Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was
KingA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927...
and the British
DominionA dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of semi-autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, from the late 19th century. They included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the...
s and
Emperor of IndiaEmperor/Empress of India was used as a title by the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II, and revived by the colonial British monarchs during the British Raj in India....
from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910. He was the first British monarch of the
House of Saxe-Coburg and GothaThe House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is German noble family, a line of the Saxon House of Wettin that ruled the two duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. It is also the royal house of several European monarchies, and branches currently reign in Belgium through the descendants of Leopold I, and in the...
, which was renamed the
House of WindsorThe House of Windsor is the current Royal House of the United Kingdom and each of the other Commonwealth realms. It is a branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , which adopted the name Windsor by a royal proclamation of George V in 1917...
by his son,
George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
.
Before his accession to the throne, Edward held the title of
Prince of WalesPrince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the Heir Apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland...
and was
heir apparentAn heir apparent is an heir who cannot be displaced from inheriting.An heir presumptive, by contrast, is an heir currently in line to inherit a title, but who could be displaced at any time by certain events.Today these terms most commonly describe heirs to hereditary titles, particularly monarchies...
to the throne for longer than anyone else in history. During the long widowhood of his mother,
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
, he was largely excluded from political power and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite.
The
Edwardian periodThe Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910.The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and the succession of her son, Edward, marked the start of a new century and the end of the Victorian period...
, which covered Edward's reign and was named after him, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society, including powered flight and the rise of
socialismSocialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on...
and the Labour movement. Edward played a role in the modernisation of the
British Home FleetThe Home Fleet is the traditional name of the fleet of the Royal Navy that protects the United Kingdom's territorial waters.-Pre-First World War:...
, the reform of the
Army Medical ServicesThe Army Medical Services is the organisation responsible for administering the four separate units that supply medical and nursing services in the British Army...
, and the reorganisation of the British army after the
Second Boer WarThe Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War , the Anglo-Boer War and in Afrikaans as the Anglo-Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , or the Engelse oorlog was fought...
. He fostered good relations between Great Britain and other European countries, especially
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, for which he was popularly called "Peacemaker", but his work was unable to prevent the outbreak of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
in 1914.
Early life
Edward was born at 10:48 a.m. on 9 November 1841 in
Buckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
. His mother was
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
, the only daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-SaalfeldPrincess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
. His father was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, first cousin and
consortA prince consort, generally speaking, is a common term for the husband of a queen regnant, unless he himself also is a king in his own right.Current examples include the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , and Prince Henrik of Denmark .In recognition of his...
of Victoria. He was christened
Albert Edward (after his father and maternal grandfather) at
St. George's Chapel, Windsor CastleSt George's Chapel is the place of worship at Windsor Castle in England, United Kingdom. It is both a royal peculiar and the chapel of the Order of the Garter...
, on 25 January 1842. His godparents were
the King of PrussiaKing Frederick William IV of Prussia , the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 1840 to 1861...
, his paternal grandfather's wife
the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and GothaMarie of Württemberg was the second wife of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who was also her uncle. They had no children....
(for whom,
the Duchess of KentPrincess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
, his maternal grandmother, stood proxy), his great-uncle
the Duke of CambridgeThe Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge , was the tenth child and seventh son of George III and Queen Charlotte. He held the title of Duke of Cambridge from 1801 until his death. He also served as Viceroy of Hanover on behalf of his brothers George IV and William IV...
, his great-grandfather's wife
the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-AltenburgKaroline Amalie of Hesse-Kassel was duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.Born as a princess of Hesse-Kassel, her father was landgraf William I and her mother was Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway, daughter of king Frederick V of Denmark and Norway.On 24 April 1802 she married...
(for whom the Duchess of Cambridge, his great-aunt, stood proxy), his great-aunt
the Princess SophiaThe Princess Sophia was a member of the British Royal Family, the twelfth child and fifth daughter of George III.-Early life:...
(for whom Princess Augusta of Cambridge, his first cousin once-removed, stood proxy) and his great-uncle Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was known as
Bertie to the family throughout his life.
As the eldest son of a British sovereign, he was automatically
Duke of CornwallThe Dukedom of Cornwall was the first dukedom created in the peerage of England.The present Duke of Cornwall is The Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning British monarch .-History:...
and
Duke of RothesayThe title Duke of Rothesay was the official title possessed by the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of Scotland. A separate Scottish throne has not existed de facto since 1603 when James VI of Scotland acceded to the throne of England when the House of Tudor died out, creating a personal...
at birth. As a son of Prince Albert, he also held the titles of Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Saxony. Queen Victoria created her son
Prince of WalesPrince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the Heir Apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland...
and
Earl of ChesterThe Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been given to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Traditional power base...
on 8 December 1841. He was created
Earl of DublinEarl of Dublin is a title that has been created three times in British history.It was created first on 22 October 1766 in the Peerage of Ireland for Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn, younger brother of King George III. This title became extinct in 1790 upon the Duke's dying childless...
on 17 January 1850, a
Knight of the GarterThe Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry, or knighthood, originating in medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms; it is the pinnacle of the honours system in the United Kingdom...
on 9 November 1858 and a
Knight of the ThistleThe Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...
on 24 May 1867. In 1863, he renounced his succession rights to the Duchy of
Saxe-Coburg and GothaSaxe-Coburg and Gotha or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha served as the name of the two German duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha in Germany, in the present-day states of Bavaria and Thuringia, which were in personal union between 1826 and 1918....
in favour of his younger brother,
Prince AlfredAlfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the third Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha reigning between 1893 and 1900. He was also a member of the British Royal Family, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha...
.
Education
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert determined that their eldest son should have an education that would prepare him to be a model constitutional monarch. At age seven, Edward embarked upon a rigorous educational programme devised by Prince Albert, and under the supervision of several tutors. However, unlike
his elder sisterThe Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child and daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor...
, Edward did not excel in his studies. He tried to meet the expectations of his parents, but to no avail. Although Edward was not a diligent student—his true talents were those of charm, sociability and tact—Benjamin Disraeli described him as informed, intelligent and of sweet manner.
After an educational trip to
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
, undertaken in the first few months of 1859, he spent the summer of that year studying at the
University of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh founded in 1582, is an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. It is the sixth university to be established in the British Isles, making it one of the ancient universities of the United Kingdom.The university is amongst the...
under, amongst others, Lyon Playfair. In October he matriculated as an undergraduate at
Christ Church, OxfordThis article is about the Oxford college. For other uses, see Christ Church or Christchurch .Christ Church , is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
. Now released from the educational strictures imposed by his parents, he enjoyed studying for the first time and performed satisfactorily in examinations. In 1861, Edward transferred to
Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 160 Fellows ....
, where he was tutored in history by
Charles KingsleyCharles Kingsley was an English clergyman, university professor, historian, and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and north-east Hampshire.-Life and character:...
, Regius Professor of Modern History. Kingsley's efforts brought forth the best academic performances of Edward's life, and Edward actually looked forward to his lectures.
Early adulthood
In 1860, Edward undertook the first tour of
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
by an heir to the British throne. His genial good humour and confident
bonhomie made the tour a great success. He inaugurated the Victoria Bridge, Montreal, across the St Lawrence River, and laid the cornerstone of Parliament Hill, Ottawa. He watched Blondin traverse
Niagara FallsThe Niagara Falls are voluminous waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York...
by highwire, and stayed for three days with President
James BuchananJames Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States from 1857–1861 and the last to be born in the 18th century...
at the
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every...
. Buchanan accompanied the Prince to
Mount VernonMount Vernon was the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States. The name may also refer to several other places around the world:* In Australia:**Mount Vernon, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia...
, to pay his respects at the tomb of
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
. Vast crowds greeted him everywhere. He met
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowHenry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American educator and poet whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and "Evangeline"...
,
Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the early 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s...
and
Oliver Wendell HolmesOliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. , was an American physician, professor, lecturer, and author. Regarded by his peers as one of the best writers of the 19th century, he is considered a member of the Fireside Poets. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began with The Autocrat...
. Prayers for the royal family were said in
Trinity Church, New YorkTrinity Church at 79 Broadway, New York City, is an historic, full-service parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Trinity Church is located at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street in downtown Manhattan...
, for the first time since 1776. The four-month tour throughout Canada and the United States considerably boosted Edward's confidence and self-esteem, and had many diplomatic benefits for Great Britain.
Upon his return, Edward hoped to pursue a career in the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
, but this was denied him because he was heir to the throne. His military ranks were honorary. In September 1861, Edward was sent to Germany, supposedly to watch military manoeuvres, but actually in order to engineer a meeting between him and Princess
Alexandra of DenmarkAlexandra of Denmark was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India from 1901 to 1910 as the consort of Edward VII....
, the eldest daughter of
Prince Christian of DenmarkChristian IX was King of Denmark from 16 November 1863 to 29 January 1906. He became known as the father-in-law of Europe, as his six children married into other royal houses; most current European monarchs are descended from him.-Early life:He was born in Gottorp, the fourth son of Friedrich...
and his wife
LouiseLouise of Hesse was a German Princess and the Queen Consort to King Christian IX of Denmark.-Early Life and Heritage:...
. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had already decided that Edward and Alexandra should marry. They met at
SpeyerSpeyer is a city in Germany with approx. 50,000 inhabitants, located beside the river Rhine. It lies 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Its oldest known name was Civitas Nemetum, named by a Teutonic tribe, the Nemeter, settling in this area...
on 24 September under the auspices of his elder sister,
the Crown Princess of PrussiaThe Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child and daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor...
. Edward's elder sister, acting upon instructions from their mother, had met Princess Alexandra at Strelitz in June; the young Danish princess made a very favourable impression. Edward and Alexandra were friendly from the start; the meeting went well for both sides, and marriage plans advanced.
From this time, Edward gained a reputation as a playboy. Determined to get some army experience, Edward attended manoeuvres in
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, during which an actress, Nellie Clifton, was hidden in his tent by his fellow officers. Prince Albert, though ill, was appalled and visited Edward at
CambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. It is also at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen....
to issue a reprimand. Albert died in December 1861 just two weeks after the visit. Queen Victoria was inconsolable, wore mourning clothes for the rest of her life and blamed Edward for his father's death. At first, she regarded her son with distaste as frivolous, indiscreet and irresponsible. She wrote to her eldest daughter, "I never can, or shall, look at him without a shudder."
Marriage
Once widowed, Queen Victoria effectively withdrew from public life. Shortly after Prince Albert's death, she arranged for Edward to embark on an extensive tour of the Middle East, visiting
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
,
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
,
DamascusDamascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and its current population is estimated at about 1,669,000...
,
BeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2.1 million as of 2007. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's coastline with the Mediterranean sea, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan Area, which...
and
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
. As soon as he returned to Britain, preparations were made for his engagement, which was sealed at Laeken in
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
on 9 September 1862. Edward and
AlexandraAlexandra of Denmark was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India from 1901 to 1910 as the consort of Edward VII....
married at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, on 10 March 1863. Edward was 21; Alexandra was 18.
Edward and his wife established
Marlborough HouseMarlborough House is a mansion in Westminster, London, in Pall Mall just east of St James's Palace. It was built for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the favourite and confidante of Queen Anne. The Duchess wanted her new house to be "strong, plain and convenient"...
as their London residence and
Sandringham HouseSandringham House is a country house on of land near the village of Sandringham in Norfolk, England. The house is privately owned by the British Royal Family and is located on the royal Sandringham Estate, which lies within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-History and current...
in
NorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast, including The Wash. The county town is Norwich...
as their country retreat. They entertained on a lavish scale. Their marriage met with disapproval in certain circles because most of Queen Victoria's relations were German, and
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
was at loggerheads with Germany over the territories of
SchleswigSchleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark...
and
HolsteinHolstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
. When Alexandra's father inherited the throne of Denmark in November 1863, the
German ConfederationThe German Confederation was the association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to serve as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, which had been abolished in 1806. In 1848, revolutions by liberals and nationalists occurred in an attempt to...
took the opportunity to invade and annex Schleswig-Holstein. Queen Victoria was of two minds whether it was a suitable match given the political climate. After the couple's marriage, she expressed anxiety about their
socialiteA socialite is a person who is known to be a part of fashionable high society because of their regular participation in social activities and fondness for spending a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained. Some socialites may choose to use their social skills and connections...
lifestyle and attempted to dictate to them on various matters, including the names of their children.
