In 1936, the British monarchy faced the greatest threats to its survival in the modern era. First came the crisis of abdication and then the menace of Nazism. The fate of the country rested in the hands of the late King George V's sons: the stammering King George VI (who became king when his eldest brother, Edward VIII abdicated in December, 1936), the dull-witted Duke of Gloucester, the too-glamorous Duke of Kent, and the Nazi-sympathizer and ex-king, who became known as the Duke of Windsor after his abdication. They were four men, miscast by fate, and one would save the monarchy at great personal cost to himself and his family.
