Edward VII

Edward VII
Studio photograph of Edward VII
Portrait by W. & D. Downey, 1900s
Reign22 January 1901 – 6 May 1910
Coronation9 August 1902
Imperial Durbar1 January 1903
PredecessorVictoria
SuccessorGeorge V
Born(1841-11-09)9 November 1841
Buckingham Palace, London, England
Died6 May 1910(1910-05-06) (aged 68)
Buckingham Palace, London, England
Burial20 May 1910
  • 28 November 1925
    Albert Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel
  • 22 April 1927
    South Aisle, St George's Chapel
Spouse
(m. 1863)
Issue
Detail
Names
Albert Edward
HouseSaxe-Coburg and Gotha
FatherPrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
MotherQueen Victoria
ReligionProtestant
SignatureSignature of Edward VII
Education

Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.

The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Edward, nicknamed "Bertie", was related to royalty throughout Europe. He was Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne for almost 60 years. During his mother's reign, he was largely excluded from political influence and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. He married Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863, and the couple had six children. As Prince of Wales, Edward travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial public duties and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and of the Indian subcontinent in 1875 proved popular successes, but despite public approval, his reputation as a playboy prince soured his relationship with his mother.

Edward inherited the throne upon his mother's death in 1901. The King played a role in the modernisation of the British Home Fleet and the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. He re-instituted traditional ceremonies as public displays and broadened the range of people with whom royalty socialised. He fostered good relations between Britain and other European countries, especially France, for which he was popularly called "Peacemaker", but his relationship with his nephew, German Emperor Wilhelm II, was poor.

The Edwardian era, 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 steam turbine propulsion and the rise of socialism. He died in 1910 in the midst of a constitutional crisis that was resolved the following year by the Parliament Act 1911, which restricted the power of the unelected House of Lords. Edward was succeeded by his only surviving son, George V.