The Queen Mother's Verdict On Edward VIII's Abdication In Order To Marry Wallis Simpson 

We no longer check to see whether Telegraph.co.uk displays properly in Internet Explorer version 6 or earlier.

To see our content at its best we recommend upgrading if you wish to continue using IE or using another browser such as Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome.

Queen Mother\'s verdict on King Edward VIII\'s abdication

The late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother believed that Edward VIII was “bemused with love” when he abdicated over Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee, her official biography discloses.

Queen Elizabeth called the affair a \'terrible tragedy\' Photo: PA

She was unable to forgive her brother-in-law, who became the Duke of Windsor, for what she regarded as a betrayal of the Royal family. She blamed him for her husband’s early death.

Even 60 years after the greatest constitutional crisis to affect the modern monarchy Queen Elizabeth called the affair a “terrible tragedy”. She made the remarks in a series of interviews with Sir Eric Anderson, the former Head Master of Eton, in 1995 the transcripts of which were made available to her biographer, William Shawcross.

She said: “He [Edward] must have been bemused with love, I suppose. You couldn’t reason with him, nobody could. The whole government tried, everybody tried. The only good thing is, I think he was quite happy with her.”

At the time of the crisis the King’s younger brother, the future George VI, had two young daughters Princess Elizabeth, later the Queen, and Princess Margaret. Extracts from a letter he wrote to his mother Queen Mary show his fears for the future over the looming possibility that his older brother might defy the Cabinet and marry Mrs Simpson.

“It has been awful for all of us, but much more so for you, when David (the King) has been trained for the great position he holds & now wants to chuck away. I am feeling very overwrought as to what may befall me, but with your help I know I shall be able to carry on...”

Destroyed: letters that fuelled a Royal feud

Queen Mother on \'abhorrent\' Diana, Princess of Wales

The King had proposed a solution to the problem – a morganatic marriage where his wife would not become Queen and take a lesser title but the government was opposed. So was the future Queen Elizabeth. In a letter to her sister May she said: “I feel so sad, & yet there is only a very straightforward case – if Mrs Simpson is not fit to be Queen, she is not fit to be the King’s morganatic wife.”

The book discloses that she refused a request from Queen Mary, her mother-in-law, to bury the hatchet with the Duke. “Queen Mary asked the King to persuade the Queen to see him – \'to bury the hatchet at last’ .... he seemed so anxious to see her again but E [Queen Elizabeth] could not face it. With the King still frail, she did not feel that she could.”

Martin Chilton selects 30 great one-liners from the comedian and film star Woody Allen

A hilarious history of political insults and putdowns, from Churchill to Corbyn

We celebrate and remember the culture stars who have passed away in 2016

Great quotes from White House incumbents: will Donald Trump be joining them?

From global warming to 9/11, Shakespeare to Elvis, Diana to JFK, peak oil to Roswell, conspiracy theories abound.

In pics: Stunning aerial shots of London\'s football stadia by photographer Jason Hawkes

In pics: The crumbling remains of the Soviet Union\'s space programme

Ambitious Chinese inventors take on crazy do-it-yourself projects

In pics: Sinkholes, craters and collapsed roads around the world

Disabled great-grandfather denied stairlift and forced to crawl

Elderly wombat rescued after being attacked

Latest and breaking stories from the United States