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Dr Robert Beaken draws on previously unseen material to expose Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Lang’s intimate involvement in the abdication of Edward VIII and his replacement with the king’s brother, George VI. Lang has been variously portrayed in recent films and documentaries, including The King’s Speech and Channel Four’s Edward VIII: The Plot to Topple a King. Lang’s actions had far-reaching consequences for the monarchy, and Beaken asks whether they were valiant or disturbingly forceful. He also demonstrates Lang’s success in leading the church at a time of great upheaval and social change.

Beaken is parish priest of St Mary the Virgin, Great Bardfield and St Katharine, Little Bardfield, Essex. Here he talks to Peter Conradi, a Sunday Times journalist and co-author of The King’s Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy.