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The Daily Dose/December 11, 2008
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
   
Notes from around the Human Experience, including exclusive, hot On This Date action, plus Planet Earth is the Column Four Foto!
I'M OUTTA HERE: On this date, in 1936, the abdication of King Edward VIII of Great Britain and other commonwealth realms became official when he gave his royal assent to an act of Parliament allowing him to renounce the throne.
A Confession: Like others, we've always had a curiosity here at the Writer's Shack about the British monarchy, probably because people who have little choice in their life's course have always fascinated us, sort of like we've always found the lives of condemned prisoners interesting. They, too, have few options.
We take a lot for granted as commoners. We wake up in the morning and what we get out of that day is more or less dependent on we put into it, and our lives are, to an extent that is a pleasing as it can be surprising, about as rewarding as we make our days.
Royals, though, have fewer options. Consider this, you're born and your life's course is more or less already charted out. You go to school, you are obliged to wear a kilt with your coat and tie, you are invested as prince of this or duke or earl of that and you try to construct a useful life for yourself despite the fact you are not allowed to some things that commoners are allowed to do, like decide where you want to go to school or choose a career. You are limited to schools royals are accustomed to attending and, while a royal could become an officer in Her Majesty's army or navy, other careers, like spy or cobbler or professor are more or less closed to you.
Reginald! Wipe My Ass! There are compensations. Your life is luxurious. You live in palaces and manors and castles and have summer homes and long holidays. You have butlers and secretaries and chamberlains to do things for you. All you really have to do is show up to whatever official duty you have been assigned that day and smile and wave and pretend people you will never see again interest you.
And, sure, there is room for accomplishment and a life of substance in that context. Prince Charles is, we think, a pretty good example of that.
And a royal could say "screw it" and back out of the royal life, but he's still fairly limited in
what he could do. He could retire to a country estate and live a reclusive life painting or writing or molesting geese. He couldn't grow his hair long and hitchhike across the country or become a roadie for a rock band or go to umpire school.
I Do…Or, Rather, I'd Like To: Nor can you always marry who you want. This was Edward's problem. A bachelor (though one who had always had his share of action, usually with older, married women) when he assumed the throne earlier in 1936 after his dad George V died, Edward had the hots for an American two-time divorcee named Wallis Simpson, who was, in fact, still married when they first became lovers, reportedly around 1930. Edward caused both scandal and crisis when he announced his intention to marry Simpson in November of 1936.
This didn't go over well at all, and it became clear to Edward that his subjects, their media and their elected government would never accept Simpson as Queen, leaving Edward with three options: give up Simpson, marry her anyway and have his government resign, or abdicate.
I Resign: The actual mechanics of Edward's abdication were interesting: there was no provision for it in British law. Literally, there was no way for Edward to not be king. As senior descendant of Sophia of Hanover he was the sovereign, and that was that. He had no other options. He couldn't give two weeks notice or retire. The only way for Edward to unking himself was to die.
This seemed a little extreme, even to the cold-hearted British, and the matter was instead handled with typical British efficiency. The day before Edward had signed the Instrument of Abdication in which he announced, among other things, his "irrevocable determination to renounce the Throne for Myself and My descendants" and that "effect should be given to this Instrument...immediately."
The next day Parliament passed His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act, a brief, 328-word missive which acknowledged Edwards's desire to abdicate, accepted his resignation and provided for his successor, his brother Albert, who took the name George VI.
The Post Game Show Is Brought To You By Saville Row Suits: The next day, December 12, George VI made Edward Duke of Windsor and styled him His Royal Highness, though Simpson - whom he married in June, 1937 - and their descendants were specifically excluded from the Royal Highness styling, which would always piss Edward off. Also, Edward was left off the civil list, which provides government money for royal expenses and to provide for royal households. Edward's allowance was paid for directly by George VI, which also pissed Edward off, though Edward was hardly broke due to income received from the Duchy of Cornwall as Prince of Wales. Plus, as king he had inherited Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle, which he would graciously sell to his brother so George would have someplace to go on weekends. He would serve as Governor of the Bahamas, a position he despised, during World War II, but otherwise he and Simpson lived a quiet life of retirement in France, where it is reported Edward passed his time engaging in illegal currency trading.
The Last Small Step: Man lands on the Moon for the last time, when Apollo 17 touches down. Commanded by Gene Cernan, with command module pilot Ron Evans and lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 would spend three days on the Moon, including over 22 hours exploring its surface.
FunFact: A geologist by trade, Schmitt was the only scientist to walk on the Moon.
FunFact II: Though Apollo 17 brought back over 240 pounds of lunar rocks - more than any other mission - it is probably most famous for what has become known as The Blue Marble photograph, the first picture taken of a fully illuminated Earth. It was taken a few hours after launch, but no one is entirely sure which astronaut took the picture, and NASA officially credits the entire crew, though it is probable that Schmitt took the picture.
Thought For The Day: America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. - Gene Cernan, Commander, Apollo 17 and the last human to set foot on the Moon.
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Ron Dayne of Wisconsin is the all-time leading rusher in NCAA I-A/FBS history with 6,397 yards.
Today's Stumper: When it landed in the Pacific Ocean, about 350 nautical miles from Samoa, how far was Apollo 17 from its intended landing point? - Answer next time!
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