All of the drama coming out of the modern royal family, including feuds, court cases, and a full-scale move to California, seems rather tame compared to the royal families of the past. The royal family may have shown what was going on, but the new letters show that things were a lot more lewd in the early 20th century.

Recall that before Elizabeth II's father, George VI, ascended the throne, his brother, Edward VIII, was expected to take the throne. But his engagement to a divorced American woman, Wallace Simpson, threatened the seriousness of the monarchy at the time, so he abdicated in 1936 to be with her, thus paving the way for Queen Elizabeth's reign of over 70 years. (Side note: Isn't it odd to see what was considered scandalous just 100 years ago?)

But the new letter shows that before all that happened, Edward and George (affectionately known as "Bertie," as you may recall from "The King's Speech") were just two playboys in town, even though they were also future kings of England The following is an example of how the two playboys were not only friends, but also friends. Written in 1919, before George married Queen Elizabeth, this letter from Edward to his then-lover Freda Dudley Ward describes his plans for a dubious romance.

According to the Mirror, the note details plans to pair George with his admirer, Lady Sheila Loughborough, who was then married to Lord Loughborough. Edward writes that in order to give "Bertie" time with Lady Sheila, he persuaded Lord Loughborough to play golf with him: "On the pretext of playing a few more holes of golf at a local course so that Sheila could be alone with Bertie after tea, Logie ( Lord Loughborough) managed to lure him out.

The note doesn't say much more than that about what happened, but the naughty plan apparently worked and they spent some time alone together. One has to admire Edward's ability to give silly nicknames to all the characters he writes about. And if you really like old-fashioned royal dramas and want to own your own piece of this handwritten history, now is your chance: the letter will be offered at a London-based Forum auction on February 10!

And as for the royal scandal, it's somewhat comforting to know that everything old is new again.