Edward VII
Edward VII (1841–1910), king of Great Britain and Ireland, emperor of India (1901–10). The success of Edward VII's reign would greatly have surprised his parents, who anticipated his accession with ill-concealed foreboding. His uncommon laziness, wrote Albert when the poor youth was only 18, ‘grieves me when one considers that he might be called on at any moment to take over the reins of government’. Victoria doubted her son's discretion and not until 1892, when he was over 50, was he entrusted with the ‘golden key’ to Albert's dispatch boxes.
His disadvantages were considerable. He was not particularly intelligent, had a short attention span, and was easily bored. His temper was notoriously untrustworthy as a small boy and did not much improve. His mother was irritated by his weak chin and hang-dog appearance. His liaisons were numerous, his taste raffish, and his set fast. While prince of Wales, he was subpoenaed in one divorce case and, even worse, was involved in an unpleasant legal action about cheating at baccarat.
It has often been suggested that his parents were much to blame and could have handled him more tactfully. It is certainly true that Albert and Victoria were earnest, and the queen's manifest disappointment that her son was not more like his beloved father must have been a cross to bear. Yet earnest parents were not unusual in the 19th cent. and some of his problems may have been genetic. His Hanoverian great-uncles had been choleric and eccentric and his son Eddie, who died as duke of Clarence, was even more sluggish mentally.
Nevertheless, he had certain assets which came to the fore when he became king. He enjoyed company and had a gift for making graceful impromptu little speeches. He could be amusing and considerate when he wished and he looked good in uniform. He had a good memory for names and faces and an excellent command of both French and German. Not least of his assets was his Danish wife Alexandra, whom he married in 1863. Graceful and slender, with a natural dignity, she was an admirable foil to Edward's flamboyance.
Two incidents at the start of his reign in 1901 indicated that the new king would be his own man. The captain of the vessel bearing him and the queen's coffin from the Isle of Wight was sharply reprimanded for flying the royal standard at half-mast: his stammered explanation ‘but the Queen is dead, sir’ was met with ‘But the King of England lives.’ Secondly he announced that he wished to be known, not by his first name Albert, but as Edward—thus frustrating the deepest hopes of his fond parents—though, characteristically, he explained neatly that Albert had been so great that his name should stand alone.
Over the years, Edwardian England has acquired the image of an Indian summer, a golden age of tranquillity before the horrors of the Great War. It was in fact turbulent. There was a marked increase in industrial unrest and in working days lost by strikes. The militant phase of the women's suffrage movement began in 1905 when Sir Edward Grey was shouted down at Manchester. The rise of the Labour Party, returned in numbers for the first time at the general election of 1906, heralded a move towards class politics, which the king greatly deplored. The Liberals, after their great election victory, were pushed leftwards by Labour and the Irish, and by the intransigence of their Conservative opponents. The rejection of Lloyd George's budget in 1909 by the House of Lords and the counter-threats to emasculate the Upper House drew the king into the political arena. Edward made it clear that he was unwilling to create 500 Liberal peers to carry the Parliament Bill, regarding it as a shabby manœuvre, exploiting the royal prerogative of honour for party ends. Whether he could have sustained that position under pressure may be doubted, but he died in the middle of the crisis, leaving Asquith to wring a grudging promise from his inexperienced son George V.
Internationally, the reign was marked by the abandonment of isolation, splendid or otherwise, which had proved so uncomfortable during the Boer War. First, an alliance was reached with Japan in 1902; next, in 1904 the Entente was formed with France, and lastly an attempt was made to bury differences with France's ally, Russia. By the time of the king's death, Britain was firmly in the Entente camp, ranged against the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria, and Italy.
The more extravagant claims for Edward's influence may be dismissed. He was credited, in some quarters, with skilful diplomacy and the Kaiser, who was his nephew, thought his uncle a monster of guile. But the encirclement of which the Kaiser complained so frequently was of his own making, and the rapprochement between Britain and France owed more to Tirpitz's naval programme than to Edward VII's evident relish for French cuisine and French music-halls.
In two respects, his influence was of some consequence. He took a keen interest in the armed forces, supported Fisher's naval reforms, and encouraged Haldane's overhaul of the army, which the humiliations of the Boer War had rendered so necessary. Since the Great War was a close-run thing, it is possible that Edward's interventions were decisive. Secondly, he raised the profile and the publicity of the monarchy. In this he had some luck. Any ruler who succeeded an 81-year-old widow was bound to have a residue of goodwill to draw on. His great successes on the turf did him no harm at all with the average citizen: he won the Derby three times with Persimmon (1896), Diamond Jubilee (1900), and Minoru (1909), and the Grand National with Ambush II (1900).
Edward was carried off in the middle of the House of Lords crisis by severe bronchial illness, exacerbated by a lifetime devoted to cigars and cigarettes. It is greatly to his credit that his son George V was infinitely better prepared for his royal duties than Edward had been, and mourned him as ‘my best friend, the best of fathers’. He was fortunate to die when he did. His reign was brief and he did not overstay his welcome. The great crises of Ireland and the Lords were only beginning to unfold. Though, with the advantages of hindsight, one can see the roots of the Great War growing, the age was not yet in shadow. The crowned heads of Europe—kings, emperors, tsars, and kaisers—still entertained each other at regattas, manœuvres, weddings, and funerals. The king was still head of society and there was society still to be head of. Great shooting parties assembled for long weekends at country houses and partridges by the thousand perished that gentlemen could demonstrate their prowess before the ladies. The landed aristocracy, to which the king was devoted, had not yet gone down before the twin perils of the Great War and penal taxation. Behind the gun-carriage which conveyed Edward to his resting-place at Windsor marched nine kings.
