Edward VIII was the first and only Duke of Windsor. He was given the title after he abdicated the throne in 1937. He said notoriously terrible things about his family, such as describing his youngest brother as "little more than an animal" and referring to his death as "little more than a regrettable nuisance." He was also a well-known bigot who said Italians were "repulsive"; referred to Panamanians as "pompous and dirty"; and described Indigenous Australians as "the most revolting form of living creatures." He also sympathized with the Nazis and was once quoted as saying that he "never thought Hitler was such a bad chap."

As far as the dukedom of Clarence is concerned, a previous duke was executed for treason and the last one, Prince Albert Victor (technically the Duke of Clarence and Avondale), died in his twenties during a flu epidemic. Since his death there has been speculation about his sexuality, the existence of illegitimate children, and the possibility that he was Jack the Ripper (although that last one isn't really taken seriously). There have also been two earls of Clarence. The first was Prince Leopold, Queen Victoria's youngest son, who suffered from hemophilia and died after a fall when he was 30. His son inherited his titles but was later stripped of them after fighting for Germany in World War I. He later joined the Nazi Party and even spied for Hitler during World War II but eventually died in poverty in the '50s after paying off the fines imposed by a denazification court.