Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in 2018, even though she had previously been married to film producer Trevor Engelson. The couple married at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on May 19, 2018. The Royal Family officially recorded the wedding and Meghan became the Duchess of Sussex.
Decades earlier, Edward VIII faced a very different situation when he wanted to marry Wallis Simpson. Simpson was an American who had already been married and was going through her second divorce when Edward decided that he wanted to make her his wife.
The major difference was Edward’s position. He was not simply a prince when the marriage controversy reached its peak. Edward had become King in January 1936 and was the reigning monarch. His proposed marriage therefore raised constitutional questions about the future of the Crown.
At that time, the Church of England also had a much stricter position on remarriage after divorce. Historic Royal Palaces notes that the Church of England did not permit a marriage to a divorcee under the circumstances surrounding Edward and Wallis Simpson.
Edward’s situation became increasingly difficult because the woman he wanted to marry had two living former husbands. The British government and leaders across the wider Commonwealth also opposed the idea of Simpson becoming Queen.
Official records show that Edward ultimately chose marriage over remaining king. He signed the Instrument of Abdication on December 10, 1936, giving up the throne so that he could marry Simpson. He later married her in France in 1937.
Prince Harry’s circumstances were different. He was not the reigning monarch and therefore his marriage to a divorced woman did not create the same constitutional crisis that confronted Edward VIII.
There was also a major change in the Church of England's approach to divorce and remarriage between the two royal weddings. By the time Harry married Meghan, marrying someone who had previously been divorced was no longer treated in the same way it had been during Edward’s reign. Historical accounts describe Harry and Meghan’s wedding as part of this changing royal attitude toward divorce.
So, the apparent contradiction comes largely from the different eras and royal positions involved. Edward VIII was the reigning King and faced a constitutional dispute over who could become Queen, while Prince Harry was a prince further down the line of succession marrying in a period when attitudes toward divorce had changed.
The two marriages therefore cannot be understood simply as a case of one royal being allowed to marry a divorcee while another was not. The constitutional role of the monarch, the rules of the time and the Church of England's changing position all played important parts in the different outcomes.
Key Takeaways:
- Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in 2018 after her previous marriage had ended in divorce.
- Edward VIII wanted to marry Wallis Simpson while he was the reigning British monarch.
- Edward’s proposed marriage created major constitutional and political problems because Simpson was divorced.
- Edward ultimately abdicated the throne in 1936 so he could marry Simpson.
- Royal and Church of England attitudes toward divorce had changed significantly by the time Harry married Meghan.
- The different historical circumstances explain why Harry’s marriage did not lead to the same crisis faced by Edward VIII.
