a managing clerk for a firm of solicitors in London.
Today, he intends to use his legal knowledge
to try and prevent the King's abdication.
The crisis now dominates the English press
and Francis has also been sent cuttings from friends in America
where for weeks the papers
have been covering the royal romance.
I was told
that Mrs Simpson was aiming to be Queen of England,
that it was the late King's wish that she should be so.
And that his infatuation with her was abnormal.
I was told about her previous marriage and divorce.
In the 1930s,
divorce is still widely regarded as unacceptable.
Like many of his generation,
Francis does not believe Mrs Simpson
should be allowed to marry the King.
Over breakfast in Cannes, Wallis prepares to open
a selection of the hate mail that now arrives daily at the villa.
It is no exaggeration to say
that my world went to pieces every morning on a tray.
Everything that I stood for was condemned.
The presumption was
that I had in some way gained an ascendancy over a beloved King.
Wallis was brought up in gentile poverty.
The only daughter of a respectable Baltimore widow.
Her first marriage had been a disaster
and life with her second husband, Ernest,
was pleasant but unexciting.
When the future King of England began to show an interest,
she was swept off her feet.
Over and beyond the charm of his personality and the warmth of his manner,
he was the open sesame to a new and glittery world
that excited me
as nothing in my life had ever done before.
It seemed unbelievable that I, Wallis Warfield,
of Baltimore, Maryland,
could be a part of this enchanted world.
It was like being Wallis in Wonderland.
Mr Goddard, good morning.
I am so sorry...
Goddard finally arrives at the villa.
He begins by apologising
for the embarrassing press reports created by his visit.
I am so sorry this has occurred.
Goddard has brought a doctor with him,
but he's not a gynaecologist.
Rather the solicitor's personal physician.
This is so typical of the press.
Two and two make fifty.
They've completely misunderstood.
The only reason Dr Kirkwood is accompanying me
is because I have a heart condition and he insisted.
Do you mind if I sit down?
No, I'm so sorry, do sit down.
The bad weather finally forced Goddard's plane to land at Marseilles
and he's driven through the night to get here.
I come directly from Mr Baldwin.
There's no time to lose
and he gets straight down to business.
It was to urge me to withdraw the divorce action
which would not become absolute for another five months.
If I could persuade myself to do this, he explained,
all possibility of the King's marriage would fall to the ground
and the crisis would thus be resolved.
If at any stage later you wanted to renew the petition...
Goddard is careful to warn Wallis
that stopping her divorce proceedings will be complicated.
There are distinct...
But her mind is made up.
Mr Goddard,
any question of inconvenience is now irrelevant.
I will do anything in my power to keep the King on the throne.
So you will institute proceedings to withdraw.
Is it obviously your decision, that it what I would advise, yes.
I agree.
The King's worst fears have been realised.
I'll go and phone.
Wallis, deprived of Edward's morale support,
has faltered.
She's terrified she'll go down in history
as the woman responsible for causing a King to abdicate.
Yes, the fort please.
She decides to telephone Edward at Fort Belvedere
to tell him her decision,
but he's unable to take her call.
Unaware of the progress Goddard has made in Cannes,
Baldwin calls a meeting with his ministers.
He begins by reporting back on his evening with the king.
Last night before dinner, I spoke with the King.
I asked him to reconsider his position.
He refused. His mind is set.
After dinner before I left,
I decided to make one final attemp to discuss this matter.
I said I suppose if an arch angel suddenly appeared,
and asked you to give up Mrs Simpson,
it would have no effect. Not in the slightest, he said.
Gentlemen, he is adamant.
He told me if he was not going to be allowed
to take the throne and marry Mrs Simpson, he would abdicate immediately.
Anthony Eden, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
is the first to question
the propriety of Goddard's last minute dash to Cannes.
On whose instructions would Mr Goddard be pressing renunciations on the lady?
On no-one's instruction.
He is her legal advisor and,
as such, wishes to know the lady's intentions.
Baldwin knows any interference in Wallis Simpson's private affairs
would be considered improper.
And will consistently deny
that Goddard was sent to Cannes on official government business.
And there will be total secrecy.
Absolute secrecy.
Baldwin was on his normal form again last night.
Mm.
At Fort Belvedere,
Edward is finally able to return Wallis' telephone call of this morning.
