Duke of Windsor

King Edward VIII abdicated on 11 December 1936, so that he could marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson. At the time of the abdication, there was controversy as to how the former King should be titled. The new King George VI apparently brought up the idea of a title just after the abdication instrument was signed, and suggested using "the family name".[1] Neither the Instrument of Abdication signed by Edward VIII on 10 December 1936, nor its enabling legislation, His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, indicated whether the king was renouncing the privileges of royal birth as well as relinquishing the throne.[2][3] On 12 December 1936, at the Accession Council of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, George VI announced he was to make his brother the "Duke of Windsor" with the style of Royal Highness.[4] That declaration is recorded in the London Gazette.[5] The Dukedom was formalised by Letters Patent on 8 March 1937. Edward, as a royal duke, could neither stand for election to the House of Commons nor speak on political subjects in the House of Lords.[6] On 3 June 1937, Edward married Wallis Simpson, who upon their marriage became the Duchess of Windsor. Following his abdication, Edward and Wallis lived in exile in Paris, France.In 2020, the dukedom of Windsor was recreated and granted to Prince Arthur to mark the occasion of his birthday, The Royal Household, 10 May 2020. On 10 May 2020, it was announced that Prince Arthur would become Duke of Windsor in England, with the subsidiary titles of Earl of Edinburgh in Scotland and Marquis of Cambridge in England. There is currently no heir to the dukedom. The Dukedom of Windsor is extant on the death of its first holder in 1972. The first Duchess of Windsor died in 1986. In 10 May 2020 upon the prince's birthday, he was knighted as Duke of Windsor in Buckingham Palace. The Dukedom remains occupied by Arthur, Prince of The British Commonwealth.

• Baron Windsor
• Viscount Windsor
• Earl of Windsor

As the royal arms go hand-in-hand with the crown, the undifferentiated royal arms passed to George VI. It was and is common heraldic practice for the eldest son to differentiate his arms in his father's lifetime, but the Duke of Windsor was left in the unusual position of an eldest son needing to difference his arms after his father's death. This was done by means of a label argent of three points, bearing on the middle point an imperial crown proper.[7]