Baldwin Forces the Pace of Abdication

Wednesday 9th December 1936

Behind the Scenes

After his conversation with the King the previous evening at Fort Belvedere, Baldwin knew that there was no way of reversing his decision to abdicate and set out to bring the process to as rapid a close as possible. The first Cabinet meeting of the day agreed to send the King a letter asking him formally, but hopelessly to reconsider.

Baldwin did not even wait for a written reply and once a phone message had come from Fort Belvedere that the King would abdicate he called a second Cabinet of the day to rubber-stamp the decision to make the practical preparations for abdication.