KING EDWARD VIII - PHOTOGRAPH MOUNT SIGNED 1919 - HFSID 100086

KING EDWARD VIII
Photo mount signed as Prince of Wales, the 5x9 mount and 2x4 photo celebrating the Prince's visit to Australia aboard the HMS Renown.
Photo Mount signed: "Edward P", 5¾x8½ overall, image 2¼x3¾ (one surface). Circa late 1919-early 1920. Mount is captioned: "H.M.S. 'Renown'/August and November,/1919". Lightly soiled at blank areas. Nail-head-size stain above date, light circular stain at upper blank edge. Overall, fine condition. Accompanied by typed letter of transmittal, unsigned, ¾p, 4¾x7½. York House, St. James's Palace, S.W. Form letter to unnamed recipient. In full: "The Equerry in Waiting is desired by the Prince of Wales to forward to you the accompanying souvenir as a memento for the services which you rendered to His Royal Highness during his tour, August and November, 1919." Lightly creased and soiled. Overall, fine condition. With souvenir booklet, 24p, 9¾x7, bound with white cord. Seal of Australia on front cover, map of Sydney affixed inside back cover. Titled: "Royal Visit to Australia/May-August 1920./H.M.S. Renown at Sydney, N.S.W." Program for the "Reception and Entertainment of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales". Photographs of Sydney Harbor and the city's buildings and attractions and transportation schedules on inside pages. Covers are creased and soiled. 1¼-inch separation at upper blank margin at mid-vertical fold. Back cover chipped at lower edge. Inside pages lightly soiled. Overall, fine and interesting. Signed by the 25-year-old Prince of Wales seventeen years before his father, King George V, died and he became King Edward VIII. The visit to Australia was part of the Prince's 1919-1920 world tour on the H.M.S. Renown, which had been launched in March 1916 and commissioned in September 1916. The ship, reconstructed from 1936-1936, served through WWII. Edward (1894-1972), the eldest son of Britain's King George V and Queen Mary, was created Prince of Wales in 1911. During WWI, he served as a staff officer in France, Egypt and Italy and was Grand Master of the Order of the British Empire. When King George V died in January 1936, Edward became England's first bachelor King in 176 years. There were official protests opposing his proposal to marry American divorcee Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson and elevate her to Queen. Met by unyielding opposition by his Ministers, Edward chose to abdicate in December 1936, after less than 11 months on the throne. Created Duke of Windsor by his brother and successor, King George VI (the father of Queen Elizabeth II), he married Wallis the following June. The Duke and Duchess lived abroad, primarily in France and the U.S., returning to England only twice (1952 and 1953) before being formally invited to a ceremony honoring Edward's mother in 1967. Both the Duke and Duchess (who died in 1986) are buried on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Three items.