Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Spencer, then Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986) was the American wife of Edward, Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII. Edward wished to make Wallis his queen, but the British government would not allow it because she was divorced. Edward decided to abdicate (which he announced on December 11, 1936) in order to marry her. The couple spent most of their life in France.