John Hubert Ward monarchs. He was appointed Equerry to King Edward VII 28 February 1902, and served until the King′s death in 1910. He was then an Extra Equerry to King George V 1910-1936, to King Edward VIII in 1936, and to King George VI from 1937 until the following year, when he died. Ward's engagement to Jean Templeton Reid (1884–1962) was announced in April 1908. She was the daughter of Whitelaw Reid, American ambassador to the United Kingdom, sister of Ogden Mills Reid, a New York publisher, the granddaughter of Darius Ogden Mills, an American financier, and the niece of Ogden Mills,
Edward VIII prospective queen consort. Additionally, such a marriage would have conflicted with Edward's status as the titular head of the Church of England, which at the time disapproved of remarriage after divorce if a former spouse was still alive. Edward knew the British government, led by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, would resign if the marriage went ahead, which could have forced a general election and would ruin his status as a politically neutral constitutional monarch. When it became apparent he could not marry Wallis and remain on the throne, Edward abdicated. He was succeeded by his younger brother, George VI. With