Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Full name
	Edward Frederick William

Edward VII
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; 22 November 1895; Rideau Hall, Ottawa, Canada
Died	7 July 1951 (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
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.

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 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.