Forget this upcoming royal marriage. The real gossipy, juicy royal mess happened on the weekend of December 5, 1936. A frazzled King Edward VIII sat alone at Buckingham Palace; in secret, he telephoned his brother Bertie to tell him of his major decision–that he could no longer be King if it meant abandoning the woman he loved, Wallis Simpson. But little did the royal brothers know that others were listening to their call.

Spying on the Royals (Public Media Distribution) shares declassified documents bring to light the secret story behind the events that stunned the world eighty years ago, detailing the most controversial espionage operation in British history. The targets were none other than King Edward VIII and his feisty American lover Wallis Simpson.

Both were considered major security threats and were suspected of having Nazi sympathies by both Britain and America. This top-secret surveillance operation involved hundreds of spies over eleven years, spanning two continents, eight countries, and the Atlantic Ocean. Edward and Wallis were bugged, wire-tapped, and followed – on the orders of both the British prime minister and the American president. This documentary will reveal the greatest royal scandal of the twentieth century through an entirely new perspective.