Editing Abdication of Edward VIII (section)

===Political===
[[File:Fort Belvedere 1900s.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Fort Belvedere, Surrey]], Edward's residence in [[Windsor Great Park]]]]

When Edward visited [[Great Depression|depressed]] mining villages in [[Wales]], his comment that "something must be done"<ref>The Duke of Windsor, p. 338.</ref> led to concerns among elected politicians that he would interfere in political matters, traditionally avoided by constitutional monarchs. [[Ramsay MacDonald]], [[Lord President of the Council]], wrote of the King's comments: "These escapades should be limited. They are an invasion into the field of politics and should be watched constitutionally."<ref>Ramsay MacDonald's diary, quoted in Williams, p. 60.</ref> Although Edward's comments had made him popular in Wales,<ref>See, for example, Williams, p. 59.</ref> he became extremely unpopular with the public in [[Scotland]] following his refusal to open a new wing of [[Aberdeen Royal Infirmary]], saying he could not do so because he was in mourning for his father and delegated the task to his brother Albert despite the logical inconsistency in doing so since both men shared the same father, George V. The day after the opening, he was pictured in newspapers on holiday: he had turned down the public event in favour of meeting Simpson.<ref>Vickers, p. 140; Ziegler, p. 288.</ref>

As [[Prince of Wales]], Edward had publicly referred to [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] [[county council]]lors as "cranks"<ref>The Duke of Windsor, p. 253.</ref> and made speeches counter to government policy.<ref>Beaverbrook, p. 20.</ref> During his reign as king, his refusal to accept the advice of ministers continued: he opposed the imposition of sanctions on [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]] after its [[Second Italo-Abyssinian War|invasion of Ethiopia]], refused to receive the deposed [[Haile Selassie I|Emperor of Ethiopia]], and would not support a strengthening of the [[League of Nations]].<ref>Ziegler, pp. 271–272.</ref>

Members of the [[British government]] became further dismayed by the proposed marriage after being told that Wallis Simpson was an agent of [[Nazi Germany]]. The [[Foreign Office]] obtained leaked dispatches from the German Reich's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]], which revealed his strong view that opposition to the marriage was motivated by the wish "to defeat those Germanophile forces which had been working through Mrs Simpson".<ref>Howarth, p. 62.</ref> It was rumoured that Simpson had access to confidential government papers sent to Edward, which he left unguarded at his [[Fort Belvedere, Surrey|Fort Belvedere]] residence.<ref>Williams, pp. 196–197; Ziegler, pp. 273–274.</ref> While Edward was abdicating, the personal protection officers guarding Simpson in exile in France sent reports to [[Downing Street]] suggesting that she might "flit to Germany".<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jan/30/highereducation.past|first=Owen|last=Bowcott|author2=Bates, Stephen|title=Fear that Windsors would 'flit' to Germany|journal=[[The Guardian]]|date=30 January 2003|access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref>