   #copyright

Edward VII of the United Kingdom

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History Post
1900; Monarchs of Great Britain

   Edward VII
   King of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India (more...)
   King Edward VII after his coronation in 1902 painted by Sir Luke Fildes
   King Edward VII after his coronation in 1902 painted by Sir Luke Fildes
   Reign 22 January 1901 - 6 May 1910
   Coronation 9 August 1902
   Predecessor Victoria
   Successor George V
   Consort Alexandra of Denmark
   Issue
   Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence
   George V
   Louise, Princess Royal
   Princess Victoria Alexandra
   Maud of Wales
   Prince Alexander John
   Full name
   Albert Edward
   Detail
   Titles
   HM The King
   HRH The Prince of Wales
   HRH The Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay
   Royal house House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
   Royal anthem God Save the King
   Father Albert, Prince Consort
   Mother Victoria
   Born 9 November 1841
   Buckingham Palace, London
   Baptised 25 January 1842
   St George's Chapel, Windsor
   Died 6 May 1910 (aged 68)
   Buckingham Palace, London
   Burial 20 May 1910
   St George's Chapel, Windsor
   Occupation Military

   Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of
   the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of the
   Commonwealth Realms, and the Emperor of India. He was the son of Queen
   Victoria and was the first British monarch of the House of
   Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He reigned from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6
   May 1910.

   Before his accession to the throne, Edward held the title of Prince of
   Wales, and has the distinction of having been heir apparent to the
   throne longer than anyone in English or British history, a record being
   quickly approached by Prince Charles, the current heir apparent.
   Edward's reign, now called the Edwardian period, saw the first official
   recognition of the office of the Prime Minister in 1905. He became the
   first British monarch to visit Russia in 1908, despite refusing to
   visit in 1906 (as he favoured the Duma over the Tsar). Edward also
   played a role in the modernization of the British Home Fleet and the
   reform of the Army Medical Services, after the Second Boer War. His
   fostering of good relations between Great Britain and other European
   countries, especially France, for which he was popularly called
   "Peacemaker", were sadly belied by the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

Early life

   Edward was born at 10:48am on 9 November 1841 at Buckingham Palace. His
   mother was Queen Victoria, the only daughter of Prince Edward Augustus,
   Duke of Kent and granddaughter of King George III. His father was
   Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, first cousin and consort of
   Victoria. Christened Albert Edward (after his father and maternal
   grandfather) at St. George's Chapel, Windsor on 25 January 1842, his
   godparents were the King of Prussia, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince
   Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, King Consort of Portugal, the
   Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the Dowager Duchess of
   Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg and Princess Sophia. He was known as Bertie
   throughout his life.
   Prince Albert Edward in a sailor suit, by Winterhalter, 1846
   Prince Albert Edward in a sailor suit, by Winterhalter, 1846

   As the eldest son of a British sovereign, he was automatically Duke of
   Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the
   Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland at birth. As a son of
   Prince Albert, he also held the titles of Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
   and Duke of Saxony. Queen Victoria created her son Prince of Wales and
   Earl of Chester on 8 December 1841. He was created Earl of Dublin on 17
   January 1850, and a Knight of the Garter on 9 November 1858 and a
   Knight of the Thistle on 24 May 1867. In 1863, he renounced his
   succession rights to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in favour of his
   younger brother, Prince Alfred.

   In 1846, the four-year-old Prince of Wales was given a scaled-down
   version of the uniform worn by ratings on the Royal Yacht. He wore his
   miniature sailor suit during a cruise off the Channel Islands that
   September, delighting his mother and the public alike. Popular
   engravings, including the famous portrait done by Winterhalter, spread
   the idea, and by the 1870s, the sailor suit had become normal dress for
   both boys and girls all over the world.
          British Royalty
     House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
             Edward VII
       Albert, Duke of Clarence
      George V
       Louise, Princess Royal
       Princess Victoria
       Maud, Queen of Norway
       Prince Alexander John
   Maternal grandchildren
       Alexandra, Duchess of Fife
       Maud of Fife

   Queen Victoria and Prince Albert determined that their eldest son
   should have an education that would prepare him to be a model
   constitutional monarch. At age seven, Bertie embarked upon a rigorous
   educational program devised by the Prince Consort, and under the
   supervision of several tutors. However, unlike his elder sister, the
   Prince of Wales did not excel in his studies. He tried to meet the
   expectations of his parents, but to no avail. He was not a diligent
   student and his true talents were those of charm, sociability, and
   tact. Other observers in his youth found him to be spoiled, lazy, and
   occasionally cruel.

