Edward VII | The uncle of Europe

As the son of Queen Victoria, Edward VII was related to most of the monarchy throughout the world and became known as the Uncle of Europe. His reign was known as the Edwardian era and concluded with the start of a new century, heralded a significant change in society, including the rise of socialism and huge strides in technology, such as the use of steam turbine propulsion. It was a time of huge change for the UK and the commonwealth.  

Quick Facts 

Born: Albert Edward on 9th November 1841, Buckingham Palace, London 
Died: 6th May 1910, Osborne House, Isle of Wight 
Reign: 22nd January 1901 – 9th August 1910 
Parents: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 
Predecessor: Queen Victoria  (mother)
Successor: George V  (son)
Spouse: Alexandra of Denmark  
Children: Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale; George V, King of the  United Kingdom; Louise, Princess Royal; Princess Victoria; Maud, Queen of Norway; Prince Alexander John of Wales. 
Royal House: Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 

Despite being known as Edward VII, he was actually named Albert Edward, after his father and maternal grandfather and was known to family and friends as Bertie.
He was the second child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and as the oldest son, was named heir apparent. From the moment of his birth, he held the titles of Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothersay and, following his father’s dynastic line, was also a Prince of Saxe Coburg and Gotha and the Duke of Saxony. 

Bertie the prince 

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were determined that their children would be well educated and well behaved and this was especially expected for Bertie, as the eldest son and the heir apparent.
His parents determined that he should have an education that would prepare him to be a model monarch and at seven years old, he embarked on a rigorous education programme that had been designed by his father and was heavily supervised by his tutors. However, unlike his older sister, Bertie did not excel in his studies and though he tried to meet his parent’s expectations, he often fell short. Something that would continue through his teenage years and early adulthood. Despite his struggles with education, he was known to be charming, sociable and tactful and his mother’s favourite Prime Minister and personal friend, Benjamin Disraeli described him as an informed and intelligent child with a sweet manner.  

In 1841, Bertie was officially invested as the Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester and then nine years later, the Earl of Dublin. He became a Knight of the Garter on 9th November 1858 and the Knight of the Thistle on 24th May 1863, the same year, he renounced his succession rights to his father’s duchy to focus on the United Kingdom. His younger brother, Prince Alfred replaced him in this region.  

Though he did not appear to enjoy studying, Bertie continued his education and after a trip to Rome, which took place in 1859, he spent the summer studying at the University of Edinburgh before moving on to Oxford University. His teachers say that once released from the strict education imposed on him by his parents, he seemed to enjoy his classes and performed well in his exams. By 1861, he had moved to Trinity College, Cambridge where he studied history.  

As he became older, Bertie gained a reputation as a playboy and began to socialise more as he took on royal duties. In 1860, he visited north America, the first Prince of Wales to do so, while on the continent, he inaugurated the Victoria Bridge, named after his mother in Montreal and laid the cornerstone of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. During his stay, he resided at the White House with the President, James Buchanan and his good humour and confidence was noted by those around him. In fact, those close to the prince say that this tour really boosted his self esteem and  proved that he was a gifted diplomat.  

Bertie had wanted to pursue a career in the army, but his mother vetoed an active military career on the grounds that he was the heir apparent. He had been given the rank of colonel, which disappointed him, as by all accounts, he wanted to earn the rank by exam. Despite his parent’s misgivings, he was determined to gain some military experience, however, when he was given the opportunity to do so, instead of spending his trip to Germany to learn, spent it with Princess Alexandra of Denmark, who had already been picked out as his bride to be. 

Later, he attended manoeuvres in Ireland, where he spent three nights with an actress who had been smuggled into the camp by the officers. News got back to the Palace and Prince Albert, though ill, was so appalled, he visited his son to issue a reprimand. He died two weeks later and Victoria held Bertie responsible. She wore mourning clothes for the rest of her life and continued to regard Bertie with distaste and contempt for many years.  

Marriage 

Once widowed, Queen Victoria withdrew from public life for a number of years and Bertie undertook many of her public duties including an extensive tour of the Middle East. Parliament had wanted him to secure a friendship with the Egyptians to prevent French control of the Suez Canal. It was the first royal tour on which an official photographer accompanied the prince.  

