Starting on 7 September 1940, London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 57 consecutive nights.[7] More than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged, and more than 40,000 civilians were killed, almost half of them in London
He expected to be put back on the throne.
I think there was a book about this, perhaps in the 1990s, maybe even in the 1980s.
I don’t know. I am somewhat skeptical of this.
“You English are mad, mad, mad as March hares.” - Wilhelm II (Grandson of Queen Victoria)
Tangentially related, I love the secondary story of Remains of the Day.
Actually, this fits with info from an old book: “the German Generals Talk” by B H Hart
He got himself forced out as King. It's not like he had to fight to stay King, just keep his woman on the side.
Finally, while he may of had sympathy for Germany and even admired Hitler, I wonder how far that went. We wouldn't let Charles Lindbergh fight in Europe because he had an admiration for the German people and their air power. But I wouldn't call him a Nazi although many have. But the thing with the Duke was he was privy to information, but I've read he was cut out of the loop early on. His family knew of his “German interest” and like a spoiled child he went to Spain when England had enough of him and tried to make himself relevant by chatting with Hitler. I wouldn't doubt it if they gave him false information, he was an embarrassment.
But I think he was more into the social scene. The British people would have never allowed him to be placed back as King by the Germans. I don't have a link but I have read that than Princess Elizabeth and her father the King thought of him as a man who wanted to stay in the mainstream but her father told her he was basically banished. One reason it was kept hush-hush was because a past King of England thought of to be consorting with Germany because he was forced to abdicate because he couldn't stay away from an American divorcee would be another scandal on the monarchy that had just been through a big one.
Churchill shipped him off to be the ambassador to a Caribbean Island. He told him that if the king opened his mouth that Churchill would have him killed. I’ve seen that in two sources over the years. Given what I’ve read about both it was believable. The king virtually vanished from the news at that time.
Bismarck called Saxe-Coburg the stud farm of European royalty for good reason.