   In October 1859, he matriculated as an undergraduate at Christ Church,
   Oxford (where he met Lewis Carroll and signed his autograph book but
   refused to pose for a photograph). Now released from the educational
   strictures imposed by his parents, he enjoyed studying for the first
   time and performed satisfactorily in examinations.

   The following year he undertook the first tour of North America by a
   British heir to the throne. His genial good humour and confident
   bonhomie made the tour a success.

   In 1861, his studies were transferred to Trinity College, Cambridge,
   but he never graduated. The Prince of Wales hoped to pursue a career in
   the British Army, but this was denied him because he was heir to the
   throne. He did serve briefly in the Grenadier Guards in 1861; however,
   this was largely a sinecure. He was advanced from the rank of
   lieutenant to colonel in a matter of months.

   From this time, he gained a reputation as a playboy. In December 1861,
   his father died from typhoid fever two weeks after visiting Bertie at
   Cambridge; Prince Albert had reprimanded his son after an actress,
   Nellie Clifden, had been hidden in his tent by his fellow officers
   during army manoeuvres in Ireland. The Queen, who was inconsolable and
   wore mourning for the rest of her life, blamed Bertie for his father's
   death. She regarded her son as frivolous, indiscreet, and
   irresponsible. As a joke of the period went, "How is the Queen like the
   weather? Because she reigns [rains], and reigns, and reigns... and
   never gives the poor son [Sun] a chance."

Marriage

   Once widowed, Queen Victoria effectively withdrew from public life, but
   shortly after the Prince Consort's death, she arranged for her son to
   marry Princess Alexandra of Denmark, the beautiful eldest daughter of
   King Christian IX of Denmark. The couple wed at St. George's Chapel,
   Windsor on 10 March 1863.
   Prince Albert Edward and Princess Alexandra at their wedding. St.
   George's Chapel, Windsor, 1863

      Prince Albert Edward and Princess Alexandra at their wedding. St.
                       George's Chapel, Windsor, 1863

   Edward and his wife established Marlborough House as their London
   residence and Sandringham House in Norfolk as their country retreat.
   They entertained on a lavish scale. Their marriage was met with
   disapproval in certain circles because most of Victoria's relations
   were German, and Denmark was at loggerheads with Germany over the
   territories of Schleswig and Holstein. Victoria herself was of two
   minds as to whether it was a suitable match. After the couple's
   marriage, she expressed anxiety about their lifestyle and attempted to
   dictate to them on various matters, including the names of their
   children.

   Edward treated his marriage with indifference, keeping mistresses
   throughout his married life, including actress Lillie Langtry, and
   socialite Jennie Jerome (mother of Winston Churchill and wife at the
   time to Lord Randolph Churchill), Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick,
   actress Sarah Bernhardt, dancer La Belle Otero, and wealthy
   humanitarian Agnes Keyser. Lord Charles Beresford began an affair with
   Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, at the same time as Edward VII's,
   which would cause a strain on the friendship between the two men that
   would last for the remainder of their lives.

   In 1870 Sir Charles Mordaunt threatened to name the Prince as
   co-respondent in the Mordaunts's divorce, ultimately he did not do so
   but the Prince was called as a witness. Charles Mordaunt was a Member
   of Parliament and, during the case, it was shown that the Prince had
   visited the Mordaunts's house whilst Sir Charles was away sitting in
   the House of Commons. Although nothing further was proved, and the
   Prince denied he had committed adultery, the suggestion of impropriety
   was still damaging.

   Agnes Keyser, as recorded by author Raymond Lamont-Brown in his book
   Edward VII's Last Loves: Alice Keppel and Agnes Keyser, held an
   emotional bond with Edward VII that others did not, due to her being
   unmarried herself, and preferring a more private affair to a public
   one. This trait also made her the favoured in royal circles of his last
   two loves. He also helped her and her sister fund a hospital for
   military officers.

