Editing Abdication of Edward VIII (section)

===Social and moral===
Government ministers and the royal family found Wallis Simpson's background and behaviour unacceptable for a potential queen. Rumours and innuendo about her circulated in society.<ref>See, for example, [[Virginia Woolf]]'s diary quoted in Williams, p. 40.</ref> The King's mother, Queen Mary, was even told that Simpson might have held some sort of sexual control over Edward, as she had released him from an undefined sexual dysfunction through practices learnt in a Chinese brothel.<ref>Ziegler, p. 236.</ref> This view was partially shared by [[Alan Don]], Chaplain to the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], who wrote that he suspected the King "is sexually abnormal which may account for the hold Mrs S. has over him".<ref>Howarth, p. 61.</ref> Even Edward VIII's official biographer, [[Philip Ziegler]], noted that: "There must have been some sort of [[sadomasochistic]] relationship&nbsp;... [Edward] relished the contempt and bullying she bestowed on him."<ref>Quoted in {{citation|author=Jones, Chris|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2699035.stm|title=Profile: Wallis Simpson|date=29 January 2003|publisher=BBC|access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref>

Police detectives following Simpson reported back that, while involved with Edward, she was also involved with a married car mechanic and salesman named Guy Trundle.<ref>Williams, pp. 96–97.</ref> This may well have been passed on to senior figures in the establishment, including members of the royal family.<ref>Vickers, p. 163.</ref> [[Joseph Kennedy]], the American ambassador, described her as a "tart", and his wife, [[Rose Kennedy|Rose]], refused to dine with her.<ref>Vickers, p. 185.</ref>

Wallis was perceived to be pursuing Edward for his money; his [[equerry]] wrote that she would eventually leave him, "having secured the cash".<ref>[[John Aird (equerry)|John Aird]]'s diary, quoted in Ziegler, p. 234.</ref> The future prime minister [[Neville Chamberlain]] (then Chancellor of the Exchequer) wrote in his diary that she was "an entirely unscrupulous woman who is not in love with the King but is exploiting him for her own purposes. She has already ruined him in money and jewels&nbsp;..."<ref>Ziegler, p. 312.</ref>

Relations between the United Kingdom and the United States were strained during the inter-war years and the majority of Britons were reluctant to accept an American as [[queen consort]].<ref>{{citation|last=Pope-Hennessy|first=James|author-link=James Pope-Hennessy|title=Queen Mary|publisher=George Allen and Unwin Ltd|location=London|year=1959|page=574}}</ref> At the time, some members of the British upper class looked down on Americans with disdain and considered them socially inferior.<ref>Williams, pp. 40–41.</ref> In contrast, the American public was clearly in favour of the marriage,<ref>Williams, p. 266.</ref> as was most of the American press.<ref>Williams, p. 90; Ziegler, p. 296.</ref>