As soon as he returned to Britain, preparations were made for his wedding to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. The pair married at Windsor in March 1863, he was 21 and she was just 18. The pair settled at Marlborough House in London and used Sandringham as their country retreat, they entertained at both residences on a lavish scale and Bertie’s reputation as a playboy continued in earnest. During the early days of their marriage, Victoria expressed anxiety about how their socialite lifestyle reflected on the royal family and attempted to dictate to them on various matters, including the names of their children.  

Bertie had mistresses throughout his married life, including notable actresses, members of the nobility and sex workers. It is believed that at least 55 liaisons took place over the course of their marriage, and though Bertie was said to be discreet, this didn’t prevent gossip or press speculation. He never acknowledged any illegitimate children and Alexandra was said to be aware of his affairs, however public knowledge grew in 1869 when the MP Sir Charles Mordaunt threatened to name Bertie as a co respondent in his divorce. Bertie had been called as a witness and was proved to have visited the family home while Sir Mourdant was known to not be there. Bertie denied any impropriety, but it did tarnish his reputation.  

Bertie was known to be devoted father and when his eldest son died in 1891, he was grief stricken. It was the second of his children to pass away early, his youngest son died just 24 hours after being born. Bertie insisted on personally laying him in the coffin. 

Heir apparent 

Bertie was heir apparent to the British throne and Prince of Wales for almost 60 years, something that has only recently been surpassed. Following the death of his father and his mother’s isolation, Bertie pioneered the idea of royal public appearances, opening the Thames Embankment, the Mersey Tunnel and Tower Bridge, however, his mother did not allow him to have any more active a role until 1898. He was mostly excluded from political influence and came to personify the fashionable and leisured elite. He did end up being sent summaries of important documents but was not allowed access to the originals, it is said that William Gladstone, one of the prime ministers at the time, would send him papers secretly.  

Immediately following his father’s death, his relationship with his mother was fairly rocky, however, after contracting typhoid fever their relationship improved and there were public celebrations on the announcement of his recovery. Though he was known as a bit of a playboy, his charming and friendly manner and his ability to cultivate friendships from all political parties largely dissipated any residual feelings against him.  

In September of 1875, Bertie went to India for an 8 month tour, during which it was reported that he and his advisors treated everyone they met as equals despite their social station or colour. In letters home, he complained of the treatment of native people which led to new guidance and at least one person being removed from office. As a result of the success of the tour, Queen Victoria was given the title of Empress of India.  

Throughout his life in public, Bertie was regarded across the world as an arbiter of men’s fashion, popularising wearing tweed, Norfolk jackets and wearing black ties with dinner jackets. He pioneered the pressing of trouser legs from side to side in preference to the normal front to back and was thought to have introduced the stand up, turn down shirt collar. The tradition of not buttoning the bottom of your waistcoat has been linked to Edward and it is reported that he was a stickler for proper dress and would tell off members of parliament for pairing the wrong jackets and trousers.  

It wasn’t just clothes that he inspired either, Bertie introduced the practice of eating roast beef and potatoes with horseradish sauce and Yorkshire puddings on a Sunday. He was a patron of the arts and sciences and helped found the Royal College of Music which opened in 1883. Other pastimes included gambling and country sports, especially hunting, which is how he came to create Sandringham Time, which continued until 1936, when it was abolished. He also laid out the golf course at Windsor and kept horses, which were famous for winning races, including the Grand National.  

Scandal 

Bertie’s social life often led to scandals, for one, he was involved in the Royal Baccarat Scandal where 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 when one of the participants unsuccessfully sued his fellow players for slander.  

In the same year, he was involved in a personal conflict when Lord Beresford threatened to reveal details of Bertie’s private life to the press as a protest for interfering in his affair with Countess of Warwick, the friendship between the two was irreversibly damaged and they remained bitter for the rest of their lives.  

Another scandal that rocked the family was that Bertie’s oldest son, Prince Albert Victor was a suspect in the Jack the Ripper murders.  

 Bertie’s reign 

Victoria died in January 1901 and Bertie became king, using the regnal title of Edward VII. He chose Edward rather than Albert declaring that he did not wish to undervalue the name, which he had shared with his father, with the VII being omitted in Scotland. He was believed to be the first heir to succeed the throne in credit.  