   His wife, Alexandra, is believed to have been aware of most of his
   affairs, and to have accepted them. The diary of one of her
   Ladies-in-Waiting records her looking out of a window overcome with
   giggles at the sight of Edward and his almost equally large mistress
   riding side-by-side in an open carriage. He and Lord Randolph Churchill
   did quarrel for a time during Edward VII's involvement with Churchill's
   wife ( Jennie Jerome), but eventually mended their friendship, which
   would then last until Lord Randolph's death. Alexandra was said to have
   been quite admiring of Jennie Jerome, enjoying her company despite the
   affair.

   His last "official" mistress (although simultaneous to his involvement
   with Keyser), society beauty Alice Keppel, was even allowed by
   Alexandra to be present at his deathbed in 1910 at his express written
   instruction, although Alexandra reportedly did not like her. Keppel
   also is rumored to have been one of the few people who could help quell
   Edward VII's unpredictable mood swings. One of Keppel's great
   granddaughters, Camilla Parker Bowles, was later to become the mistress
   and then wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, one of Edward's great-great
   grandsons. It has been suggested that Camilla's grandmother, Sonia
   Keppel (born in May 1900), was the illegitimate daughter of Edward.
   However, the King never acknowledged any illegitimate children.

Heir apparent

   During Victoria's widowhood, he represented her at public ceremonies
   and gatherings – opening the Thames Embankment, Mersey Tunnel and Tower
   Bridge. But even as a husband and father, Bertie was not allowed by his
   mother to have an active role in the running of the country until 1898.
   He annoyed his mother by siding with Denmark on the Schleswig-Holstein
   Question (she was pro-German), and later in the same year annoyed her
   again by making a special effort to meet Garibaldi.
   (left to right) Prince Albert Victor, Princesses Maud, the future Queen
   Alexandra, the future King Edward VII, Princess Louise, Prince George,
   and Princess Victoria. Norfolk, circa 1892

   (left to right) Prince Albert Victor, Princesses Maud, the future Queen
   Alexandra, the future King Edward VII, Princess Louise, Prince George,
                 and Princess Victoria. Norfolk, circa 1892

   He enthusiastically indulged in pursuits such as gambling and country
   sports. Edward was also a patron of the arts and sciences and helped
   found the Royal College of Music. He laid out a golf course at Windsor,
   and was an enthusiastic hunter. He ordained that all the clocks at
   Sandringham be put forward by half an hour in order to create more time
   for shooting. This so-called tradition of Sandringham Time continued
   until 1936, when it was abolished by Edward VIII.

   In the winter of 1871 he contracted typhoid, the disease that had
   killed his father, whilst staying at Londesborough Lodge. There was
   great national concern. One of his fellow guests ( Lord Chesterfield)
   died, but the Prince managed to pull through. His near brush with death
   led to an improvement both in his relationship with his mother, as well
   as in his popularity with the public.

   An active Freemason throughout his adult life, Edward VII was installed
   as Grand Master in 1875, giving great impetus and publicity to the
   fraternity. He regularly appeared in public, both at home and on his
   tours abroad, as Grand Master, laying the foundation stones of public
   buildings, bridges, dockyards, and churches with Masonic ceremony. His
   presence ensured publicity, and reports of Masonic meetings at all
   levels appeared regularly in the national and local press. Freemasonry
   was constantly in the public eye, and Freemasons were known in their
   local communities. Edward VII was one of the biggest contributors to
   the fraternity.

   In 1890, he was embroiled in the Royal Baccarat Scandal, when it was
   revealed he had played an illegal card game for money. The Prince was
   forced to appear as a witness in court for a second time when one of
   the players sued for slander after being accused of cheating.

   On his way to Denmark through Belgium on 4 April 1900 he was the victim
   of an attempted assassination, when Jean-Baptiste Sipido shot at him in
   protest at the Boer War.

