In 1936 there was a constitutional crisis in the United Kingdom which played out over nearly the whole year, starting in January and ending , historically on the 11th December of that year. There is evidence of that crisis right here in this photo. This is a suburb of Exeter and it was built around that time. Can you spot the evidence of that constitutional crisis?
With a bit of digital trickery, can you spot it now?
It's a Post Box, almost like any other you might have seen. There are so many on so many street corners that we don't really even see them any more, unless you are looking for one to post a letter. Even then you could easily post a letter in this one, without realising how historic it is. It's all written in the cypher, at the bottom of the door. You have almost certainly never seen one like it before.
On the 20th of January 1936 George V died.
George was close to death. His physicians, led by Lord Dawson of Penn, issued a bulletin with the words "The King's life is moving peacefully towards its close." Dawson's private diary, unearthed after his death and made public in 1986, reveals that George's last words, a mumbled "God damn you!", were addressed to his nurse, Catherine Black, when she gave him a sedative that night. Dawson, who supported the "gentle growth of euthanasia", admitted in the diary that he ended the King's life:
At the moment of his death, Edward VIII became King. The Post Office probably already had plans for changing signs, literature, stamps and post boxes underway, before his death, as he had been ill for several years. There are always post boxes being made and installed in new locations and they were soon rolling them out for sites like this one in Exeter.
The constitutional crisis started almost immediately. The King is the Head of the Church of England and the Head of State. Edward wanted to marry the love of his life Wallis Simpson. Wallis was already divorced from her first husband and about to divorce her second, but here's the rub. At that time you could not marry a divorcee if their ex husbands were still alive, a major problem if you are the Head of the Church. In addition the crisis would have caused the collapse of the government and a General Election, a major problem if you are the neutral non-political Head of State. By December Edward saw no other option than to abdicate the throne. A throne he never got to sit in. He was never crowned.
It is therefore ironic that this little piece of history is topped off with a crown that he never wore. Records show that there were 161 of these pillar boxes cast before King Edward abdicated, and there are believed to be as few as 130 left today. This is the only one in Devon.
Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Windsor, became The Duke of Windsor, married Wallis Simpson the following year, and they remained married until his death 35 years later.
Today 60% of post boxes carry the cypher of Elizabeth II. The majority of the rest are for George V and Victoria.
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