KING EDWARD VIII - DOCUMENT SIGNED 06/03/1918 - HFSID 251356

EDWARD VIII
As Grand Master of the Order of the British Empire, he signs an appointment of a new female honoree. The document also bears the stamped signature of King George V.
Partly Printed Document Signed: "George R.I." as King of England (stamped signature) and "Edward P" as Grand Master, 2 pages, 8¼x12½, (front and verso). Our Court at Saint James's, 1918 June 3. War-time appointment of an Officer. In part: "George the Fifth by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas...to Our trusty and well beloved Frances May [sic] Holford Hardman. Greeting whereas We have thought fit to nominate and appoint you to be an Officer of Our said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire...." Edward, Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, has signed at the conclusion. A stamped signature of his father, King George V, has been placed at the head of the first page. Edward was the eldest son of Britain's King George V and Queen Mary. When George V died on January 20, 1936, the Prince of Wales acceded to the throne as King Edward VIII. The first bachelor King of England in 176 years faced an official government protest over his decision to marry American divorcée Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson and elevate her to Queen. Met by unyielding opposition, Edward VIII abdicated on December 10, 1936. His younger brother, married and the father of Princess Elizabeth and Margaret, became King George VI. Edward was created Duke of Windsor by the new King and married Wallis in 1937. King George V created a new order of chivalry, the Order of the British Empire, in 1917. Britain's monarch always holds the highest position in the Order, that of Sovereign. Edward, Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, was the first to hold the Order's second highest title, that of Grand Master. Frances Mary Holford Hardman (1867-1926) was the wife of a British officer killed in South Africa (1900) during the Boer War, and the mother of another British officer killed in France (1914) early in World War I. The transcript of her reply to a condolence letter from John Maynard Keynes after her son's death (found on a genealogical website) bears the return address of Sherburne Castle Hospital, so it is likely that her O.B.E. was awarded for hospital work during World War I. Because the first World War exacted so much sacrifice, many of these honors were conferred. This may explain the hasty drafting of the document, which has misspelled Mrs. Hardman's name. Lightly creased. Horizontal fold underlines Edward's signature. Fine condition.