It is put through via the Fort's internal switchboard,
When Edward and Wallis are finally connected,
the line is very bad.
Wallis.
David.
Wallis refers to him by his actual Christian name,
rather than the more formal royal moniker of Edward.
And, I've agreed for him to institute proceedings to withdraw my divorce.
My petition.
There was a long silence.
Wallis.
Then, with emotion, David answered
that matters had already gone much further than I realised.
David.
Wallis is informed that Edward has already made his decision.
And, worse than that, the abdication is underway.
The King's definitely going to abdicate. In fact the process has already begun.
She's stunned.
Yesterday, Edward had reassured her
no irrevocable step had been taken.
Now it seems there's nothing more she can do.
The King's mind is made up. Baldwin's envoy has failed.
But back in London,
one man is on a personal quest to single-handedly prevent the abdication crisis.
Good day to you sir. I'd like...
Francis Stevenson.
The 74 year old solicitor's clerk from llford
has decided to use his legal knowledge
to stop Wallis Simpson's divorce.
Francis knows that before a divorce is finalised,
any citizen has a right intervene
if they believe the action is unlawful.
Based on what he's read in the American press,
Francis believes Wallis and her husband have made a private agreement to divorce.
And that Wallis may have been adulterous with the King.
That will he half a crown, sir.
There will now be an inquiry by the King's proctor.
If Stevenson's claim is found to be true,
Wallis' divorce will be thrown out.
And Edward, whether King or commoner,
will not be allowed to marry her.
Today, the reign of Edward Vlll, Britain's King forjust 11 months,
will shortly be over.
At Fort Belvedere, Edward waits for his brothers.
Together they will sign the legal paperwork
required to bring his reign to a close.
First to arrive are Harry, the Duke of Gloucester,
and Bertie, England's future king.
Well, here we are. Minus George.
Surprise, surprise.
That's George.
Finally, at 10 o'clock, George,
Edward's favourite brother, turns up.
Ah, George.
I'm sorry.
Yes, always late as usual.
Seven copies of the instrument of abdication
must be signed by each brother.
These, along with a message to his people,
will be dispatched to the prime Minister,
the two Houses of parliament and England's representatives in Ireland,
India, and the Dominions.
It was all quite informal.
The room was filled with a dignified dull murmur.
When I had signed the last document,
I yielded the chair to my brothers
who in turn appended their signatures
as witnesses in their order of precedence.
The occasion moved me.
Like a swimmer surfacing from a great depth,
I left the room and stepped outside.
Inhaling the fresh morning air.
Edward has also written two notes to Baldwin.
The prime Minister had asked if there were any points
the King wished him to include in his address to parliament that afternoon.
The first note expresses Edward's confidence
that his brother will receive the full support of the Empire.
The second, that Mrs Simpson
has consistently tried to dissuade him from abdicating.
But significantly, Baldwin, during his historic speech to the House of Commons,
fails to read out this second message.
The next day, on December 11th at 10 o'clock in the evening,
Edward speaks to his people for the last time.
The whole country comes to a standstill.
This Windsor Castle. His Royal Highness, prince Edward.
At long last, I am able to say a few words of my own.
I have never wanted to withhold anything.
But until now
it has not been constitutionally possible for me to speak.
Edward's broadcast is heard in France.
And Wallis listens to it from the villa in Cannes.
But you must believe me when I tell you
that I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility
and to discharge my duties as King
as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.
As Francis Stevenson listens to the King's words,
he realises he's made a terrible mistake.
When the broadcast is over, he writes to Wallis Simpson's lawyer,
John Theodore Goddard
to try and withdraw his challenge to the divorce,
but he's too late.
An inquiry is launched by the King's proctor
into whether Wallis colluded with her husband
or was adulterous with the King.
But his detailed investigations reveal nothing
and her divorce is granted.
Baldwin's handling of the abdication crisis
is viewed as a personal triumph.
Five months later, he resigns from office,
leaving his successor, Neville Chamberlain,
to lead Britain into World War II.
In June 1937, Wallis and Edward are married,
becoming the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
They are shunned by the Royal Family
and forced to live in permanent exile.
But Edward remains devoted to the woman
for whom he sacrificed his throne
and he will later say that he has no regrets.