Edward had mistresses throughout his married life. He socialised with actress
Lillie LangtryLillie Langtry , born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a highly successful British actress born on the island of Jersey. A renowned beauty, she was nicknamed the "Jersey Lily" and had a number of prominent lovers, including the future King Edward VII.- From Jersey to London :Emilie was the only...
; Lady Randolph Churchill (mother of
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
);
Daisy Greville, Countess of WarwickFrances Evelyn "Daisy" Greville, Countess of Warwick was a society beauty, and mistress to King Edward VII.-Family:...
; actress
Sarah BernhardtSarah Bernhardt was a legendary French stage actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress in the history of the world". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of Europe in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
;
Alice KeppelAlice Frederica Keppel, née Edmonstone was a British socialite and the most famous mistress of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Her full title after marriage was The Hon. Mrs George Keppel. Her daughter, Violet Trefusis, was the lover of poet Vita Sackville-West...
; singer
Hortense SchneiderHortense Catherine Schneider, La Snédèr, was a French soprano, one of the greatest operetta stars of the 19th century, particularly associated with the works of composer Jacques Offenbach.-Biography:...
; prostitute Giulia Barucci; and wealthy humanitarian
Agnes KeyserAgnes Keyser was the wealthy daughter of a Stock Exchange member, a humanitarian, courtesan and longtime mistress to Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Of all of Edward VII's mistresses, with the exception of socialite Jennie Jerome, Keyser was the best accepted within royal circles, to include...
. At least fifty-five liaisons are conjectured. How far these relationships went is not always clear. Edward always strove to be discreet, but this did not prevent society gossip or press speculation.
In 1869, Sir Charles Mordaunt, a British Member of Parliament, threatened to name Edward as co-respondent in his divorce suit. Ultimately, he did not do so but Edward was called as a witness in the case in early 1870. It was shown that Edward had visited the Mordaunts's house while Sir Charles was away sitting in the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
. Although nothing further was proven and Edward denied he had committed adultery, the suggestion of impropriety was damaging.
The story that Queen Alexandra invited Edward's last mistress, society beauty
Alice KeppelAlice Frederica Keppel, née Edmonstone was a British socialite and the most famous mistress of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Her full title after marriage was The Hon. Mrs George Keppel. Her daughter, Violet Trefusis, was the lover of poet Vita Sackville-West...
, to the King's death-bed in 1910 is a myth that Alice herself propagated. In reality Alice was, most reluctantly, asked at the King's request and, in a wild fit of hysterics, she was ejected shrieking, "I never did any harm, there was nothing wrong between us. What is to become of me?" One of Alice Keppel's great-granddaughters, Camilla Parker Bowles, became the wife of
Charles, Prince of WalesCharles, Prince of Wales is the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1952, he has been heir apparent to the thrones of the Commonwealth realms. After earning a bachelor of arts from Trinity College, Cambridge, Charles served a tour of duty with Royal Navy...
, one of Edward's great-great grandsons. It was rumoured that Camilla's grandmother,
Sonia KeppelSonia Rosemary Cubitt, Baroness Ashcombe OBE DStJ was the daughter of Hon. George Keppel and his wife, Alice and the grandmother of the Duchess of Cornwall....
(born in May 1900), was the illegitimate daughter of Edward, but she was "almost certainly" the daughter of
George KeppelLieutenant-Colonel George Keppel, MVO was a British soldier and the husband of Alice Keppel, the mistress of King Edward VII....
, whom she resembled. Edward never acknowledged any illegitimate children. Alexandra is believed to have been aware of many of his affairs and to have accepted them.
Heir apparent
During Queen Victoria's widowhood, Edward represented her at public ceremonies and gatherings—for example, opening
Halifax Town HallHalifax Town Hall is a grade II listed, 19th century town hall in Crossley Street, Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, and is notable for its design and interiors by Charles Barry and his son Edward Middleton Barry, and for its sculptures by John Thomas....
in 1863,
Thames EmbankmentThe Thames Embankment is a major feat of 19th century civil engineering designed to reclaim marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria and Chelsea Embankment....
in 1871,
Mersey TunnelThe Mersey Railway connected Liverpool and Birkenhead, England, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel under the River Mersey. Opened in 1886, it was the second oldest urban underground railway network in the world. The railway contained the first tunnel built under the river. It was constructed by John...
in 1886, and
Tower BridgeTower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name...
in 1894—pioneering the idea of royal public appearances as we understand them today. However, his mother did not allow Edward an active role in the running of the country until 1898. He annoyed his mother by siding with Denmark on the
Schleswig-Holstein QuestionThe Schleswig-Holstein Question refers to a complex of diplomatic and other issues arising in the 19th century from the relations of two duchies, Schleswig and Holstein, to the Danish crown and to the German Confederation. Schleswig was a part of Denmark during the Viking Age, and became a Danish...
in 1864 (she was pro-German) and in the same year annoyed her again by making a special effort to meet Garibaldi.
In 1870, republican sentiment in Britain was given a boost when the French Emperor, Napoleon III, was defeated in the
Franco-Prussian WarThe Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between France and Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and Bavaria...
and the French
Third RepublicThere were several Third Republics in the course of history.* French Third Republic * Third Republic of Czechoslovakia * Third Republic of the Philippines * Third Republic of South Korea...
was declared. However, in the winter of 1871, a brush with death led to an improvement both in Edward's popularity with the public as well as in his relationship with his mother. While staying at Londesborough Lodge, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Edward contracted typhoid, the disease that was believed to have killed his father. There was great national concern, and one of his fellow guests (
Lord ChesterfieldGeorge Philip Cecil Arthur Stanhope, 7th Earl of Chesterfield , styled Lord Stanhope until 1866, was a British soldier and politician.-Background:...
