Epsom College patron, which relationship with British monarchs has continued ever since; King Edward VII after the death of his mother, King George V, King Edward VIII in 1936, King George VI from 1937, and then the current Queen until the present. Its long-standing association with medicine was estimated in 1980 as having helped almost a third of its 10,000 alumni enter that profession. It was founded in 1855 to provide support for poor members of the medical profession. Funding for such a bold undertaking proved inadequate to the task, resulting in a reduced number of buildings and therefore insufficient space to
George VI desire to marry divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. British prime minister Stanley Baldwin advised Edward that for political and religious reasons he could not marry a divorced woman and remain king. Edward abdicated to marry Simpson, and George ascended the throne as the third monarch of the House of Windsor. During George's reign, the break-up of the British Empire and its transition into the Commonwealth of Nations accelerated. The parliament of the Irish Free State removed direct mention of the monarch from the country's constitution on the day of his accession. The following year, a new Irish constitution changed the