The Britain of 1936 was unrecognisable from today’s. Sensibilities were different. Duty was considered more important that romantic notions of ‘love’. Irritation over government interference had yet to set in, so – whereas today’s public would have sided with Edward once Baldwin had stuck his nose in – the people declined to picture the monarch as an underdog.

 

Today, the task would be straightforward. The monarch scores points for showing human traits such as love and fallibility. The government is cowed into keeping quiet. And the church struggles to make itself heard. But not then.

 

With that in mind, I’d position Edward as a man propelling Britain forward, rather than living off its largesse. He’s an innovator, we’d say – a man who shrugs off convention for the public good. In this case, he’s jettisoning tradition in order to forge stronger ties with our American cousins, protecting British interests on the global stage.

 

That’d need a big PR push. He’d need to shake off his media reticence and hammer that narrative. But “I’m doing this for you” might just work.

 

If he refused to bow to the will of the people and dump Wallis, I’d suggest the following:

1.) For heads of state, a photo-op with Obama will solve all your problems. Preferably get Sarkozy there as well – everyone looks more dignified next to an arrogant French dwarf.

2.) Have Wallis Simpson do a tell-all feature in Stylist, to get women on her side. Then hire the cells Labour kept Harriet Harman in for the duration of the 2010 election campaign to keep her out of the public eye.

3.) Get Daily Mail Femail to run a column on ten worse people he could have chosen to marry. Make sure Elton John is on the list.

4.) Organise a Twitter hashtag campaign - “#DontAbdicateEd8” is catchy.

 

It’s about connecting directly with people, and creating a groundswell of support. Once you have “#DontAbdicateEd8” trending on Twitter, it lets you emphasise that enough people are behind you to give real bite in negotiations with the government.

 

Toughie. The public saw a woman (not just a divorcee but – shock, horror – an American too) coming in and taking their king. And they didn’t like it. Yet Edward was not about to give her up. So the PR and communications mission here isn’t to agitate for a change to the constitution, but to soften public opinions towards Wallis Simpson. My advice? To appeal to a simple instinct in people – love. Invite people to put themselves in the shoes of Wallis and Edward. Wouldn’t they make the same decision? Sadly (inevitably, perhaps?) this was not how things played out.