) died. Edward's recovery was greeted with almost universal relief. Public celebrations included the composition of
Arthur SullivanSir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer, of Irish and Italian descent, best known for his operatic collaborations with librettist W. S. Gilbert, including such continually-popular works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado...
's
Festival Te DeumThe Festival Te Deum is the popular name for an 1872 composition by Arthur Sullivan, written to celebrate the recovery of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales from typhoid fever...
. Edward cultivated politicians from all parties, including republicans, as his friends, and thereby largely dissipated any residual feelings against him.
In 1875, Edward set off for India on an extensive eight-month tour of the sub-continent. His advisors remarked on his habit of treating all people the same, regardless of their social station or colour. In letters home, he complained of the treatment of the native Indians by the British officials: "Because a man has a black face and a different religion from our own, there is no reason why he should be treated as a brute." At the end of the tour, his mother was given the title Empress of India by Parliament, in part as a result of the tour's success.
Edward was a patron of the arts and sciences and helped found the
Royal College of MusicThe Royal College of Music is a conservatoire located in the South Kensington district of London, England.-Background:The Royal College of Music's building, designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield, is situated on Prince Consort Road in the district of South Kensington, next to Imperial College, directly...
. He opened the college in 1883 with the words, "Class can no longer stand apart from class ... I claim for music that it produces that union of feeling which I much desire to promote." At the same time, he enjoyed gambling and country sports and was an enthusiastic hunter. He ordered all the clocks at Sandringham to run half an hour fast to create more time for shooting. This so-called tradition of
Sandringham TimeSandringham time is the name given to the idiosyncratic alterations that King Edward VII made to the timekeeping at the royal estate of Sandringham. Contrary to rumour, it was not begun to assist Queen Alexandra, who was constantly late, but to create more time for hunting in the winter.The King...
continued until 1936, when it was abolished by
Edward VIIIEdward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the British dominions, and Emperor of India from 20 January 1936 until his abdication on 11 December 1936, after which he was immediately succeeded by his younger brother, George VI...
. He also laid out a golf course at Windsor. By the 1870s the future king had taken a keen interest in horseracing and steeplechasing. In 1896, his horse
PersimmonPersimmon was an outstanding British-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred race horse and sire who won the Epsom Derby in 1896. This was the first horse race ever filmed, by Robert W. Paul and Birt Acres....
won both the
Derby StakesThe Derby Stakes, known colloquially as The Derby and internationally as the Epsom Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old Thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled...
and the
St. Leger StakesThe St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
. In 1900, Persimmon's brother,
Diamond JubileeDiamond Jubilee was a British-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred race horse who won the British Triple Crown in 1900.He was a full brother to the 1896 Derby winner, Persimmon and was foaled in the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. He was exported to Argentina in 1906 and died there in...
, won five races (Derby, St. Leger, 2,000 Guineas Stakes,
Newmarket StakesThe Newmarket Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late April or early May.The event...
and
Eclipse StakesThe Eclipse Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 7 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early July.The event is named after Eclipse, a...
) and another of Edward's horses, Ambush II, won the
Grand NationalThe Grand National is a famous National Hunt horse race which is held at Aintree in England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of about 4 miles and 856 yards , and during its running there are thirty fences to be jumped...
.
Edward made wearing
tweedTweed is a rough, coarse, unfinished woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is made in either plain or twill weave and may have a check or herringbone pattern...
, Homburg hats and
Norfolk jacketA Norfolk jacket is a loose, belted, single-breasted jacket with box pleats on the back , now with a belt or half-belt. The style was long popular for boys' jackets and suits, and is still used in some uniforms. It was originally designed as a shooting coat that did not bind when the elbow was...
s fashionable. He popularised the wearing of black ties with dinner jackets, instead of
white tieWhite tie is the most formal evening dress code. It is worn to events such as balls, the opera, and formal dinners...
and tails, and pioneered the pressing of trouser legs from side to side in preference to the now normal front and back creases. A stickler for proper dress, he is said to have admonished the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, for wearing the trousers of an Elder Brother of
Trinity HouseThe Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters . It is responsible for the provision and maintenance of navigational aids such as lighthouses, lightvessels, buoys and maritime radio/satellite...
with a
Privy CouncilA privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation on how to exercise their executive authority, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government...
lor's coat. Deep in an international crisis, the Prime Minister informed the Prince of Wales that it had been a dark morning, and that "my mind must have been occupied by some subject of less importance." The tradition of men not buttoning the bottom button of suit-coats is said to be linked to Edward, who supposedly left his undone due to his large girth. His waist measured 48 inches (122 cm) shortly before his coronation. He introduced the practice of eating roast beef, roast potatoes, horseradish sauce and
yorkshire puddingYorkshire pudding is a dish that originated in Yorkshire, England, and has attained wide popularity. It is made from batter and most often served with roast beef, chicken, or any meal in which there is gravy.-History:...
on Sundays, which remains a staple British favourite for Sunday lunch.
In 1891, Edward was embroiled in the
Royal Baccarat ScandalThe Royal Baccarat Scandal, also known as the Tranby Croft scandal, was an English gambling scandal of the late nineteenth century involving the future King Edward VII.-Background:...
, when it was revealed he had played an illegal card game for money the previous year. The Prince was forced to appear as a witness in court for a second time when one of the players unsuccessfully sued his fellow players for slander after being accused of cheating. In the same year Edward was involved in a personal conflict, when
Lord Charles BeresfordCharles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford GCB GCVO , known as Lord Charles Beresford until 1916, was a British Admiral and Member of Parliament....
threatened to reveal details of Edward's private life to the press, as a protest against Edward interfering with Beresford's affair with Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick. The friendship between the two men was irreversibly damaged and their bitterness would last for the remainder of their lives. Usually, Edward's outbursts of temper were short-lived, and "after he had let himself go ... [he would] smooth matters by being especially nice".
