en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VIII
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all the Dominions had already consented to the abdication
This overstates the position. The Irish Free State, then still a Dominion, was explicitly excluded from the British abdication legislation and dealt with the abdication through its own legislation on 11–12 December 1936.
Full reasoning
The claim is too broad because not all Dominions had already consented when the UK Act was passed.
A primary parliamentary source from 11 December 1936 says the bill's preamble recorded only "the consent of the Dominion of Canada and the Assent of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand and the Union of South Africa". It does not say all Dominions had consented; the Irish Free State is absent from that list.
An official Irish historical source states even more directly that the abdication was given legislative effect in "Great Britain and the Dominions, excluding the Irish Free State" by the UK Act on 11 December 1936. It explains that the Irish Free State handled the matter separately through its own legislation, with the Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act becoming law on 11 December 1936 and the Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 becoming law on 12 December 1936.
So the sentence should not say that all the Dominions had already consented. At minimum, the Irish Free State was a notable exception and required separate Irish legislation.
2 sources
- HIS MAJESTY'S DECLARATION OF ABDICATION BILL. (Hansard, 11 December 1936)
"the Bill records the consent of the Dominion of Canada and the Assent of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand and the Union of South Africa"
- Abdication of King Edward VIII - Documents on Irish Foreign Policy - Volume 4 - 12/12/1936
"The abdication was given legislative effect in Great Britain and the Dominions, excluding the Irish Free State, by an Act of the British Parliament on the 11th December, 1936"