Through the centuries Dubrovnik has been a destination for the rich and famous. Kings and Queens, movie stars, world renowned singers, authors, politicians and diplomats, at some point in history all of the leading lights have walked through the Old City of Dubrovnik.

One of the greatest romances of all time once shone its light on Dubrovnik. King Edward VIII and his true love Miss Wallace Simpson spent time cruising around the Adriatic Sea and Dubrovnik was their favourite destination. The couple drank their afternoon tea in the grounds of the Hotel Imperial, now the Hilton Imperial, and strolled on the Stradun.

In 1936 the yacht Nahlin was chartered by King Edward VIII and used by him and Mrs. Wallis Simpson during a cruise in the Adriatic Sea. The yacht was later sold to the Royal Family of Romania for £120,000 and renamed Libertatea. During their cruise of the Croatian Adriatic the Nahlin was accompanied by British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Grafton and HMS Gloworm.

The famous couple can also claim to have brought nudist tourism to Croatia. During their cruise they stopped at the island of Rab where King Edward VIII obtained a special permission from the local government to swim without clothes. The permission was granted and nudist tourism was born in Croatia, in fact the same beach was named by CNN as one of the top ten nudist beaches in the world.

Returning from the 1936 Adriatic cruise the King faced criticism when he announced he would marry Miss Simpson. Choosing not to end his relationship with Simpson, Edward abdicated, meaning that his reign of 326 days is one of the shortest of any British monarch.