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 Ireland 1922-1937 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 - 15 August, 1947
Predecessor	George V
Successor	Post abolished
Prince Regent of the United Kingdom
Regency	1 March, 1921 - 5 January, 1923
Monarch	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 1947 until the abolition of the British Raj and its subsequent partition into India and Pakistan. Additionally, he is the second British monarch to serve as a regent up until his ascension after King George IV, whom had previously served as a regent under the capacity of his father, George III.

An outspoken critic of Nazism, Edward primarily led the country throughout the Great Depression and the Second World War. In his final years, he oversaw the hastily drawn partition of India and Pakistan in the immediate aftermath of the British Raj and various armed conflicts stemming from the independence of Britain's colonies. He also presided over the formal incorporation of a Hanover with increased territory in the aftermath of the First World War into the United Kingdom. In the immediate aftermath of the London Declaration in 1949, he became the first official Head of the Commonwealth of Nations, replacing his previous title of Emperor of India.

Due to his heavy German ties, he was popularly known as "Edward the German" (Eduard der Deutsche), and was mockingly referred to as "Kaiser Edward" by British nationalists due to his familial ties with the last German Emperor.

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 being born instead in Canada, his parents' "principal" residential country. 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 German Emperor, though he was given the title Prince of Prussia as a descendant of a Prussian princess. He was 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 British 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 being 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 would often look after the young Edward during his parents' occasional leaves for their official engagements or state visits.

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 were 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.

Moved by his short-term desire to see some military action as to not present himself as a "weakling" among the British public, Edward went incognito alongside a small group of Swedish soldiers in occupying the Åland Islands, a Finnish-owned territory desired by Sweden due to the local residents' overwhelming favor in a Swedish annexation. Despite his brief stint in the campaign, he was made an Överste and later an honorary Major General of the Swedish Army following his ascension as sovereign.

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 Edward and his wife, however plans for the subsequent celebrations were immediately nullified out of respect for the late king George. 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 until her death nine years later, which was also attended by Edward and Victoria Louise and their closest relatives.

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 under the Central Powers effectively revoked through the Royal Titles Revocation Act 1924. Edward's wife, a Princess of Prussia by birth subsequently abandoned her German titles, albeit reluctantly and was forced to take up private language lessons in the English language in order to suit the post-war climate.

In 1931, Edward privately condemned his brother-in-law August Wilhelm for the latter's involvement with the NSDAP, citing the party's "hateful and extreme" rhetoric which from the king's perspective greatly contrasted with his overwhelmingly liberal ideas. Three years later, he also refused a private invitation by Hitler whom had hoped for a meeting with the king in order to foster potential relations between Germany and the United Kingdom.

Hanoverian Issue

From the late 19th century, tensions between Germans and non-Germans in the United Kingdom had been gradually brewing as a direct consequence of the Anglo-German arms race propogated by the militarist Kaiser Wilhelm II. The tensions were further exacerbated by the onset of the First World War and by its end however, the themes surrounding the perceived "treachery" and "disloyalty" among the British-Germans in Hanover became a central issue of British nationalists, with the majority of them calling for a removal of the German-majority autonomous kingdom from the union itself, while the radical minority instead proposed for a continuation of the union which was to be achieved by a proposed "de-Germanisation" of the local populace.

The then Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin had initially convinced the king to seek a "middle ground" as to appease both opposing sides. To that end, on November 1924, after weeks of heated debate, the British Parliament passed the Kingdom of Hanover Act 1924, which subsequently elevated Hanover to that of the same status and position as Scotland had been from the Acts of Union 1707. Immediate reactions were initially deeply polarised among the public, with some welcoming the new act as a symbol of unity among the varying major ethnic groups in the country, while others opposed the integration of Germans into society, backed by their popular view of the perceived treachery by British-Germans during the First World War. In addressing direct criticism towards the act, Edward notably declared: "The United Kingdom of today is here to remain, and never to dissolve".

Marriage Crisis

In contrast to his grandfather, Edward adopted a rather independent and hands-off approach in regards to the marital choice of his successor, Charles. However, due to the political climate at the time, Edward strictly forbade either of his sons from ever marrying a princess hailing from an enemy country. Regardless, in 1945, the Prince of Wales privately wrote a letter to Edward from the United States, in which he openly declared his interest into marrying Jewish American actress Lauren Bacall, whom is seven years the prince's junior. While this was met with mixed reaction by Parliament members, Edward himself remained indifferent however on the proposal, choosing not to veto it out of fear of disappointing his only surviving son and heir.

Despite his indifference, Edward partially sided with detractors by suggesting instead for a morganatic marriage, where the couple would be allowed to marry in exchange for Bacall, Charles's romantic partner receiving a courtesy title instead of the traditional title of queen consort. Additionally, a day prior to the eventual meeting between Charles and the British agents in New York, Edward was said to had personally met two of the suggested candidates, Sarah Baring and Lady Caroline Paget at their respective residences in an attempt to encourage either one of the leading candidates to seek the heir apparent's hand in marriage, with Baring in particular showing much interest in a marital offer. However, Charles's subsequent rejection of the alternative candidates proposed by the government brought all other prospects to an end.

Following Churchill's defeat and subsequent replacement by his Labour opponent Clement Attlee, with the latter's strong backing and later that of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Edward promptly adopted a more supportive stance of his son's marital prospects, eventually granting his official permission as sovereign for the royal couple. They were subsequently engaged in February 1946 and were married a year later.

Marriage

At the time of his birth, Edward was second in line to the throne behind his father, the then George, Prince of Wales. Despite this, as the likely heir to his father, Edward's marital prospects fell under the responsibility of the royal family's then patriarch, King William V. At the time, the then ageing King had been subtly seeking for a reconciliation between the British and German empires, amidst the Anglo-German arms race between the two empires, instigated by the aggressive foreign policies of the German Emperor. As a result, after much deliberation resulting from internal opposition from several members of the Hanover royal family, William decided to orchestrate a visit between his grandson Edward and the Kaiser's only daughter Victoria Louise, who is three years Edward's senior.

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, King George V 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 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 however, Edward and Victoria Louise went to Canada on the behest of Queen Sophia 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 the far-more experienced Edward.

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 - 1 March 1921 His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales

• 1 March 1921 - 5 January 1923 His Royal Highness The Prince Regent

• 5 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. Albert, Prince Consort 7. Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom 15. Victoria of the United Kingdom