Opposition to the King and his marriage came from several directions. Edward's desire to modernise the monarchy and make it more accessible, though appreciated by many of the public, was distrusted by the British Establishment. Edward upset the aristocracy by treating their traditions and ceremonies with disdain, and many were offended by his abandonment of accepted social norms and mores.
Social and moral Government ministers and the royal family found Wallis's background and behaviour unacceptable for a potential queen. Rumours and innuendo about her circulated in society. The King's mother, Queen Mary, was even told that Wallis might have held some sort of sexual control over Edward, as she had released him from an undefined
sexual dysfunction through practices learnt in a
Chinese brothel. This view was partially shared by
Alan Don, Chaplain to the
Archbishop of Canterbury, who wrote that he suspected the King "is sexually abnormal which may account for the hold Mrs S. has over him". Even Edward VIII's official biographer,
Philip Ziegler, noted that: "There must have been some sort of
sadomasochistic relationship[...] [Edward] relished the contempt and bullying she bestowed on him." Police detectives following Wallis reported back that, while involved with Edward, she was also involved with a married car mechanic and salesman named Guy Trundle. This may well have been passed on to senior figures in the establishment, including members of the royal family.
Joseph Kennedy, the American ambassador, described her as a "tart", and his wife,
Rose, refused to dine with her. Wallis was perceived to be pursuing Edward for his money; his
equerry wrote that she would eventually leave him, "having secured the cash". The future prime minister
Neville Chamberlain (then
Chancellor of the Exchequer) wrote in his diary that she was "an entirely unscrupulous woman who is not in love with the King but is exploiting him for her own purposes. She has already ruined him in money and jewels".
United Kingdom–United States relations were strained during the
inter-war years and the majority of Britons were reluctant to accept an American as
queen consort. At the time, some members of the British upper class looked down on Americans with disdain and considered them socially inferior. In contrast, the American public was clearly in favour of the marriage, as was most of the
American press.
Religious and legal In Edward's lifetime, the
Church of England forbade the remarriage of divorced people in church while a former spouse was still living. The monarch was required by law to be in communion with the Church of England, and was its nominal head or
Supreme Governor. In 1935 the Church of England reaffirmed that, "in no circumstances can Christian men or women re-marry during the lifetime of a wife or a husband". The
archbishop of Canterbury,
Cosmo Gordon Lang, held that the king, as the head of the Church of England, could not marry a divorcée. If Edward married Wallis, a divorcée who would soon have two living ex-husbands, in a civil ceremony, it would directly conflict with Church teaching and his role as the Church's
ex officio head. Wallis's first divorce (in the United States on the grounds of "emotional incompatibility") was not recognised by the Church of England and, if challenged in the
English courts, might not have been recognised under
English law. At that time, the Church and English law considered
adultery to be the only grounds for divorce. Consequently, under this argument, her second marriage, as well as her marriage to Edward, would be considered
bigamous and invalid. The
Matrimonial Causes Act 1937, which was passed shortly after Edward and Wallis's marriage, would allow for numerous other grounds for divorce.
Political , Edward's residence in
Windsor Great Park When Edward visited
depressed mining villages in
Wales, his comment that "something must be done" led to concerns among elected politicians that he would interfere in political matters, traditionally avoided by constitutional monarchs.
Ramsay MacDonald,
Lord President of the Council, wrote of the King's comments: "These escapades should be limited. They are an invasion into the field of
politics and should be watched constitutionally." Although Edward's comments had made him popular in Wales, he became extremely unpopular with the public in
Scotland following his refusal to open a new wing of
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, saying he could not do so because he was in mourning for his father and delegated the task to his brother
Albert despite the logical inconsistency in doing so since both men shared the same father,
George V. The day after the opening, he was pictured in newspapers on holiday: he had turned down the public event in favour of meeting Wallis. As
Prince of Wales, Edward had publicly referred to
Labour county councillors as "cranks" and made speeches counter to government policy. During his reign as king, his refusal to accept the advice of ministers continued: he opposed the imposition of sanctions on
Fascist Italy after its
invasion of Ethiopia, refused to receive the deposed
Emperor of Ethiopia, and would not support a strengthening of the
League of Nations. Members of the
British government became further dismayed by the proposed marriage after being told that Wallis was an agent of
Nazi Germany. The
Foreign Office obtained leaked dispatches from the German Reich's Ambassador to the United Kingdom,
Joachim von Ribbentrop, which revealed his strong view that opposition to the marriage was motivated by the wish "to defeat those
Germanophile forces which had been working through Mrs Simpson". It was rumoured that Wallis had access to confidential government papers sent to Edward, which he left unguarded at his
Fort Belvedere residence. While Edward was abdicating, the personal protection officers guarding Wallis in exile in
France sent reports to
Downing Street suggesting that she might "flit to Germany". ==Options considered==