Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shocked the world in January 2020 when they announced they were planning to step back as senior members of the British royal family.

Their decision, while controversial, wasn’t the first time members of royal families around the world decided to abdicate the throne or step back from their royal duties.

King Edward VIII

1937 - France: Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor, sits with his wife Wallis Simpson at the Chateau de Cands in France. Photo shows a close-up view of the couple. (Getty)

Edward, Duke of Windsor, was crowned King Edward VIII in January 1936 following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.

However, Edward, who was Queen Elizabeth’s uncle, abdicated the throne in December 1936, serving less than a year as king, so he could marry American Wallis Simpson.

"Given my character, my roving curiosity and independence, my life appeared to form a disconnected pattern—duty without decision, service without........

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