The Duke of Windsor, we need hardly remind our readers, was for a short period King Edward VIII, after the death of his father; but of course he was never crowned. He abdicated instead. In a brief article appearing in the English Churchman of 29th May, last, by Elizabeth Boorne, there occurs the following revealing facts:—
There is further cause to thank God for the accession of King George VI. In the Duke of Windsor’s book, “The King’s Story” (page 324) he refers to the Protestant Declaration, which he was called upon to make when he met Parliament.
“I, Edward VIII, do solemnly and sincerely, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare that I am a faithful Protestant, and that I will, according to the true intent of the enactments which secure the Protestant succession to the Throne of my Realm, uphold and maintain the said enactments to the best of my power according to law.”
The Duke adds: “I was brought up in the Protestant faith, yet the duty of uttering this outmoded sentiment was repugnant to me. In spirit it seemed wholly inappropriate to an institution supposed to shelter all creeds. I actually enquired into the possibility of dispensing with this ritual. But on learning that the Sovereign’s subscription to the Declaration is in fact a mandatory matter, going back to the Bill of Rights in 1689, I decided not to make an issue of it.”
Happily, Queen Elizabeth took the Declaration and even went out of her way to assure the Scots that she was a Faithful Protestant.