Did you know Princess Michael's father not only was a Nazi, but in the SS?

[Chasstev365]

Something tells me she won't be invited to many Royal functions in the future.

[Irish_Dem]

1. Prince Phillip's sister and brother in law were Nazis as well.

And after Queen Elizabeth's uncle David abdicated, he went on to align with Hitler.
He cut a deal with Hitler that when Germany invaded England, the royal family
would be deposed and David would be installed as King.

Hitler never was successful in invading Gt Britain, thank goodness.

[Chasstev365]

2. Edward?

[pandr32]

4. Yes

He was a nasty man. Thank goodness he abdicated and his brother took the throne.

[Irish_Dem]

8. Yes he was totally unsuited for the demanding job of monarch.

On many levels.

The British people lucked out with Elizabeth as their Queen given the other family choices.

[pandr32]

16. I completely agree.

[Irish_Dem]

22. Hi back! :)

[Demonaut]

36. you know, i do like the Queen....but not the concept of a Monarch

[Irish_Dem]

38. Yes, Americans fought a war to get rid of the British monarchy and

many immigrants came to this country fleeing from the harsh rulership of a King and aristocracy in various European countries.

So the royal family is fascinating, but not sure we like the concept.

[Irish_Dem]

6. Yes, Edward VIII. He was called David by his family.

Sorry for the confusion.

[Chasstev365]

13. Did not know that was his nickname.

[marybourg]

15. His name was David, but he took

the name Edward on his ascension to the throne. Many monarchs do that. Elisabeth did not.

[Chasstev365]

17. Thanks!

[Irish_Dem]

21. Yes they take a regnal name, the name they use for the reign.

Elizabeth kept her own name, but she could have chosen something different.

[lapucelle]

7. The British public has known about Princess Michael's father for decades.

[Cirque du So-What]

9. Yes

Family & close friends referred to him as David before he became Edward VIII.

[jrandom421]

29. Just one of the many reasons

Elizabeth hated her uncle with the burning intensity of 10,000 supernovas.

[Irish_Dem]

30. And the Queen Mother hated him even more than that.

Not only did David commit high treason, but he betrayed his own family.
I am assuming Hitler's invasion plan to depose Elizabeth and her father
entailed their deaths. There is no way they could be left alive to threaten
Hitler's Vichy King Edward (David).

[jrandom421]

31. Actually

by abdicating and making his younger brother king, who had no training at the intricacies of kingship in the 20th Century, and lead the British Empire against the Axis, he ensured that the new King would undergo stress that would eventually lead to his death. King George VI smoked 3 packs a day, no doubt to the stress of leadership that he never sought. He died in 1952 at the age of 56 due to lung cancer.

If he hadn't been King, Elizabeth figures he could have lived another 30-40 years. She figures David did kill his younger brother, and hated him for all his remaining days on earth.

[Irish_Dem]

32. Yes the Queen Mother and Eliz always blamed David for Bertie's death.

I know he was under a lot of stress, but not sure David could have been blamed
for a cancer death due to cigarette smoking. But yes I suppose if Bertie significantly increased his smoking due to stress, I see the connection to Bertie.

[jrandom421]

42. He would have been a lot happier as First Sea Lord

Since he was a commissioned officer of the Royal Navy and a veteran of combat.

But to be suddenly made King, and being forced to lead the United Kingdom and Empire, and then confront Hitler and Nazi Germany, I'm not sure there wouldn't be a large number of people who wouldn't increase their smoking to deal with the stress of all that dropped on them when they hadn't been expecting or trained in dealing with it.

[Irish_Dem]

45. I am watching The Windsors on Netflix.

It is a documentary. Apparently Bertie was not very bright, very poorly educated
and given to fits of anger. He also was quite nervous.

His wife, Elizabeth's mother, held him together and he relied
on her a great deal. However they both understood the country needed
them given the abdication and the war, so Bertie rose to the occasion and did
an excellent job with the help of his wife.

But yes it could be argued the severe stress of the job took a toll on Bertie.
And contributed to an early death.

