Edward VIII

The story of Edward VIII is the story of a king who chose the heart over the crown, and his chart holds that tension beautifully. Born in June 1894 during Victoria's reign, the eldest son of the future George V, he was the charming Prince of Wales whose fashion and warmth made him the darling of an age. His Sun sits in Cancer, the sign of the mother, the tender, sentimental, home-loving crab; and it shines from the fifth house, the very house of the Sun, of romance, pleasure and self-expression, a placement of charisma and love affairs that people adore. There, in one image, is the whole drama: a man built to shine through love, seated on a throne that demanded duty above desire. His Moon in Pisces is the ultimate empath, dreamy, romantic and prone to idealisation, wearing its longing openly. Aquarius rising made him the fringe royal, restless with court protocol, beating to his own drum. After only 326 days he abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson, becoming Duke of Windsor. That same Piscean idealism has its shadow: his 1937 tour of Nazi Germany drew lasting and troubling rumours. A chart maps temperament, never destiny, and Edward followed his to its very edge.