King

   When Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901, the Prince of Wales became
   king. Then 59, he was the second oldest man to ascend to the throne in
   British history (the oldest having been William IV, who ascended at age
   64). To the surprise of many, he chose to reign under the name Edward
   VII instead of Albert Edward, the name his mother had intended for him
   to use. (No English or British sovereign has ever reigned under a
   double name.) The new King declared that he chose the name Edward as an
   honoured name borne by six of his predecessors, and that he did not
   wish to diminish the status of his father with whom alone among royalty
   the name Albert should be associated. Some observers, noting also such
   acts of the new king as lighting cigars in places where Queen Victoria
   had always prohibited smoking, thought that his rejection of Albert as
   a reigning name was his acknowledgment that he was finally out from
   under his parents' shadows. The number VII was occasionally omitted in
   Scotland, in protest at his use of a name carried by English kings who
   had "been excluded from Scotland by battle".
   Four Kings: King Edward VII (right) with his successors — (from left to
   right) his son, the future King George V —, and his grandsons — the
   future King Edward VIII and King George VI.
   Four Kings: King Edward VII (right) with his successors — (from left to
   right) his son, the future King George V —, and his grandsons — the
   future King Edward VIII and King George VI.

   He donated his parents' house, Osborne on the Isle of Wight, to the
   state and continued to live at Sandringham. He could afford to be
   magnanimous; it was claimed that he was the first heir to succeed to
   the throne in credit. 9 (This was due to the tireless efforts of Sir
   Dighton Probyn, VC Comptroller of the Household, and who stayed with
   Queen Alexandra's Household after the King's death in the same
   capacity) Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were crowned at Westminster
   Abbey on 9 August 1902 by the 80-year-old Archbishop of Canterbury
   Frederick Temple who died only 4 months later. His coronation had
   originally been scheduled for 26 June but two days before on 24 June,
   Edward developed appendicitis. Thanks to the discovery of anaesthesia
   in the preceding 50 years he was able to undergo a life-saving
   operation, performed by Sir Frederick Treves. This was at a time when
   appendicitis was not treated operatively and thus carried with it a
   mortality rate of greater than 50%. When the Prince objected to missing
   the coronation to have the surgery, the famous surgeon Sir Joseph
   Lister told him, "Then, Your Highness, you will be attending it as a
   corpse". Treves, with Lister's support, performed a then radical
   operation of draining the infected appendix through a small incision.
   The next day he was sitting up in bed smoking a cigar. Two weeks later
   it was announced that the King was out of danger. Treves was
   subsequently given the baronetcy and appendix surgery entered the
   medical mainstream for the first time in history.

   The Shah of Persia, Mozzafar-al-Din, visited England around 1902 on the
   promise of receiving the Order of the Garter. King Edward VII refused
   to give this high honour to the Shah. A quick thinking Secretary had a
   special medal made that resembled the Order, but was missing the Cross
   of St. George. He had it sent to the royal yacht just in time for the
   Shah's arrival. The King was so enraged by the sight of the medal,
   though, that he threw it out of his yacht's porthole. As a consolation,
   the Shah was introduced to the King's tailor, Henry Poole and Co. on
   Savile Row. A few years later, Britain sent the Shah a full Order of
   the Garter.

   As king, Edward's main interests lay in the fields of foreign affairs
   and naval and military matters. Fluent in French and German, he made a
   number of visits abroad, and took annual holidays at Biarritz and
   Marienbad. One of his most important foreign trips was an official
   visit to France in spring 1903 as the guest of President Émile Loubet.
   Following on from the first visit of a British or English king to the
   Pope in Rome, this trip helped create the atmosphere for the
   Anglo-French Entente Cordiale, an informal agreement delineating
   British and French colonies in North Africa, and making virtually
   unthinkable the wars that had so often divided the countries in the
   past. Negotiated between the French foreign minister, Théophile
   Delcassé, and the British foreign secretary, the Marquess of Lansdowne,
   and signed on 8 April 1904 by Lord Lansdowne and the French ambassador
   Paul Cambon, the Entente marked the end of centuries of Anglo-French
   rivalry and Britain's splendid isolation from Continental affairs. It
   also was an attempt to counterbalance the growing dominance of the
   German Empire and its ally, Austria-Hungary.

