The Disturbing History of Royal Infatuation With Hitler

Edward , Duke of Windsor, who abdicated as King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom less than a year earlier , met Adolf Hitler at his mountain lair in the Bavarian Alps .

After the meeting, Hitler took tea with the erstwhile duke and his American -born wife, Wallis Simpson , Duchess of Windsor.

Windsor seemed to leave with a profound respect for Germany and the leader of the Third Reich .

The Third Reich’s emphasis on traditional manhood was a draw for insecure, striving men like Philipp and Christoph .

Philipp transformed from a bisexual dilettante to a member of the party who held positions he may not have been qualified for, including governor of his home province of Hesse -Nassau.

His brother Christoph , married to Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark , became a high-ranking SS member.

Many blamed Wallis for Prince of Wales ’s fascist sympathies, the prince was in fact surrounded by Nazi enthusiasts.

Edward , and other royals, perhaps admired Hitler 's strongman tactics more than they wanted to admit.

The Windsors received so much bad press that a planned tour of America had to be canceled.