They say that custom makes monks… and kings, crowns. But in the history of the British monarchy, not all monarchs had the opportunity to wear the classic coat of arms of their government on their heads.

Since 1066, some 39 monarchs have been crowned King or Queen of England, all in traditional and exquisite style. Westminster Abbey.

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In that year he was enthroned William I, better known as Guillermo el Conquistador, who started a tradition that will have its next (and highly anticipated) chapter on May 6, the date of Charles III’s coronation ceremony after Isabel II’s death, on September 8.

In general, it is a tradition the time after the death of a king or queen to proceed with the coronation of his successor.

Which led to the fact that not everyone who officially became king of England had the privilege of seeing the crown on their head.

One of the most famous cases is Edward VIIIwho after almost a year as ruler of England decided to abdicate in 1936 in favor of his younger brother – later known as George VI –, basically out of love.

History also knows another king who was never crowned: Edward V, who in 1483 and after spending three months on the English throne at the age of 12, was deposed and then disappeared (it is assumed that he was murdered).

His story caused a strong shock in the country, which even inspired William Shakespeare to write his famous work “Ricardo III”.

On BBC Mundo we tell a little about the history of the two Eduardos who were never crowned.

The princes in the tower

The fifteenth century saw England plunge into one of the bloodiest conflicts for royal power: the Wars of the Roses.

In countless chapters in the confrontation between the Lancaster and York families for the throne, a very special and cruel event occurs almost towards the end: the loss of a king and his brother at the hands of their uncle.

Its king was Edward V. According to BBC History, he was the eldest son of Edward IV, who achieved one of the major victories in the Wars of the Roses and, therefore, he retained the English crown.

Edward IV died in June 1483 and his eldest son was immediately proclaimed king under the name Edward V, at the age of 12.

Britain has still not achieved political stability after a long and costly internal conflict.

Because he was still a minor, the uncle of the new king and brother of the recently deceased, the Duke of Gloucester, was appointed protector of the young ruler until he came of age.

However, as the English historian Anthony James Pollard points out in his book “The Princes of the Tower”, the patron began to come into conflict with the nobles of the court and three months after Edward V’s accession decided to stage a coup: ordered the arrest of the nobles and brought in Edward V and his brother –and at that time the heir to the throne- Ricardo and locked them in the famous tower of London.

Then a plot was hatched which was documented in a parliamentary act on 26 June of that year: members of Parliament accepted the Duke of Gloucester’s complaint that both Edward V and his brother Ricardo were the illegitimate children of Edward IV, so they had no rights. to inherit the crown.

Neither Edward V nor his brother Richard, then Duke of York, were ever seen alive again. and many historians accuse the Duke of Gloucester of having them killed, although there have never been any conclusive tests or documents to confirm this.

Therefore, Edward V could never be crowned. And until now his body has not been identified.

In the same parliamentary act of 26 June 1483, the Duke of Gloucester was proclaimed the new King of England.

It would take the name Ricardo III.

Edward VIII, the king in love

Nearly 500 years and dozens of kings must pass before another king is without his crown.

On January 20, 1936, at the age of 70, George V, King of England, who had reigned for 26 years, died at Sandringham House.

At the same time, his eldest son rose to the highest position in the English monarchy and took the name Edward VIII.

But there was a problem: during the years before his father’s death, the then-Prince Edward had various love affairs, some with married women.

So it was that she fell in love with American Wallis Simpson, who at the time of courting the future royal official, was still legally married to her previous husband, Ernest Simpson.

However, in October 1936, nine months after Edward VIII’s accession to the throne, Wallis divorced.

The idea was that she could marry the king and become Queen of England.

Then the problems started. In his book “Prime Ministers from Balfour to Brown”, historian Robert Pearce notes that then prime minister Stephen Baldwin and religious leaders advised him not to marry a woman who was recently divorced.

They argued that, as King of England, he was the head of the Anglican Church, whose adherents would disdain for their king to marry a recently divorced woman.

Eduardo proposed several alternatives, but none of them convinced his advisors and religious leaders.

After more than a month of dialogue and trying to negotiate, Edward VIII himself decided that he would abdicate if he could not marry Simpson. This came to fruition on December 11, 1936.

He was the first British monarch to voluntarily abdicate. His brother, Prince George -and father of the future Queen Elizabeth II-, ascends the throne.

Edward VIII lost all his noble privileges, even though he was named Duke of York, but he had to emigrate to another country.

He died in 1972 at his home in the south of France, where he lived with his wife Wallis Simpson.