"Uncle of Europe"

   Edward VII relaxing at Balmoral, taken by his wife Alexandra

        Edward VII relaxing at Balmoral, taken by his wife Alexandra

   Edward VII, mainly through his mother and his father-in-law, was
   related to nearly every other European monarch and came to be known as
   the "uncle of Europe". The German Emperor Wilhelm II, Tsar Nicholas II
   of Russia, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and by the Rhine and Grand
   Duke Carl Eduard of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha were Edward's nephews; Queen
   Victoria Eugenia of Spain, Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden, Crown
   Princess Marie of Romania and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia
   were his nieces; King Haakon VII of Norway was his son-in-law and
   nephew by marriage; King George I of the Hellenes and King Frederick
   VIII of Denmark were his brothers-in-law; and King Albert I of Belgium,
   Kings Charles I of Portugal and Manuel II of Portugal, King Ferdinand
   of Bulgaria, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and Prince Ernst
   August, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, were his cousins. Edward doted on
   his grandchildren, and indulged them, to the consternation of their
   governesses. However, there was one relation whom Edward did not like -
   his volatile relationship with his nephew, Wilhelm II, exacerbated the
   tensions between Germany and Britain in the decade before World War I.

   In the last year of his life, Edward became embroiled in a
   constitutional crisis when the Conservative majority in the House of
   Lords refused to pass the " People's Budget" proposed by the Liberal
   government of Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith. The King let
   Asquith know that he would only be willing to appoint additional peers,
   if necessary, to enable the budget's passage in the House of Lords, if
   Asquith won two successive general elections.

   Edward was rarely interested in politics, although his views on some
   issues were notably liberal for the time, e.g. during his reign he said
   use of the word " nigger" was "disgraceful" despite it then being in
   common parlance, and he had to be dissuaded from breaking with
   constitutional precedent by openly voting for Gladstone’s
   Representation of the People Bill in the House of Lords. On other
   matters he was less progressive – he did not favour giving votes to
   women or Irish Home Rule (initially preferring a form of Dual
   Monarchy), however, his personal charm with people at all levels of
   society and his strong condemnation of prejudice went some way to
   assuage republican and racial tensions building during his lifetime.

Death

   The funeral procession of King Edward VII. London, 1910

           The funeral procession of King Edward VII. London, 1910

   In March 1910 the King was staying at Biarritz when he collapsed. He
   remained there to convalesce whilst Asquith remained in London trying
   to get the Finance Bill passed. The King's continued ill-health was
   unreported and he came in for some criticism for staying in France
   whilst political tensions were so high. On 27 April he returned to
   Buckingham Palace, still suffering from severe bronchitis. The Queen
   returned from visiting her brother, King George I of Greece, in Corfu a
   week later on 5 May.

   The following day, the King died at 11:45pm. On his deathbed, the
   Prince of Wales (shortly to be King George V) told him that his horse
   'Witch of the Air' had won at Kempton Park to which he replied, "I am
   very glad", his final words.

   As king, Edward VII proved a greater success than anyone had expected,
   but he was already an old man and had little time left to learn the
   role. He ensured that his second son and heir, who would become King
   George V, was better prepared to take the throne. Edward VII is buried
   at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. As Barbara Tuchman noted in The
   Guns of August, his funeral marked "the greatest assemblage of royalty
   and rank ever gathered in one place and, of its kind, the last."

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles

     * 1841: His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall
     * 1841- 1901: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales
          + in Scotland: 1841- 1901: His Royal Highness The Prince Albert,
            Duke of Rothesay
     * 1901- 1910: His Majesty The King

   and, occasionally, outside of the United Kingdom, and with regard to
   India
     * 1901- 1910: His Imperial Majesty The King-Emperor

Issue

   Name Birth Death Notes
   HRH Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale 8 January 1864
   14 January 1892
   HM King George V 3 June 1865 20 January 1936 married 1893, Princess
   Mary of Teck; had issue
   HRH The Princess Louise, Princess Royal 20 February 1867 4 January 1931
   married 1889, Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife; had issue
   HRH The Princess Victoria 6 July 1868 3 December 1935
   HRH Princess Maud 26 November 1869 20 November 1938 married 1896,
   Haakon VII, King of Norway; had issue
   HRH Prince Alexander John 6 April 1871 7 April 1871