Not content for having to wait so long to receive his new title, Bertie had to wait even longer for his coronation due to an episode of appendicitis. At the time, the disease was generally not treated by operation and carried a high mortality rate, he underwent a radical new operation to drain the puss from his stomach, which was so successful, the next day he was reported to be sitting up in bed smoking a cigar. He recovered within two weeks, which made the operation a mainstream procedure and he was eventually crowned in August 1902.  

One of his first acts as king was to donate his parent’s house on the Isle of Wight to the state and continued to reside at Sandringham. He introduced traditional ceremonies such as the State Opening of Parliament, founded new honours and began a campaign of refurbishing royal palaces. As king, Bertie’s main interest lay in foreign affairs and military matters, he was fluent in French and German and reinvented royal diplomacy for numerous state visits across Europe. Through his sibling’s marriages, he was related to nearly every other European monarch and was known as the Uncle of Europe.  

The German Emperor Wilhelm II and Emperor Nicholas II of Russia were his nephews, while the monarchs of Spain, Sweden, Romania and Greece were his nieces. His brother in laws ruled in Denmark and Greece and his cousins ruled in Bulgaria, Belgium and Portugal. Bertie was fairly family orientated and doted on his children and grandchildren and had good relationships with the majority of his relatives, though notably, not his nephew Wilhem II. Their relationship exacerbated tensions between Britain and Germany that would continue for several years.  

Throughout his reign, he was rarely interested in politics and some of his views were progressive. In some ways, he remained conservative, for instance, he was opposed to Home Rule for the Irish and votes for women, in others he was almost radical in his views, such as wanting to ban the use of the “n word” which was in everyday parlance at the time.  

Death and legacy 

Bertie was a habitual smoker and as such, contracted a type of cancer of the skin next to his nose, which was cured with a treatment of radium. His smoking habit also led to him suffering increasingly from bronchitis. In May 1909, he suffered several heart attacks, but refused advise to go to bed. Between moments of faintness, he continued to converse with his son, but eventually lost consciousness and was put to bed. He died fifteen minutes later. His body was left in the room for 8 days where he was viewed by small numbers of visitors before being moved into the throne room. His funeral procession was huge and saw over 400,000 people file past his coffin.  

Up until recently, Bertie was the longest serving heir apparent in British history and the longest serving Prince of Wales before being surpassed by his great-great grandson Prince Charles. As king, he proved a greater success than anyone had expected, but was already past the average life expectancy at the time when he came to the throne. He worked hard to prepare his sons for the throne and was succeeded by his younger son, George who ruled as George V.  

Up until his dying day, he feared his nephew Wilhelm would tip Europe into war, something that happened just four years later.  

---

Places to visit:  

Alexandra Palace, London
The building was named after his wife, Princess Alexandria

Buckingham Palace, London 
Edward was born here. 

Cabman Shelters, various locations around London
Green shelters known as Cabman shelters were put around the city to allow cabmen to enjoy refreshments without leaving their cabs. Edward supported the Cabmen Shelter Fund, which built the huts. 

Colonsay House Gardens, Strathclyde 

Malborough House, London
Edward's home while Prince of Wales. 

Mersey Tunnel
Opened by Edward

Osborne House, Isle of Wight
Edward, like his mother, used this as his holiday home and spent his final moments here. He gifted the house to the nation. 

Royal Albert Hall, London
Originally known as the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences, it was opened by Queen Victoria and Edward when he was Prince of Wales. 

Royal College of London
Edward founded the college. 

Sandringham, Norfolk 
Known as Edward's country estate, he had Thomas Crapper, a famous plumber at the time, install the plumbing. 

Thames Embankment, London
Opened by Edward. 

Tooting Broadway tube station, London
There is a statue of Edward VII here. 

Tower Bridge, London
Opened by Edward

Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood, London
Originally known as the East London Musuem of Science and Art and then the Bethnal Green Museum, it was opened by Edward when he was Prince of Wales and is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

Waterloo Place, London
There is a statue of Edward here. 

Westminster Abbey, London
Edward had his coronation here. The celebration was marred form the start, it was initially delayed because he had an appendectomy and then, during the actual ceremony, the Archbishop of Canterbury put the crown on his head backwards. 

Westminster Palace, London
The Houses of Parliament, Edward was the first monarch to lie in state here.