 Goddard was appointed by Wallis Simpson as an adviser to her during divorce proceedings and in relation to her involvement during the United Kingdom abdication Crisis of 1936.Born Highbury, London in 1879, according to census data John Theodore Goddard lived at 106 Highbury New Park, London in 1901 with his widowed mother and siblings.At the age of 22 he was a solicitor's articled clerk.