Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Edward VII
King of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth Realms Canada 1923-1951 Australia 1923-1951 New Zealand 1923-1951 British Leeward Islands 1923-1951 British Windward Islands 1923-1951 Pakistan 1947-1951 India 1947-1950 South Africa 1923-1951 Ceylon 1923-1951 Ghana 1923-1951 Nigeria 1923-1951 Sierra Leone 1923-1951 Tanganyika 1923-1951 Uganda 1923-1951 Kenya 1923-1941 Malawi 1923-1951 Malta 1923-1951 The Gambia 1923-1951 Guyana 1923-1951 Mauritius 1923-1951 Fiji 1923-1951 Puerto Rico 1923-1951
Reign	5 January, 1923 - 7 July, 1951
Coronation	17 May, 1923
Predecessor	George V
Successor	Charles III
King of Hanover
Reign	5 January, 1923 - 20 November, 1924
Coronation	17 May, 1923
Predecessor	George V
Successor	Incorporation into the United Kingdom through the Kingdom of Hanover Act 1924
Emperor of India
Reign	5 January, 1923 - 22 June, 1948
Predecessor	George V
Born	Edward Frederick William (1895-11-22)22 November 1895 Rideau Hall, Ottawa, Canada
Died	7 July 1951(1951-07-07) (aged 57) Buckingham Palace, London
Burial	25 July 1951 Westminster Abbey, London
Spouse	Victoria Louise of Prussia (m. 1913)
Issue Detail	Charles III William, Duke of Edinburgh
Full name Edward Frederick William
House	Hanover
Father	George V
Mother	Sophia of Prussia
Religion	Protestant

Edward VII (Edward Frederick William; 22 November, 1895 - 7 July, 1951) was King of the United Kingdom and King of Hanover from 1923 to 1951. He was also the last Emperor of India, reigning from 1923 to 1948.

Early Life

Edward was born on the 22nd of November 1895 during the reign of his grandfather William V. He was the eldest out of the four children of George V and was notably the first royal to be born outside of Britain, having instead being born in Canada, his parents' principal residence. As a maternal nephew of the Wilhelm II, German Emperor, he was initially recommended to by his mother with several German imperial honours, but this was cut short by the antagonistic nature of the Wilhelm II, German Emperor. He was notably named Edward Frederick Wilhelm in honour of his maternal grandfather, the late German Emperor Frederick III, who had then been the co-coordinator alongside Edward's paternal grandfather of the marriage between Edward's parents. Locally, he was known as the Canadian Prince as he was the very first Briitsh royal to be born inside the country.

Following his birth, his grandfather William took much interest in shaping the young Edward according to his own, hoping to deter the young prince from becoming like his own father who had grown distant from the king. Following a sizable opposition from both his grandmother and parents, a compromise however was reached where Edward would still be instilled with militaristic values but to a lesser degree. Subsequently, while Edward did received partial militaristic training, this was then added with the extensive exposure in liberal arts education, the latter in which Edward showed promising interest and development.

In addition to his studies, Edward frequently indulged himself in the rural and forested parts of Canada, with activities such as family picnics and occasional hunting trips alongside his father becoming common activities for the young prince. Furthermore, he also frequently accompanied his parents,in their social events and public meetings with the Canadian populace during his father's tenure as Governor-General of Canada.

Edward's striking appearance garnered him much attention and care from his female relatives, and in particular Princess Mary. Due to the distinct similarities between the young Edward and Mary's own son named Edward, the two princes were remarkably close and the former Edward was a frequent subject of comparison by Mary of Teck who once wrote, "It is a joy for me to see just how alike my dear Eddy is with the prince", albeit at the cost of a friendly rivalry between Mary and his mother Sophia. He was also a favourite of his grandmother Charlotte who doted him, and was at times tasked with the care of the young Edward during his parents' occasional departures.

At the age of eleven, he began frequently accompanying his parents on their international trips as the respective Prince and Princess of Wales. During a controversial visit to Germany in 1907, while his parents conversed in a relatively calm manner with the German Emperor, the young Edward became good friends with the German Crown Prince and consequently became fond of the emperor's only daughter Victoria Louise, whom he then described as being "a living example of perfection and beauty, from head to toe".

