Souvenir typescript of the Instrument of Abdication, signed "Edward Duke of Windsor,” one page, 6.75 x 9, no date. In full, “I, Edward the Eighth, of Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Emperor of India, do hereby declare My irrevocable determination to renounce the Throne for Myself and for My descendants, and My desire that effect should be given to this Instrument of Abdication immediately. In token whereof I have hereunto set My hand this tenth day of December, nineteen hundred and thirty-six, in the presence of the witnesses whose signatures are subscribed.” It is noted in type that the actual Instrument of Abdication was “signed at Fort Belvedere in the presence of Albert, Henry, George,” his three brothers, with Edward crossing out that area of type and adding “N.Y.C.” Matted and framed to an overall size of 12 x 15. Light uniform overall toning, otherwise fine condition.
Following his historic abdication, Edward and his new wife, divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson, toured the world, including many visits to New York City—the location where the Duke of Windsor graciously signed this page, going so far as to specify that locale. Among his most famous visits to the Big Apple came when he toured city tenements on the East Side of New York in 1941.
Only five years earlier, still growing accustomed to his reign, Edward caused a British constitutional crisis by proposing to Simpson. The prime ministers of the United Kingdom and the Dominions opposed the marriage, arguing that the people would never accept a divorced woman with two living ex-husbands as their queen. Famously declaring to the British people that ‘I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love,’ Edward’s original abdication notice was signed at Fort Belvedere in December 1936 by his three younger brothers: Prince Albert who would inherit Edward’s throne as George VI, Prince Henry, and Prince George. A royal admirer later created this incredibly unique artifact to be signed by one of the shortest-reigning monarch in British history. This remarkable piece is the first such signed example we have seen! Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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