EDWARD VIII: (1894-1972) King of the United Kingdom January - December 1936. Later Duke of Windsor.

A rare D.S., Edward RI Col in Chief, as King and Colonel-in-Chief, at the head, one page, oblong folio, Court at Saint James's, 11th August 1936. The partially printed document is a military commission appointing Arthur Dare Heskett to be a Second Lieutenant in the Land Forces, Royal Regiment of Artillery. Countersigned at the foot by Harry Knox (1873-1971) British General, Adjutant-General to the Forces 1935-37. His signature is faded and barely legible. With blind embossed pale blue paper seal affixed. Documents signed by King Edward VIII during his brief reign as King are rare and desirable. With a heavy vertical fold at the centre and a light brown smudge mark close to, but not affecting, the King's signature. About VGArthur Dare Heskett (b.1916) British Army Officer who rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.King Edward VIII became King on the death of his father, King George V, in early 1936. However, he demonstrated impatience with court protocol and caused concern among politicians by his apparent disregard for established constitutional conventions. Only months into his reign he caused a constitutional crisis by proposing marriage to the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. The Prime Minister and other political leaders opposed the marriage arguing that a divorced woman with two living ex-husbands was both politically and socially unacceptable as a Queen Consort. Furthermore, the marriage would have conflicted with King Edward's status at the titular head of the Church of England. When it became apparent that he could not marry Wallis and remain on the throne, King Edward VIII abdicated, becoming the only British sovereign to voluntarily do so. He was succeeded by his younger brother, King George VI, and with a reign of just 326 days, King Edward VIII was one of the shortest-reigning monarchs in British history.