Born in 1894 during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria, whose legacy includes tying together royal families in Europe through marriage, Edward VIII was more interested in love than the monarchy. He abdicated the throne 326 days after beginning his reign to marry a Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American. He went to war, but was removed from combat due to suspicions he was a Nazi sympathizer and sent to the Bahamas to be governor. He retired in France. [Editor's note: The original version of this list story dropped the V in Edward VIII, and gave an incorrect number of days that Edward VIII reigned. It also said he was crowned, but he never had an official coronation ceremony.]
Queen Alexandra, Daily Telegraph/Wikipedia Commons
