The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #115214   Message #2468293
Posted By: Azizi
17-Oct-08 - 11:32 AM
Thread Name: Famous People in Children's Rhymes
Subject: RE: Famous People in Children's Rhymes
Thanks, Sailor Ron, for posting that rhyme fragment.

That rhyme refers to Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. The word "pinched" in the line "Mrs. Simpson's pinched our King", the word "pinched" means something like "took" or "stole".

Here's an excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VIII_of_the_United_Kingdom :

"Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; later The Duke of Windsor; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972) was King of the United Kingdom and the British dominions, and Emperor of India from 20 January 1936, following the death of his father, George V, until his abdication on 11 December 1936...Only months into his reign, Edward caused a constitutional crisis by proposing marriage to the American divorcée Wallis Simpson. Although legally Edward could have married Mrs. Simpson and remained king, the prime ministers of his various realms opposed the marriage, arguing that the people would never accept her as queen...Rather than give up Mrs. Simpson, Edward chose to abdicate, making him the only monarch of Britain, and indeed any Commonwealth realm, to have voluntarily relinquished the throne"...