In 1892, Edward's eldest son, Albert Victor, was engaged to
Princess Victoria Mary of TeckMary of Teck was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India as the consort of King-Emperor George V. By birth, she was a princess of Teck, in the Kingdom of Württemberg, with the style Serene Highness...
. Just a few weeks after the engagement, Albert Victor died of pneumonia. Edward was grief-stricken. "To lose our eldest son", he wrote, "is one of those calamities one can never really get over". Edward told Queen Victoria, "[I would] have given my life for him, as I put no value on mine". Albert Victor was the second of Edward's children to die. In 1871, his youngest son, John, had died just 24 hours after being born. Edward had insisted on placing John in his coffin personally with "the tears rolling down his cheeks".
On his way to Denmark through Belgium on 4 April 1900 Edward was the victim of an attempted assassination, when
Jean-Baptiste SipidoJean-Baptiste Victor Sipido was a Belgian socialist who became known when he, then a young tinsmith's apprentice, attempted to assassinate the Prince of Wales at the Brussel-Nord railway station in Brussels on April 5, 1900 .Accusing the Prince of causing the slaughter of thousands during the Boer...
shot at him in protest over the
Boer WarThe Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War , the Anglo-Boer War and in Afrikaans as the Anglo-Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , or the Engelse oorlog was fought...
. Sipido escaped to France; the perceived delay of the Belgian authorities in applying for extradition, combined with British disgust at Belgian atrocities in the
CongoThe Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and the dawn of Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Background: 1884-1908:Until the later...
, worsened the already poor relationship between the United Kingdom and the Continent. However, in the next ten years, Edward's affability and popularity, as well as his use of family connections, assisted Britain in building European alliances.
Accession
When Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901, Edward became King of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India and, in an innovation, King of the British
DominionA dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of semi-autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, from the late 19th century. They included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the...
s. He chose to reign under the name Edward VII, instead of Albert Edward—the name his mother had intended for him to use, declaring that he did not wish to "undervalue the name of Albert" and diminish the status of his father with whom among royalty the name Albert should stand alone. The number VII was occasionally omitted in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, even by the
national churchThe Church of Scotland , known informally by its Scots language name, The Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
, in deference to protests that the previous Edwards were English kings who had "been excluded from Scotland by battle".
J. B. PriestleyJohn Boynton Priestley, OM was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster.-Early years:Priestley was born in what he described as an "ultra-respectable" suburb of Bradford...
recalled, "I was only a child when he succeeded Victoria in 1901, but I can testify to his extraordinary popularity. He was in fact the most popular king England had known since the earlier 1660's."
He donated his parents' house,
OsborneOsborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....
on the
Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is an English island and a county, located 3-5 miles from the south coast of the mainland, in the English Channel. It is separated from mainland England by the Solent and is situated south of the county of Hampshire...
, to the state and continued to live at Sandringham. He could afford to be magnanimous; it was claimed that he was the first heir to succeed to the throne in credit. Edward's finances had been ably managed by Sir Dighton Probyn,
Comptroller of the HouseholdThe Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...
, and had benefited from advice from Edward's Jewish financier friends, such as
Ernest CasselSir Ernest Joseph Cassel, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, PC was a British merchant banker and capitalist.Born in Cologne, Germany, the son of Jacob Cassel, who owned a small bank, Cassel arrived penniless in Liverpool, England in 1869 and found employment with a firm of grain merchants...
,
Maurice de HirschMaurice de Hirsch, or Baron Moritz von Hirsch auf Gereuth, , German - Jewish businessman and philanthropist who lived in France, in England and in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire,...
and the
Rothschild familyThe Rothschild family is an international dynasty of German Jewish origin that established worldwide banking and finance operations and was ennobled by Austria and the United Kingdom.-Origins:...
. At a time of widespread anti-Semitism, Edward attracted criticism for openly socialising with Jews.
Edward VII and Alexandra were crowned at
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster...
on 9 August 1902 by the 80-year-old
Archbishop of CanterburyAlso see Leaders of ChristianityThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the see that churches must be in communion with in order to be...
,
Frederick TempleFrederick Temple was an English academic, teacher, churchman and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1896 until his death.-Early life:...
, who died only four months later. Edward's coronation had originally been scheduled for 26 June, but two days before on 24 June, Edward was diagnosed with
appendicitisAppendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is a medical emergency. All cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of peritonitis and shock...
. Thanks to developments in anaesthesia and antisepsis in the preceding 50 years, he underwent a life-saving operation, performed by Sir
Frederick TrevesSir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet, GCVO, CH, CB was a prominent British surgeon of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, now most famous for his friendship with Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man.-Eminent surgeon:...
. This was at a time when appendicitis was generally not treated operatively and carried a high mortality rate. Treves, with the support of
Lord ListerJoseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, OM, FRS was an English surgeon who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary...
, performed a then-radical operation of draining the infected appendix through a small incision. The next day, Edward was sitting up in bed, smoking a cigar. Two weeks later, it was announced that the King was out of danger. Treves was honoured with a baronetcy (which Edward had arranged before the operation) and appendix surgery entered the medical mainstream.
Edward refurbished the royal palaces, reintroduced the traditional ceremonies, such as the
State Opening of ParliamentIn the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event that marks the commencement of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is held in the House of Lords Chamber, usually in November or December, or in a General Election year, when the new Parliament first assembles...
, that his mother had foregone, and founded new orders of decorations, such as the
Order of MeritThe Order of Merit
is an order recognizing distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
, to recognise contributions to the arts and sciences. The Shah of Persia,
Mozzafar-al-DinMozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar, KG was the fifth Qajarid Shah of Persia. He ruled between the years 1896 and 1907....
, visited England in 1902, expecting to receive the
Order of the GarterThe Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry, or knighthood, originating in medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms; it is the pinnacle of the honours system in the United Kingdom...
