I included The Crown in Crisis on my 2021 history books post– I knew as soon as I saw it, I wanted to read it. Despite it being over 80 years since the abdication, people still reference it all of the time. (No, it’s not a relevant reference for the Sussexes.) The Duke and Duchess of Windsor are often portrayed as extreme caricatures, when so few of us are. And I’m thrilled to say, I am impressed with this book. So, if you are an avid fan of The Crown, you will want to grab The Crown in Crisis! Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Crown in Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication, Alexander Larman
On December 10, 1936, King Edward VIII brought a great international drama to a close when he abdicated, renouncing the throne of the United Kingdom for himself and his heirs. The reason he gave when addressing his subjects was that he could not fulfill his duties without the woman he loved—the notorious American divorcee Wallis Simpson—by his side. His actions scandalized the establishment, who were desperate to avoid an international embarrassment at a time when war seemed imminent. That the King was rumored to have Nazi sympathies only strengthened their determination that he should be forced off the throne, by any means necessary.
Alexander Larman’s The Crown in Crisis will treat readers to a new, thrilling view of this legendary story. Informed by revelatory archival material never-before-seen, as well as by interviews with many of Edward’s and Wallis’s close friends, Larman creates an hour-by-hour, day-by-day suspenseful narrative that brings readers up to the point where the microphone is turned on and the king speaks to his subjects. As well as focusing on King Edward and Mrs. Simpson, Larman looks closely at the roles played by those that stood against him: Prime minister Stanley Baldwin, his private secretary Alec Hardinge, and the Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Lang. Larman also takes the full measure of those who supported him: the great politician Winston Churchill, Machiavellian newspaper owner Lord Beaverbrook, and the brilliant lawyer Walter Monckton.
For the first time in a book about the abdication, readers will read an in-depth account of the assassination attempt on Edward’s life and its consequences, a first-person chronicle of Wallis Simpson’s scandalous divorce proceedings, information from the Royal Archives about the government’s worries about Edward’s relationship with Nazi high-command Ribbentrop and a boots-on-the-ground view of how the British people saw Edward as they watched the drama unfold. You won’t be able to put down The Crown in Crisis, a full panorama of the people and the times surrounding Edward and the woman he loved.
Why You Should Read This…
I am odd for a royal historian- I don’t have any strong feelings about either Edward or Wallis. I think it is for the best that Edward abdicated due to his political leanings and general temperament. However, I don’t think that either are as interesting as people assume. Larman takes a very balanced approach to the abdication and the central figures in it, including the government, and I appreciated it. Drawing on newly released archival sources, Larman works to uncover the full story behind it. I fully admit, I knew pretty much nothing about Lord Beaverbrook and PM Sir Stanley Baldwin, at least in regards to Edward. There were a lot more moving pieces in play than I realised, and Larman has done a fantastic job at exploring all of them. I can’t say I came out of this book liking or disliking anyone more than before, but I feel much more informed on the abdication!
Are you going to read The Crown in Crisis?
Cheers,
The Historian
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