Facts About King Edward Vii Windsor

King Edward Vii Windsor, was the King of the United Kingdom and emperor of India from 22 January 1901 till his death in 1910. He was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

King Edward Vii Windsor
King Edward Vii Windsor

He held the title of Prince of Wales and remained heir to the throne before his accession to the throne. During his mother’s reign, he was excluded from political power and led a life of fashionable and leisured elite.

King Edward Vii Windsor Biography

Prince Edward represented Britain while visiting abroad and traveled throughout Britain carrying out ceremonial public duties. However, even if his reputation was approved in public, his playboy image was a bone of contention for his mother throughout.

King Edward Vii

Moreover, as a king, Edward played a major role in the modernization of the British Home Fleet as well as reorganized the British Army after the Boer War by reintroducing traditional ceremonies like public displays.

King Edward Vii of England

He also broadened the range of people who were allowed to interact with the royalty. He worked on promoting good relation of Britain with other European countries especially France.

Edwardian era, the time period when King Edward VII ruled coincided with the beginning of a new century that indicated significant changes in society as well as technology.

King Edward the 7

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert imposed a strict regime on Edward since childhood because they were determined to help their son have the education to prepare him to become a model constitutional monarch.

This worked the opposite way making Edward rebellious in nature which could be seen with his indulgence in food, drink, sport, women, and gambling.

King Edward Vii Windsor
Edward VII, a child

When Edward became king in 1901, he named his period as an Edwardian era. Edward’s main interests laid in the field of foreign affairs along with naval and military matters.

As a king, Edward was a great success although he was already an old man when he became the king. He ensured that his heir, George V, was better prepared to take over the throne.

King Edward Vii: Mistresses

Edward had gained the reputation of a playboy in his early adulthood. Edward attended maneuvers in Ireland in order to gain military experiences, but he spent three nights with an actress who was hidden in his camps by fellow officers.

His father, Prince Albert paid a visit and two weeks after that he died. Queen Victoria could not forgive Edward lifelong for this because she blamed him for his father’s death.

King Edward Vii Windsor
King Edward VII; Queen Victoria; Alexandra of Denmark

Edward had mistresses all through his life. He socialized with many actresses like Lady Randolph Churchill Daisy Greville, Lillie Langtry, Countess of Warwick; actress Sarah Bernhardt; noblewoman Lady Susan Vane-Tempest; singer Hortense Schneider, wealthy humanitarian Agnes Keyser, prostitute Giulia Benoni, and Alice Keppel.

However, it is not clear how far these relationships went. Edward tried to be discreet, but could not stay away from society gossips and press speculation. Edward never acknowledges any illegitimate children.

Facts About King Edward Vii Windsor

In 1880s Edward was a regular visitor to Parisian Brothels. Brothels were legal in Paris and this was regarded as the top establishment. There was a room that contained a customized bath which had a specifically designed and crafted love seat and it was filled with Champaign at times.

The love seat allowed easy access to different forms of sex including oral sex among two or three people.

Edward Vii And Queen Alexandra

Edward Vii And Queen Alexandra got married on 10 March 1863. The couple had six children.

King Edward Vii Windsor
Edward and Alexandra on their wedding day, 1863

It is believed that Alexandra was aware of almost all of her husband’s affairs, but turned a blind eye towards them.

Edward Vii’s Death

Edward VII used to smoke twenty cigarettes and twelve cigars daily. He had developed rodent ulcer, which is a type of cancer affecting the skin beside the nose. It got cured with radium in 1907.

King Edward Vii

During his last years, Edward suffered from increased bronchitis attacks. He also went through a momentary loss of consciousness. The king suffered several heart attacks but refused to take rest the day he died because he wanted to work till his end.

Edward Vii’s Sons

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale was born on 8 January 1864, George V was born on 3 June 1865 and Prince Alexander John was born on 6 April 1871.

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