. Edward refused to give this high honour to the Shah because the order was meant to be his personal gift and the Foreign Secretary,
Lord LansdowneHenry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC was a British politician and Irish peer who served successively as Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs...
, had promised the order without his consent. Edward also objected to inducting a
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
into a
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
order of chivalry. His refusal threatened to damage British attempts to gain influence in Persia, but Edward resented his ministers' attempts to reduce the King's traditional powers. Eventually, he relented and Britain sent a special embassy to the Shah with a full Order of the Garter the following year.
"Uncle of Europe"
As king, Edward's main interests lay in the fields of foreign affairs and naval and military matters. Fluent in
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
and
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
, he made a number of visits abroad, and took annual holidays in
BiarritzBiarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....
and Marienbad. One of his most important foreign trips was an official visit to France in spring 1903 as the guest of President
Émile LoubetÉmile François Loubet was a French politician and the 8th President of France.-Early life:He was born the son of a peasant proprietor and mayor of Marsanne . Admitted to the Parisian bar in 1862, he took his doctorate in law the next year...
. Following a visit to the
PopePope Leo XIII , born Count Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, was the 257th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903, succeeding Pope Pius IX. Reigning until the age of 93, he was the oldest pope, and had the third longest pontificate, behind Pius IX and John Paul II...
in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
, this trip helped create the atmosphere for the Anglo-French
Entente CordialeThe Entente-cordiale is a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom and France. Beyond the immediate concerns of colonial expansion addressed by the agreement, the signing of the Entente cordiale marked the end of almost a millennium of intermittent conflict between the...
, an agreement delineating British and French colonies in North Africa, and ruling out any future war between the two countries. The Entente was negotiated between the French foreign minister,
Théophile DelcasséThéophile Delcassé was a French statesman.-Biography:He was born at Pamiers, in the Ariège département...
, and the British foreign secretary, Lord Lansdowne. Signed on 8 April 1904 by Lansdowne and the French ambassador
Paul CambonPierre Paul Cambon was a French diplomat and brother to Jules Martin Cambon.He was called to the Parisian bar, and became private secretary to Jules Ferry in the préfecture of the Seine...
, it marked the end of centuries of Anglo-French rivalry and Britain's
splendid isolationSplendid Isolation was the foreign policy pursued by Britain during the late 19th century, under the Conservative premierships of Benjamin Disraeli and The Marquess of Salisbury. The term was actually coined by a Canadian M.P. to praise Britain's lack of involvement in European affairs...
from Continental affairs, and attempted to counterbalance the growing dominance of the German Empire and its ally, Austria-Hungary.
Edward, mainly through his mother and his father-in-law, was related to nearly every other European monarch and came to be known as the "uncle of Europe".
The German Emperor Wilhelm IIWilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia , ruling both the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918....
,
Tsar Nicholas II of RussiaNicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, and claimed the title of King of Poland...
,
Grand Duke Ernest Louis of HesseErnest Louis Charles Albert William , was the last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 1892 until 1918...
and
Duke Charles Edward of Saxe-Coburg and GothaCharles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the fourth and last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, two duchies in Germany , and the head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1900 until his death in 1954...
were Edward's nephews; Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain,
Crown Princess Margaret of SwedenPrincess Margaret of Connaught was the daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, third son of Queen Victoria, and his wife, Princess Luise Margarete of Prussia...
,
Crown Princess Marie of RomaniaMarie of Edinburgh was Queen of Romania as spouse of King Ferdinand of Romania.-Early life:...
, Crown Princess Sophia of Greece and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia were his nieces;
King Haakon VII of NorwayHaakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
was both his nephew by marriage and his son-in-law;
King George I of GreeceGeorge I, King of the Hellenes was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was only 17 years old when he was elected King by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the former King Otto...
and
King Frederick VIII of DenmarkFrederik VIII was King of Denmark from 1906 to 1912.-Biography:He was the eldest son of King Christian IX and his wife, Denmark's heiress, Louise of Hesse - and was born in Copenhagen...
were his brothers-in-law;
King Albert I of BelgiumAlbert I was the third King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
, King Charles I and
King Manuel II of PortugalManuel II , the Patriot , the Unfortunate or the Missed King , named Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Francisco de Assis Eugénio de Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha e Bragança — reigned as the 34th and...
, Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria,
Queen Wilhelmina of the NetherlandsWilhelmina was queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty-eight years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial...
and Prince Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, were his cousins. Edward doted on his grandchildren, and indulged them, to the consternation of their governesses. However, there was one relation whom Edward did not like and his difficult relationship with his nephew,
Wilhelm IIWilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia , ruling both the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918....
, exacerbated the tensions between Germany and Britain.
In 1908, Edward became the first British monarch to visit the
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, despite refusing to visit in 1906, when Anglo-Russian relations were strained in the aftermath of the
Dogger Bank incidentThe Dogger Bank incident occurred when the Russian Baltic Fleet mistook some British trawlers at Dogger Bank for an Imperial Japanese Navy force....
, the
Russo-Japanese warThe Russo-Japanese War or the Manchurian Campaign in some English sources, was a conflict that grew out of the rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
and the Tsar's dissolution of the
DumaA Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed after the last Czar,...
.
Political controversies
Edward involved himself heavily in discussions over army reform, the need for which had become apparent with the failings of the
Boer WarThe Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War , the Anglo-Boer War and in Afrikaans as the Anglo-Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , or the Engelse oorlog was fought...
. He supported the re-design of army command, the creation of the Territorial Army, and the decision to provide an Expeditionary Force supporting France in the event of war with Germany. Reform of the Royal Navy was also suggested, partly due to the ever-increasing Naval Estimates, and because of the emergence of the
Imperial German NavyThe Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded the Navy, causing a naval arms race between the German...
as a new strategic threat. Ultimately a dispute arose between Admiral
Lord Charles BeresfordCharles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford GCB GCVO , known as Lord Charles Beresford until 1916, was a British Admiral and Member of Parliament....
, who favoured increased spending and a broad deployment, and the
First Sea LordThe First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
Admiral Sir
John FisherAdmiral of the Fleet John Arbuthnot "Jacky" Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher of Kilverstone, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British admiral known for his efforts at naval reform...
