Edward VIII: The Plot to Topple a King

Overview

Ever since King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, the official explanation had been simply that the government disapproved of his marriage to a twice-divorced woman. However newly-released documents, embargoed until recently, suggest that Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Gordon Lang, played a large part in a plan to make certain that Edward VIII abdicated, not only because of his marriage to a divorcee but also because the archbishop disapproved of the King's whole lifestyle and modern attitudes to life.

Directed by Louise Wardle

Top cast

Steve John Shepherd

Narrator

David Calder

Cosmo Gordon Lang

Rupert Procter

Alan Don

Hugo Vickers

Self - Royal Biographer

R

Robert Beaken

Self - Author, 'Cosmo Lang, Archbishop in War and Crisis'

M

Matthew Grimley

Matthew Grimley: Self - University of Oxford

P

Philip Ziegler

Philip Ziegler: Self - Official Biographer, Edward VIII

S

Susan Williams

Susan Williams: Self - Author, 'The People's King'

Details