Today in 1936, King Edward VIII announced in a radio broadcast that he was abdicating the British throne to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and was pursuing the divorce of her second.  Edward was the nominal head of the Church of England, which did not then allow divorced people to remarry in church if their ex-spouses were still alive. For this reason, it was widely believed that Edward could not marry Simpson and remain on the throne.  Simpson was perceived to be politically and socially unsuitable as a prospective queen consort because of her two failed marriages.  It was widely assumed by the Establishment that she was driven by love of money or position rather than love for the King. Despite the opposition, Edward declared that he loved Simpson and intended to marry her as soon as her second divorce was finalised.