Famous Guests Of The Pera Palace Hotel… King of England Edward VIII

Pera Palace Hotel, which was built in Beyoğlu, the heart of Istanbul was built to host the valuable guests of the famous train Orient Express. One of the distinguished guests of the Hotel was the former King of England Edward VIII. King Edward VIII stayed at Pera Palace Hotel during his visit to Istanbul on October 1936 …

King Edward VIII was born on June 23, 1894, as the son of the Duke of York. With the outbreak of World War I, he served as an officer in a special infantry regiment. Then, with his father becoming King, he became the “Prince of Wales” from 1911 to 1936. Edward, who ascended the throne as King after the death of his father, became a subject of even the newspapers with his lively love life. But his real and only love was Wallis Simpson, whom he met in 1930. When King VIII Edward met Wallis Simpson, Simpson was a married woman, and his relationship suffered many criticisms. But the closeness of the couple soon became love, and he decided to marry Simpson …

Edward brought his lover with him and visited many countries and came to Istanbul in October 1936 and became the guest of Atatürk. Cemal Granada, who has been in the service of Atatürk for many years, describes the following sentences in his book “Memories of a Butler”:

“The King was very interested in Madame, but he seemed extremely considerate. Atatürk whispered to those who next to him, ‘I see that the King has a weakness against madam. I’m afraid he will lose his throne because of this woman’.”

Indeed, Edward would end up like this. Edward’s King father died before he could share his decision with the King to marry Simpson. Simpson had divorced her husband and was ready to marry the King. King Edward then began to pressure Prime Minister Baldwin to marry his lover. So much so that he can be withdrawn from the throne if his marriage is not approved. When their marriage was not approved, on December 10, 1936, he submitted to the parliament a request for withdrawal. After the Parliament passed the application, Edward gave that historic speech, announcing his withdrawal from the radio.

Thus Edward VIII was seated on the throne for only 325 days and was succeeded by his brother VI George. Edward’s exile began throughout his life, and the duo got married six months later while in exile in France.

Although excluded from the royal family, they lived together and happily until the death of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, who made their love known to the world. Thirty years after their marriage, they were invited for the first time to an official royal ceremony. Edward, who gave up his royal rights, has never had a single official contact … He has dedicated his whole life to his love and to spend time with her…