His disadvantages were considerable. He was not particularly intelligent, had a short attention span, and was easily bored. His temper was notoriously untrustworthy as a small boy and did not much improve. His mother was irritated by his weak chin and hang-dog appearance. His liaisons were numerous, his taste raffish, and his set fast. While prince of Wales, he was subpoenaed in one divorce case and, even worse, was involved in an unpleasant legal action about cheating at baccarat.
It has often been suggested that his parents were much to blame and could have handled him more tactfully. It is certainly true that Albert and Victoria were earnest, and the queen's manifest disappointment that her son was not more like his beloved father must have been a cross to bear. Yet earnest parents were not unusual in the 19th cent. and some of his problems may have been genetic. His Hanoverian great-uncles had been choleric and eccentric and his son Eddie, who died as duke of Clarence, was even more sluggish mentally.
Nevertheless, he had certain assets which came to the fore when he became king. He enjoyed company and had a gift for making graceful impromptu little speeches. He could be amusing and considerate when he wished and he looked good in uniform. He had a good memory for names and faces and an excellent command of both French and German. Not least of his assets was his Danish wife Alexandra, whom he married in 1863. Graceful and slender, with a natural dignity, she was an admirable foil to Edward's flamboyance.
Two incidents at the start of his reign in 1901 indicated that the new king would be his own man. The captain of the vessel bearing him and the queen's coffin from the Isle of Wight was sharply reprimanded for flying the royal standard at half-mast: his stammered explanation ‘but the Queen is dead, sir’ was met with ‘But the King of England lives.’ Secondly he announced that he wished to be known, not by his first name Albert, but as Edward—thus frustrating the deepest hopes of his fond parents—though, characteristically, he explained neatly that Albert had been so great that his name should stand alone.
Over the years, Edwardian England has acquired the image of an Indian summer, a golden age of tranquillity before the horrors of the Great War. It was in fact turbulent. There was a marked increase in industrial unrest and in working days lost by strikes. The militant phase of the women's suffrage movement began in 1905 when Sir Edward Grey was shouted down at Manchester. The rise of the Labour Party, returned in numbers for the first time at the general election of 1906, heralded a move towards class politics, which the king greatly deplored. The Liberals, after their great election victory, were pushed leftwards by Labour and the Irish, and by the intransigence of their Conservative opponents. The rejection of Lloyd George's budget in 1909 by the House of Lords and the counter-threats to emasculate the Upper House drew the king into the political arena. Edward made it clear that he was unwilling to create 500 Liberal peers to carry the Parliament Bill, regarding it as a shabby manœuvre, exploiting the royal prerogative of honour for party ends. Whether he could have sustained that position under pressure may be doubted, but he died in the middle of the crisis, leaving Asquith to wring a grudging promise from his inexperienced son George V.
Internationally, the reign was marked by the abandonment of isolation, splendid or otherwise, which had proved so uncomfortable during the Boer War. First, an alliance was reached with Japan in 1902; next, in 1904 the Entente was formed with France, and lastly an attempt was made to bury differences with France's ally, Russia. By the time of the king's death, Britain was firmly in the Entente camp, ranged against the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria, and Italy.
The more extravagant claims for Edward's influence may be dismissed. He was credited, in some quarters, with skilful diplomacy and the Kaiser, who was his nephew, thought his uncle a monster of guile. But the encirclement of which the Kaiser complained so frequently was of his own making, and the rapprochement between Britain and France owed more to Tirpitz's naval programme than to Edward VII's evident relish for French cuisine and French music-halls.
In two respects, his influence was of some consequence. He took a keen interest in the armed forces, supported Fisher's naval reforms, and encouraged Haldane's overhaul of the army, which the humiliations of the Boer War had rendered so necessary. Since the Great War was a close-run thing, it is possible that Edward's interventions were decisive. Secondly, he raised the profile and the publicity of the monarchy. In this he had some luck. Any ruler who succeeded an 81-year-old widow was bound to have a residue of goodwill to draw on. His great successes on the turf did him no harm at all with the average citizen: he won the Derby three times with Persimmon (1896), Diamond Jubilee (1900), and Minoru (1909), and the Grand National with Ambush II (1900).
Edward was carried off in the middle of the House of Lords crisis by severe bronchial illness, exacerbated by a lifetime devoted to cigars and cigarettes. It is greatly to his credit that his son George V was infinitely better prepared for his royal duties than Edward had been, and mourned him as ‘my best friend, the best of fathers’. He was fortunate to die when he did. His reign was brief and he did not overstay his welcome. The great crises of Ireland and the Lords were only beginning to unfold. Though, with the advantages of hindsight, one can see the roots of the Great War growing, the age was not yet in shadow. The crowned heads of Europe—kings, emperors, tsars, and kaisers—still entertained each other at regattas, manœuvres, weddings, and funerals. The king was still head of society and there was society still to be head of. Great shooting parties assembled for long weekends at country houses and partridges by the thousand perished that gentlemen could demonstrate their prowess before the ladies. The landed aristocracy, to which the king was devoted, had not yet gone down before the twin perils of the Great War and penal taxation. Behind the gun-carriage which conveyed Edward to his resting-place at Windsor marched nine kings.
J. A. Cannon
Bibliography
Brook-Shepherd, G. , Uncle of Europe: The Social and Diplomatic Life of Edward VII (1975);
Hibbert, C. , Edward VII: A Portrait (1976);
St Aubyn, G. , Edward VII, Prince and King (1979).
More From encyclopedia.com
NEARBY TERMS
Edward VII