People do extreme things for love. But very few ever have the chance to go as far as Edward VIII, who famously walked away from the English throne and into the arms of Wallis Simpson 78 years ago on December 11, 1936.

Edward had been king for less than a year when his relationship with Simpson threw the British monarchy into chaos. Simpson was unacceptable to the British aristocracy as a possible queen. She was an American, which made her socially inferior in the eyes of England’s upper crust. (English common folk were more accepting.) She was divorced once, and working on a second divorce while she was seeing Edward, a moral scandal in those days heightened by the fact that the King of England was also the nominal head of the Church of England, which did not recognize marriages to divorcees if the ex-spouse was still living.

Edward floated the idea of a so-called “morganatic” marriage, where Simpson would not assume the title of queen upon marrying the king. This was rejected as unacceptable. And so, forced to choose between the crown and the woman he loved, Edward signed a document abdicating the throne on December 10, 1936. It was approved by Parliament the next day, and Edward’s abdication became official. He gave a radio address to the English public, and then he and his soon-to-be wife left for Austria. Edward was the only British king to voluntarily give up the throne.

To be exact, it wasn’t just one crown Edward abandoned for love. The British monarch also oversaw imperial protectorates in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Irish Free State. Each corner of the realm had its own royal crown, and each piece of the British Empire also had to approve of the abdication of the king (or to them, emperor). Edward would live out his days as the demoted Duke of Windsor, while his brother, George VI, assumed the throne.

Some Britons felt it was best for everyone involved for Edward to leave. His complete disdain for royal conventions had offended many. He also appeared to harbor pro-Nazi sentiments during the lead-up to World War II, leading some to wonder what would have happened if a Hitler sympathizer had stayed in power. After abdicating, Edward was assigned a royal job as governor of the Bahamas. Simpson’s own failed marriages also might have made her decision to enter a third marriage questionable. But whatever their personal shortcomings, Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson were clearly devoted to each other. They remained together for over 35 years until Edward’s death in 1972. They are buried together in the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore Estate in WIndsor.

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