Abandoned coronation of Edward VIII Abandoned coronation of Edward VIII The coronation of Edward VIII as King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth and as Emperor of India was due to take place at Westminster Abbey on 12 May 1937. Preparations had already begun and souvenirs were on sale when he abdicated on 11 December 1936. To keep everything from going to waste, it was decided to hold the coronation of his brother and successor George VI on the same date. In January 1936, King George V died and his eldest son, Edward VIII, succeeded him as king-emperor of the
George Adam Smith until his retirement in 1935. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1916, and was knighted in the same year. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Free Church of Scotland in 1916-17. In 1917 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were John Horne, Cargill Gilston Knott, Ben Peach and John Sutherland Black. He was appointed a Chaplain-in-Ordinary to King George V in 1933, and reappointed by King Edward VIII and King George VI. From 1924 to 1938 he was Patron of the Seven Incorporated Trades