, who favoured efficiency savings, scrapping obsolete vessels, and a strategic realignment of the Royal Navy relying on torpedo craft for home defence backed by the new
dreadnoughtThe dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that battleships built after her were referred to as 'dreadnoughts', and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts. Her design had two...
s. Edward lent support to Fisher, in part because he disliked Beresford, and eventually Beresford was dismissed. Beresford continued his campaign outside of the navy and Fisher ultimately announced his resignation in late 1909, although the bulk of his policies would be retained. The King was intimately involved in the appointment of Fisher's successor as the Fisher-Beresford feud had split the service, and the only truly-qualified figure known to be outside of both camps was Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson, who had retired in 1907. Wilson was reluctant to return to active duty, but Edward persuaded him to do so, and Wilson became First Sea Lord on 25 January 1910.
In the last year of his life, Edward became embroiled in a constitutional crisis when the Conservative majority in the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the Lords...
refused to pass the "
People's BudgetThe 1909 People's Budget was a product of H.H. Asquith's Liberal government that introduced many unprecedented taxes on the wealthy and radical social welfare programmes to Britain's political life. It was championed by Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George and his strong ally Winston...
" proposed by the Liberal government of Prime Minister
H. H. AsquithHerbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
. The King let Asquith know that he would only be willing to appoint additional peers, if necessary, to enable the budget's passage in the House of Lords, if Asquith won two successive general elections.
Edward was rarely interested in politics, although his views on some issues were notably liberal for the time. During his reign he said use of the word "
niggerNigger is a pejorative term and common ethnic slur against black people, and is English slang. In denoting “black person”, nigger originated as a variant of the Spanish and Portuguese noun negro derived from the Latin adjective niger...
" was "disgraceful" despite it then being in common parlance. While Prince of Wales, he had to be dissuaded from breaking with constitutional precedent by openly voting for Gladstone's
Representation of the People BillIn the United Kingdom, the Representation of the People Act 1884 and the Redistribution Act of the following year were a response to the inequality in the electoral system left by the Disraeli Government's Reform Act 1867...
in the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the Lords...
. On other matters he was less progressive—he did not favour Irish Home Rule (initially preferring a form of
dual monarchyDual monarchy occurs when two separate kingdoms are ruled by the same monarch, follow the same foreign policy, exist in a customs union with each other and have a combined military but are otherwise self-governing...
) or giving
votes to womenWomen's suffrage is the right of women to vote, and historically includes the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending suffrage to women. The movement's modern origins lie in France in the 18th century. Of currently existing independent countries, New Zealand was the first to give...
, although he did suggest that the social reformer
Octavia HillOctavia Hill was an English social reformer, particularly concerned with the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, specifically London, in the second half of the 19th century...
serve on the Commission for Working Class Housing. Edward lived a life of luxury that was often far removed from that of the majority of his subjects. However, his personal charm with people at all levels of society and his strong condemnation of prejudice went some way to assuage republican and racial tensions building during his lifetime.
Death
Edward usually smoked twenty cigarettes and twelve cigars a day. Towards the end of his life he increasingly suffered from
bronchitisAcute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
. In March 1910 the King was staying at Biarritz when he collapsed. He remained there to convalesce while in London Asquith tried to get the Finance Bill passed. The King's continued ill-health was unreported and he attracted criticism for staying in France whilst political tensions were so high. On 27 April he returned to Buckingham Palace, still suffering from severe bronchitis. Alexandra returned from visiting her brother, King
George I of GreeceGeorge I, King of the Hellenes was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was only 17 years old when he was elected King by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the former King Otto...
, in
CorfuCorfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and its northern part lies off the coast of Sarandë, Albania from which it is separated by straits varying in breadth from 3 to 23 km , including one near ancient Butrint, while its southern part lies...
a week later on 5 May.
The following day, the King suffered several heart attacks, but refused to go to bed saying, "No, I shall not give in; I shall go on; I shall work to the end." Between moments of faintness, the Prince of Wales (shortly to be
King George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
) told him that his horse, Witch of the Air, had won at
Kempton ParkKempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, which is a western suburb of London 16 miles from the city centre. The site is set in 210 acres of land....
that afternoon. The King replied, "I am very glad": his final words. At half-past-eleven he lost consciousness for the last time and was put to bed. He died at 11:45 p.m.
Legacy
Statues of Edward can be found throughout the former empire, such as those in Waterloo Place, London,
Union Street, AberdeenUnion Street is a major street and shopping thoroughfare in Aberdeen, Scotland.It was built, along with the adjoining King Street, in the beginning of the 19th Century under plans suggested by Charles Abercrombie to provide an impressive entrance way into the city, and nearly bankrupted the city...
, Queen's Park, Toronto, Franklin Square,
HobartHobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1803 as a penal colony, Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2008, the city had a greater area population of approximately 209,287...
,
Queen Victoria Gardens, MelbourneThe Queen Victoria Gardens are Melbourne's memorial to Queen Victoria. Located on 4.8 hectares opposite the Victorian Arts Centre and National Gallery of Victoria, bounded by St Kilda Road, Alexandra Avenue and Linlithgow avenue....
, and outside the
Royal Botanic Gardens, SydneyThe Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia, are the most central of the three major botanical gardens open to the public in Sydney. The park, managed by the same trust as The Domain adjoining it, is free to access and open every day of the year.-Location and area:The Botanic Gardens are situated...
.
The
lead shipHMS King Edward VII, named after King Edward VII, was the lead ship of the King Edward VII class of British Royal Navy predreadnought battleships.-Technical Characteristics:HMS King Edward VII was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 8 March 1902...
of a new class of battleships, launched in 1903, was named in his honour. Many schools in England are named after Edward; two of the largest are in
Melton MowbrayKing Edward VII School is a comprehensive secondary school in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire in the United Kingdom. Formerly, the school was a public grammar school...
and
SheffieldKing Edward VII School is a secondary school and language college located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. KES, named after the reigning monarch, was formed in 1905 when Wesley College was merged with Sheffield Royal Grammar School on the site of the former on Glossop Road...