Certainly however as a second son, he knew he was the spare to the heir.
And the only reason they are kept in the lap of luxury and privilege is to
set up to the plate if needed. So their anger about doing the job of a spare
seems unwarranted to me. There is no free lunch.

[Ilsa]

37. My imagination spins a yarn that Wallis Simpson

was a US spy that entangled David and manipulated him into abdicating because the US suspected his philosophical alignment with Hitler.

Even though it is just a fiction, thank God for those two got together, or there could have been a monumental crisis in the UK during the rise of the Third Reich.

[Irish_Dem]

39. I always wondered if she was a German spy.

Manipulates David into abdicating, to weaken Britain and demoralize the English people.
Then further manipulates David into collaborating with Hitler to overthrow the British monarchy (Bertie and Elizabeth). And become a Hitler puppet King.

I know it is fiction, but there was something odd about Wallace that made us spin as similar yarn. And events went south fast when she came on the scene.

[Ilsa]

40. I wonder if her previous husbands had

Contacts with German businessmen high in the Reich. Maybe she was recruited by them, too, a double agent!

[Irish_Dem]

41. LOL I was thinking the same thing.

She was a double agent, working for both the US and Germany.

If the US had solid evidence the British King was working with Hitler,
they might have taken matters into their own hands, knowing the
the British government may not take action given their loyalty to the King.
Sent in Wallace to bring him down.
She is off the US payroll when the job is done and she flips over to Hitler.

We have the outline of an interesting story.

[Ilsa]

44. Movie! Need to add in a few

narrow escapes from being discovered, and maybe a denouement where David discovers her secret decades later.

[Irish_Dem]

46. Right.

Narrow escapes, and intrigue.

There will be sex scenes given the steamy relationship between David and Wallace.
And all the rumors about Wallace's life prior to her marriages.

[Sneederbunk]

3. Before this week did you know who Princess Michael is?

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. I still don't know.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. The wife of Queen Elizabeth's cousin, Prince Michael of Kent

See https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210015896#post18 .

[TheCowsCameHome]

12. Royal lineage and titles always confuse me.

[unc70]

10. Yes.

[Tipperary]

20. This thread is giving me a much needed laugh.

Thanks!

[SharonClark]

33. Yes, I have a minor in English History.

[Skittles]

35. yes

[DavidDvorkin]

14. She is responsible for her own actions, but not for her father's

Condemn her for what she had done, such as wearing that brooch.

[jberryhill]

18. She should have picked a different father

Franco is still dead too.

[Chasstev365]

19. Merry Christmas!

[Me.]

23. When She Attended The Luncheon To Meet Harry's Fiancee

Meghan Markle, who has an African American mother, she wore a blackmoor brooch on her lapel.

[hedda_foil]

34. What. A. Bitch

[Pachamama]

47. There are no words.... But it does prove that no matter what family you are born in to or how much

....money you have, it doesn't make you have "class"...

This was a tasteless and disgusting act by her and it would be wonderful to hear that this dear "cousin" of Queen Elizabeth finds herself not invited to the wedding....

[Kaleva]

24. This has been public knowledge since the '80's at least.

[erpowers]

25. The Royal Family Is Actually German

Their last name is not actually Windsor. They changed their name to sound more British. The name comes from Windsor Castle.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

26. Technically the royals don't have last names.

Prior to 1917 they were members of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. George V changed the name to Windsor on account of WWI when Germans were not very popular.

[Blue_true]

28. Facinating, I did not know that.

I watched a PBS special on the British royalty and knew from that the family had a lot of Germanic ties, just did not realize how deep they were.

[no_hypocrisy]

27. They changed from Wittenberg to Windsor during WWI for obvious reasons.

And Mountbatten was changed from Battenberg.

[ailsagirl]

43. Yes, I'd read that

The House of Windsor came into being in 1917, when the name was adopted as the British Royal Family's official name by a proclamation of King George V, replacing the historic name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The royals wanted to remove any connection because of anti-German sentiment in the British Empire during World War I. It remains the family name of the current Royal Family.