How It Works - UK (2020-05)

Prajadhipok

King of Thailand

This king left for

England after he had

had enough of

growing military rule

inthecountry.

Edward VIII

King of the

United Kingdom

Retired from his

position after royal

rules stopped him marrying

thewomanofhischoice.

Leopold III

King of

Belgium

Quit as king to

stop retaliation

against his

illegalmarriage.

Victor

Emmanuel III

King of Italy

Stood down to

distance the

monarchy from

WorldWarII.

Talal

KingofJordan

Gaveuphis

positionasking

toreceive

treatmentfor

schizophrenia.

066 How It Works http://www.howitworksdaily.com

HISTORY

T

o bea prince,princess, king or queen sounds like a

fair ytalethatmany children dream of. But what is it

reallyliketobeborn or married into a role of such

importance?A ndif it isn’tthe life for you, is there a way out?

RecentlytheDukeandDuchess of Sussex, Prince Harr y and

MeghanMarkle,decidedto shift away from the public eye,

droppingtheirtitlesandroyal roles. A iming to become

completelyfinanciallyindependent, it sy mbolises a new era

forBritishroyals.Overthecourse of a year, Britain’s royal

familycarriesoutover2,000 official engagements. So w ith

fewerfamilymemberscarr y ing out these duties, there w ill be

fewerengagementsgoingfor ward. Each royal usually

prioritisesa causetoraiseawareness for. Harr y’s was

env ironmentalworkwhile Meghan often shone light on

genderequalit y.Someworr y that these causes w ill miss out.

Otherspraisethecouplefor not just blindly follow ing an

ancienttradition.

For those born into royalty, do their

responsibilitiesever end?

Can you quit

being king?

HarryandMeghanstruggledwithheavymediainterestduringtheirrolesaspartoftheroyalfamily

“Overa year Britain’s royal

familycarries out over 2,000

officialengagements”

The last royal Brit to quit

As it stands, King Edward VIII is the only British

king to have ditched his duties in modern times.

After falling for an American, Wallis Simpson,

Edward found himself more devoted to the

divorcee than a role which forbade him from

marrying her. This situation, which stemmed

from the fact Wallis had previously been married,

shows how views have adapted. The British royal

family has become more flexible on subjects such

as divorce, allowing Harry and Meghan to marry

• Meghan also being an American divorcee. On
  11 December 1936, Edward announced the news
  of his abdication on the radio, and the throne was
  passed on to his younger brother, George VI.
  Edward is one of the shortest reigning British
  monarchs, abdicating so he could marry Wallis
  Simpson after just 326 days

Kings who quit While many monarchshavebeen forced to abdicate,forsome it was a choice
1935 1936 1946 1951 1952

© Alamy

© Willem van de Poll

© Getty Images

Words by Ailsa Harvey