Prince of Wales

As he aged well into his teens, his grandfather had seen the young Edward as a valuable diplomatic tool in his attempts to mend the strained relations between the German and British empires. While his own father had been married to the daughter of the late Frederick III, the aging king William was determined in continuing the tradition, exemplified by his constant support for a match between Edward and Victoria, who is 3 years his senior. While there had been several discreet discussions between William and his German counterpart on a possible marriage between the two as a sign of reconciliation, neither initially came into fruition when the suggestion was heavily scrutinized by some of the former's relatives who preferred the House of Hanover not being associated with the "warmongering" Wilhelm II and the Hohenzollerns. This was in turn complicated by the growing Anglophobe sentiment in Germany itself.

Even such prospects wsre discouraged by the Prime Minister who advised the king to look for another suitable bride that is not associated with countries that are deemed as Britain's enemies. At the same time however, despite the irony of the tension between their respective countries, Edward was close with the young German princess, whom he often referred to by her nickname "Vicky".

World War I

In 1913, despite heightened tensions between most of the major powers of Europe, the marriage ceremony of Edward and Victoria went on lavishly. Among the foreign guests were the Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II and Edward's own family, led by the sickly William V. In what would become the most notable feature of the event, Edward's grandfather William was given a special honour to hold his own speech, in which he dramatically reminded attendees of the heightened tensions and the need for the "old kings" of Europe to band together in preventing a major war from occurring.

Following the conclusion of the ceremony, the newlywed couple was discouraged from returning to Britain. Instead, the royal couple then temporarily moved to Sweden where they were warmly received by the likes of Gustaf V and the pro-German government of Sweden.

Until 1919, the royal couple lived lavishly in exile in Sweden, where both royals kept themselves occupied with news of the Great War surrounding them. However, the misery was softened with the birth of their first surviving offspring, the future Charles III in 1917, which succeeded that of an earlier miscarriage two years later. While living in exile, Edward had initially contemplated on serving alongside his male relatives in the war but was discouraged by his wife who had saw the war as "extremely appalling" and wished for their family to not be associated with such conflict. However, the royal family was active in providing humanitarian care and aid to both participants of the war, exemplified in a risky but successful attempt in 1915, when the Swedish HSwMS Najaden safely dropped a large supplies of aid through the Netherlands.

Marriage

As Edward grew well into his teenage years, the prospects of his marriage however was mostly dictated by the likes of his grandfather William, who was seeking a reconciliation between the respective British and German empires, amidst the Anglo-German arms race from the beginning of the late 19th century.

During a private trip to Berlin with his parents, in which the trip itself had been orchestrated by his grandfather, the princely couple were received by the German royal family at the Berlin Palace. During their week long stay, while Edward's mother generally avoided her brother, his father however enjoyed a semi-friendly relationship with the German Emperor, save for the former's partial admiration of the German military tradition.

As Edward was quick to bond with Wilhelm's sons, so did his particular bond with the latter's only daughter and youngest child, Victoria Louise who is at least three years his senior. To the delight of their respective parents, the two were quick to familiarise with the other, often addressing the other as "Eddy" and "Vicky", their respective nicknames. Subsequently, the two reportedly enjoyed indulging in the other's activities which included the likes of horse riding and others. In the subsequent years, Edward and Victoria Louise frequently exchanged visits to their respective countries amidst the prevailing tensions surrounding them.

Following his 17th birthday, amidst powerless opposition by the Prime Minister, Edward and Victoria Louise were formally engaged at the Isle of Wight. For the next three years however, in order to avoid negative repercussions, the couple chose to reside in Sweden by the courtesy of the pro-German king Gustaf V. In 1913, Edward and Victoria Louise initially chose to hold their marriage in Sweden, after initial reservations on the venue being held in either one of their home countries, but by the coercion of both of their elder relatives, it was relocated to Berlin. Held extravagantly in the German capital city, it was attended by both Edward and Victoria Louise's families, alongside the Russian royal family, led by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

In the concluding hours of the ceremony, the newlyweds were discouraged from immediately returning to Britain, in order to discourage any form of mass upheaval among the British public which was sharply critical of their marriage. As a result, until 1921, the couple continued to reside in Sweden under the protection of the Swedish king Gustaf V. Throughout their extended stay, the couple first came across an instance of a miscarriage, which initially devastated the German princess but this was soon compensated by the subsequent birth of their two sons, the future Charles III and the later Duke of Edinburgh.

