Edward VIII’s racist letters to his mistress comparing Australian Aboriginal people to ‘monkeys’ are explored in a new documentary

New documentary sheds light on views of Edward VII while still Prince of Wales
During a 1920 visit to Australia, he wrote at length about Indigenous peoples
He referred to Aboriginal Australians as ‘monkeys’ and ‘revolting’ creatures

Racist letters penned in the 1920s by the then Prince of Wales about Aboriginal Australians – calling them ‘revolting’ and comparing them to monkeys – will be explored in a new documentary.

The future King Edward VIII, who was then known as David, expressed his disdain for the Indigenous population during a Royal tour in 1920, when he visited all six Australian states.

His opinions were revealed in letters to his then mistress, married English socialite Freda Dudley Ward. She was the future King’s lover between 1918 to 1923 and they remained close until 1936, when he met American divorcee Wallis Simpson, who he gave up the throne for later that year.

The Crown and Us: The Story of The Royals in Australia, which will air on the ABC on Sunday night, March 3, delves into 10 letters from his trip, purchased by the State Library of NSW in 2006.

‘They showed us some of the native Aborigines at a wayside station in the great plain yesterday afternoon, though they are the most revolting form of living creatures I’ve ever seen,’ he wrote.

‘They are the lowest known form of human beings and are the nearest thing to monkeys I’ve ever seen.’

The documentary will also shed new light on a torrid affair between married Australian woman Sheila Chisholm and the Queen’s father George VI before he was king.

King George V ordered his son to end the relationship and Prince George (known as Bertie) obliged.

Edward spent 49 days conducting royal duties in Australia, which included visiting Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.

‘Confetti is appearing in great and unpleasant quantities, and the touching mania has started, only owing to the heartening disposition of the Australians the touches are more like blows and HRH arrived half blinded and black and blue,’ he wrote in his diary of his arrival in Melbourne.

He was extremely popular during his visit and was affectionately dubbed the ‘Digger Prince’ by Australians because he served during the First World War.

Other letters written to Freda Dudley Ward during his 1920 visit to Barbados shows a similar view to those he wrote while in Australia.

He reported the country as being ‘ugly’ and he found the ‘coloured population’ to be ‘revolting’.

He was extremely popular during his visit and was affectionately dubbed the ‘Digger Prince’ by Australians because he served during the First World War.

Other letters written to Freda Dudley Ward during his 1920 visit to Barbados shows a similar view to those he wrote while in Australia.

He reported the country as being ‘ugly’ and he found the ‘coloured population’ to be ‘revolting’.

The documentary, produced by Australian production company Fredbird Entertainment, chronicles the storied history of British royals visiting Australia throughout the generations.

Exploring details such as the turbulent relationships between the crown and the then Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1972.

It will also include a look at the 1954 visit to Australia by Queen Elizabeth II and the various visits by Prince Charles from his days as a school boy to the more official tours later in his life.

‘The Crown is part of who we were and who we are – and despite the secrets, scandals and questions of relevance, our affection for the British Royals remains as strong as ever. Why is that? And will it ever change?’ the series synopsis reads.