Prince Harry isn’t the first royal to step back from duties and later write a tell-all.
His great-great-uncle, Edward, Duke of Windsor, produced a ghost-written biography titled “A King’s Story: The Memoirs of the Duke of Windsor” in 1951.
Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle, famously abdicated the throne in 1936 so he could marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson. Elizabeth’s father, George VI, went on to become king until his death in 1952. Elizabeth was crowned queen in 1953.On Tuesday, People magazine reported that Edward’s memoir recalled his own upbringing, leading up to falling in love with the socialite and ultimately giving up the position of monarch.
“Given my character, my roving curiosity and independence, my life appeared to form a disconnected pattern – duty without decision, service without responsibility, pomp without power,” Edward wrote, as quoted in an excerpt obtained by the outlet.
“Meanwhile, something had happened that, although I did not realize it at the time, was destined to change the whole course of my life,” Edward wrote. “I met Wallis Warfield Simpson.”
The outlet noted that Edward and Simpson struggled financially after the abdication. As a result of being cut off from the monarchy, the couple had no source of income. Consequently, royalties from Edward’s booked helped fun them as they lived in France.
