n [ sing ]
( in British history ) a series of events in 1936, following King Edward VIII’s decision to marry a divorced American woman, Wallis Simpson . It was thought that the British public would not accept a queen who had been divorced, and Edward was advised by the Prime Minister to abdicate (= give up his position as king). The couple were married in France in 1937, and Edward’s brother (as George VI ) became king in his place.