First World War

Only a year into their marriage, the First World War then began on the 28th of July, with both Britain and Germany inevitably finding themselves on opposing sides. The then Prince and Princess of Wales chose to remain politically neutral during the course of the war. However, both of them had themselves consistently briefed on the important events of the war through their special correspondent agents, with the princess reportedly sinking into devastating state of sadness each time she was told about the most horrific events of the war. According to Edward's correspondent agent Lord Davies, "the princess would often cry for several hours if the war stroke her gravely, and for hours, she would never even come out of her room, even for lunch or for dinner". To the contrary however, their opposing backgrounds would drew Edward and his wife closer by the years, as both of them shared a common sense of determination for the war to end and a subsequent period of reconciliation.

Return to Britain

Following the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles, the war was formally over. However, in the subsequent years leading up to their eventual return, neither Edward nor his wife felt that they would be warmly received in Edward's home country. Regardless, it was deemed inevitable for their return to happen as the health of Edward's father, United Kingdom had began to deteriorate as a result of exposure to wartime conditions.

On the February of 1921, the couple returned to Britain onboard the HMS Charlotte and docked at the Royal Navy base at Portsmouth. Almost unusually, the Prince and Princess of Wales were not met with eager crowds awaiting their arrival as it had traditionally been for such occasions, but rather the opposite, with the scenery described as being "full of gloom and void of joy" by one of their naval escorts. While the long journey from Portsmouth to Buckingham Palace in London was mostly peaceful in nature, the royal escort were occasionally harassed by British nationalists who were mostly targeting the princess due to her German background and familial connections with the infamous German Emperor.

On the next year, Edward and Victoria Louise went to Canada on the behest of Queen Sophie in order to attend to the ailing king. Throughout their subsequent stay which lasted until the death of Edward's father a year later, the princely couple however took the opportunity to explore the northern rural parts of the country, to which they would often enjoyably indulge themselves in activities such as horse riding, kayaking and ice hockey in particular, in which the Princess of Wales suffered a minor injury due to a slip in the couple's very first friendly match, which was then overwhelmingly won by Edward.

Reign

On the death of Edward's father on the 5th of January that year, it was also, by coincidence the 10th wedding anniversary of George and his wife, however plans for the subsequent celebrations were immediately nullified out of humility. As news of the king's death reached London, Edward and Victoria Louise immediately headed back for Britain onboard the HMS Charlotte, which had been previously used to escort the couple from their exile in Sweden years previously, while the now queen dowager continued to reside in Canada.

Amidst much public debate and displeasure at the prospects of having a daughter of the infamous German Emperor as queen consort of the country, preparations for their coronation were steadily underway. In the days leading up to their coronation, the royal couple briefly visited the war-torn Ireland, where despite political division among the Irish locals in regards to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, they were however warmly greeted by the local populace. At the same time, Edward and Victoria Louise briefly debated on the choice of the latter's future name as queen consort, as the practice of having double names as a queen consort had been rather unknown in Britain. However, this soon concluded with Victoria Louise choosing to drop her first given name Victoria, opting instead to be known as Queen Louise, honouring her paternal great great grandmother, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a renowned figure in her home country. On the 17th of May, exactly a week before the end of the Irish Civil War, Edward and Louise were formally coronated as king and queen of the United Kingdom.

Early Years

Edward's ascension came at a difficult time for his country. The United Kingdom, despite being the largest country in terms of landmass and population was embroiled in debt and was slowly ceding its status as the global industrial power to the United States and Japan. At the same time, socialist and nationalist fervour were on the rise in his own country, exacerbated by their heavy German roots. To that end, seeking to remedy the inability of his father to effectively address the post-war issues, Edward, with Parliament approval had the British titles and peerages of his relatives who had served the Central Powers instantly revoked through the Royal Titles Deficiency Act 1923. Edward's wife, a Princess of Prussia by birth subsequently abandoned her German titles, albeit reluctantly in conjunction with the new act.

Titles & Honours

• 22 November 1895 - 23 November 1910 His Royal Highness Prince Edward of Wales

• 23 November 1910 - 30 January 1913 His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge

• 30 January 1913 - 30 January 1923 His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales

• 30 January 1923 - 30 March 1951 His Majesty The King

Ancestry

Ancestors of Edward VII of the United Kingdom

8. William IV of the United Kingdom 4. William V of the United Kingdom 9. Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen 2. George V of the United Kingdom 10. Leopold I of Belgium 5. Charlotte of Belgium 11. Louise of Orléans 1. Edward VII of the United Kingdom 12. William I, German Emperor 6. Frederick III, German Emperor 13. Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach 3. Sophia of Prussia 14. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn 7. Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom 15. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Saalfeld