.
King Edward Memorial (KEM) HospitalKing Edward Memorial Hospital and Seth G.S. Medical College is amongst the foremost teaching and medical care providing institutions in India...
in India, the King Edward Medical University in Pakistan,
King Edward Memorial Hospital for WomenKing Edward Memorial Hospital for Women is located at 374 Bagot Road, Subiaco, Western Australia.It provides pregnancy and neonatal care within the greater Perth Metropolitan area. In cases where patients have gone to private maternity clinics they may be moved to KEMH should complications occur...
in
Subiaco, Western AustraliaSubiaco is an inner western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, situated to the north of Kings Park. Its Local Government Area is the City of Subiaco.-History:Prior to European settlement the area was home to the Noongar Indigenous people....
, and the King Edward VII College of Medicine student hostel in Singapore (part of Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine) carry King Edward's name. The Parque Eduardo VII in Lisbon,
King Edward AvenueThis article is about the Vancouver thoroughfare. For the Ottawa thoroughfare, see King Edward Avenue .King Edward Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The road runs from Crown Street to the west, adjacent to the University Endowment Lands,...
in
VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
and King Edward Cigars are also named after him.
As king, Edward VII proved a greater success than anyone had expected, but he was already an old man and had little time left to fulfil the role. In his short reign, he ensured that his second son and heir, George V, was better prepared to take the throne. Contemporaries described their relationship as more like affectionate brothers than father and son, and on Edward's death George wrote in his diary that he had lost his "best friend and the best of fathers ... I never had a [cross] word with him in my life. I am heart-broken and overwhelmed with grief". Edward received criticism for his apparent pursuit of self-indulgent pleasure but he received great praise for his affable and kind good manners, and his diplomatic skill. As his grandson wrote, "his lighter side ... obscured the fact that he had both insight and influence." "He had a tremendous zest for pleasure but he also had a real sense of duty", wrote J. B. Priestley.
Lord EsherReginald Baliol Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher, GCVO, KCB, PC, DL was a historian and Liberal politician in the United Kingdom.Brett was the son of William Baliol Brett, 1st Viscount Esher and Eugénie Mayer...
wrote that Edward was "kind and debonair and not undignified – but too human". Edward VII is buried at
St. George's Chapel, Windsor CastleSt George's Chapel is the place of worship at Windsor Castle in England, United Kingdom. It is both a royal peculiar and the chapel of the Order of the Garter...
. As
Barbara TuchmanBarbara Wertheim Tuchman was an American self-trained historian and author. She became best known for top-selling book The Guns of August, a history of the prelude and first month of World War I which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.As an author, Tuchman focused on producing...
noted in
The Guns of AugustThe Guns of August, originally published as August 1914 , is a military history book written by Barbara Tuchman. It primarily describes the events of the first month of World War I...
,
his funeralThe Funeral of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom occurred on Friday, 20 May 1910. It was one of the largest gatherings of European royalty ever to take place, and one of the last before World War I ended the era of European royalty....
marked "the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered in one place and, of its kind, the last".
Edward had been afraid that his nephew, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, would tip Europe into war. Four years after Edward's death,
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
broke out. The naval reforms and the Anglo-French alliance he had supported, as well as the relationships between his extended royal family, were put to the test. The war marked the end of the Edwardian way of life.
Titles and styles
- 9 November – 8 December 1841: His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall
- 8 December 1841 – 22 January 1901: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales
- in Scotland: His Royal Highness The Prince Albert Edward, Duke of Rothesay
- 17 January 1850 – 22 January 1901: The Earl of Dublin (merged with the Crown in 1901)
- 22 January 1901 – 6 May 1910: His Majesty The King
- with regard to India: His Imperial Majesty The King-Emperor
Arms
When he was created Prince of Wales, Edward was granted a coat of arms. These were those of the kingdom (and his mother), differenced by a label argent, of three blank points, and an inescutcheon of the shield of Saxony, representing his father. When he acceded as King, he gained the arms of the kingdom, undifferenced.
Issue
| Name | |Death | HM King George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
| 3 June 1865 |
20 January 1936 |
married 1893, Princess Mary of TeckMary of Teck was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India as the consort of King-Emperor George V. By birth, she was a princess of Teck, in the Kingdom of Württemberg, with the style Serene Highness...
; had issue |
|---|
HRH The Princess Louise, Princess RoyalThe Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife was the third child and the eldest daughter of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra...
|
20 February 1867 |
4 January 1931 |
married 1889, Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife Alexander William George Duff, 1st Duke of Fife KG, KT, GCVO, PC, VD , styled Viscount Macduff between 1857 and 1879 and known as The Earl Fife between 1879 and 1889, was a British Peer who married Princess Louise of Wales, the third child and eldest daughter of Edward VII of the United Kingdom and...
; had issue |
| HRH The Princess Victoria |
6 July 1868 |
3 December 1935 |
|
HRH The Princess MaudMaud of Wales was Queen of Norway as spouse of King Haakon VII. She was a member of the British Royal Family as the youngest daughter of King Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark and granddaughter of Queen Victoria...
|
26 November 1869 |
20 November 1938 |
married 1896, Haakon VII, King of NorwayHaakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
; had issue |
| HRH Prince Alexander John Prince Alexander John Charles Albert of Wales was the youngest son and sixth child of Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and his wife Princess Alexandra, Princess of Wales.-Life:...
|
6 April 1871 |
7 April 1871 |
|
Ancestors
See also
- Cultural depictions of Edward VII of the United Kingdom
-Literature:King Edward is a character in George MacDonald Fraser's novel Mr. American, and also appears in Flashman and the Tiger by the same author...
- Edward VII 2d Tyrian plum
The two pence Tyrian plum was a postage stamp produced by Britain in 1910 as a replacement for the existing two colour 2d stamp of King Edward VII....
, a rare stamp
- 1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
, which he opened
External links
|-
|-
|-