It seems to me that a lot of people get the significance of the Duke wrong. Whether he was someone whose wardrobe was meant to be taken literally or someone who you admire or not is somewhat irrelevant. In many ways he was in entertainment and his clothes were not appropriate for the typical businessman. Certainly the English middle class and upper class never emulated him.

In any case, Edward, David, represents uncompromising interest in clothes an personal style without any regard for what others think of him. I suppose the clothes we wear are viewed by some as a sort of capitalistic over indulgence, consumption for consumption's sake and this is what makes it all so fascinating. The Duke of Windsor represents, to Americans at least, the epitome of leisure and in many respects the zenith of the "American dream" or rather the dream on steroids, if not meth amphetamines.

He may have been a dumb f..k, and a pro-Nazi, but damn, what a great dresser!

Generation and geography insulate me from passionate views of the man. People get into Jonathon Swift wars

over Windsor knots and never mention Michael, Duke of Kent and his immense knots. I look at Michael and find

myself thinking of a prewar Bentley with huge triplex headlamps. I think of the DOW and the Lincoln pimped out

for the Dirty Harry movie  MAGNUM FORCE comes to mind.

I've read that Princess Anne considered renouncing her title when faced with the duties.
I watched a documentary on Charles and recall a poignant moment when he let out an audible sigh hearing of his heavy engagements.
The royal family is poorly understood, and perhaps even less appreciated by the non brit world.
I know of a society dedicated to countering the negative publicity around Richard III  including Shakespeare's hunchback portrayal!
It has it's- ah, perks. But It's not a job I'd want!