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A thought occurred to me a week or two back, but insofar my rather half-hearted research on this topic has not turned up much, so perhaps this should be taken as an AHC.

Edward VIII clearly did not care much for what others thought of his romantic entanglements, sleeping around with courtesans and married women, before finally marrying a divorcee commoner past child-bearing age, which led to him losing his throne.

What if his eye had fallen on someone else, more suitable from the point of view of British peerage in terms of titles, but likely to cause some degree of international uproar?

Perhaps during king Cetshwayo's exile in London, during the height of British sympathy for his cause to at least be the vassal chief of his ancestral lands, an earl or viscount marries a daughter of his - nominally at least marrying into royalty. Thus, the POD might be in the late 1800ds, technically, but the important parts of the timeline belong in the 1900ds.

Said noble has a daughter as well, around the turn of the century or so, whom prince Edward meets and starts a relationship with.

Thus, the prince's lover would be socially acceptable in that she's a noble scion, brought up in British society. By official standards, she is a perfectly acceptable royal bride. However, the reactions of the South African, Australian and American whites, as well as later down the line the nazis will be very interesting. Also, how will this affect race relations in the UK itself?
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