Ancestors

   CAPTION: Edward VII of the United Kingdom ancestors in three
   generations

   Edward VII of the United Kingdom
   (09.11.1841–06.05.1910) Father:
   Albert, Prince Consort
   (26.08.1819–14.12.1861) Paternal grandfather:
   Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
   (01.02.1784–29.01.1844) Paternal great-grandfather:
   Francis Frederick of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
   (15.07.1750–10.12.1806)
   Paternal great-grandmother:
   Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf
   (19.01.1757–16.11.1831)
   Paternal grandmother:
   Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
   (21.12.1800–30.08.1831) Paternal great-grandfather:
   Emil, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
   (23.11.1772–27.05.1822)
   Paternal great-grandmother:
   Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
   (19.11.1779–04.01.1801)
   Mother:
   Victoria of the United Kingdom
   (24.05.1819–22.01.1901) Maternal grandfather:
   Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
   (20.11.1767–23.01.1820) Maternal great-grandfather:
   George III of the United Kingdom
   (04.06.1738–29.01.1820)
   Maternal great-grandmother:
   Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
   (19.05.1844–17.11.1818)
   Maternal grandmother:
   Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
   (17.08.1786–16.03.1861) Maternal great-grandfather:
   Francis Frederick of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
   (15.07.1750–10.12.1806)
   Maternal great-grandmother:
   Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf
   (19.01.1757–16.11.1831)

Legacy

   Gave his name to the Edwardian Age, 1901-1910.

   The lead ship of a new class of battleships, launched in 1903, was
   named in his honour, as were four line regiments of the British Army —
   The Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment), The Prince of
   Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians), The Prince of Wales's Own
   (West Yorkshire Regiment), and The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry —
   and three yeomanry regiments — King Edward's Horse, The Prince of
   Wales's Own Royal Regiment of Wiltshire Yeomanry Cavalry and the
   Ayrshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Earl of Carrick's Own). Only one of these
   titles is currently retained in the Army, by The Staffordshire Regiment
   (The Prince of Wales's).
   The public park in Lisbon, named after Edward VII.

             The public park in Lisbon, named after Edward VII.

   King Edward VII seems to be a popular name for schools in England. Two
   of the largest are King Edward VII Upper School, Melton Mowbray,
   Leicestershire, founded in 1908, and King Edward VII School in
   Sheffield, founded in 1905 (formerly Wesley College).

   A statue of King Edward VII and supporters constructed from local
   granite stands at the junction of Union Gardens and Union Street, in
   the city centre of Aberdeen.

   An equestrian statue of him, originally from Delhi, now stands in
   Queen's Park, Toronto.

   King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital is amongst the foremost teaching
   and medical care providing institutions in India. The hospital was
   founded in Bombay in 1926 as a memorial to the King, who had visited
   India as Prince of Wales in 1876.

   King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women in Subiaco, Western Australia,
   is the largest maternity hospital in the Perth metropolitan area. Two
   other Perth landmarks are named in his honour, Kings Park and His
   Majesty's Theatre, the latter a rare example of an Edwardian Theatre.

   The only medical school in the former British colony of Singapore was
   renamed the King Edward VII College of Medicine in 1921. Originally
   named the Straits and Federated Malay States Government Medical School,
   its new name remained until the University of Malaya was founded in the
   city-state in 1949, whereupon the College became its Faculty of
   Medicine. The students' hostel adjoining the College of Medicine
   building retained King Edward's name. The hostel has kept the name
   since moving to the new Kent Ridge campus of the now- Yong Loo Lin
   School of Medicine, and is affectionately referred to as the "K.E.7
   Hall" by students.

   The Parque Eduardo VII in Lisbon is named after him.

   King Edward Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Vancouver, is named for
   him.

   The King Edward Cigars are named after him.

   The tradition of men not buttoning the bottom button of suit-coats is
   said to be linked to King Edward VII, who left his undone due to his
   large girth.

Portrayals

   Edward's life was dramatised in the 1975 British television series
   Edward the Seventh, also known as Edward the King or The Royal
   Victorians, and starring Charles Sturridge as the adolescent Edward,
   Timothy West as the adult Edward and Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria.

   Edward was also portrayed in The Duchess of Duke Street, where he had a
   love affair with Louisa Trotter that only ended when Edward became
   King. The series was actually based on the story of Rosa Lewis, an
   Edwardian society cook who had risen from the ranks of a scullery maid
   to own the famous Cavendish Hotel. However, there is no evidence that
   Edward VII had an affair with Rosa.

   He is also portrayed in the 2003 BBC miniseries, The Lost Prince.

Trivia

     * King Edward VII made wearing tweed, Homburg hats and Norfolk
       jackets fashionable.
     * He popularised the wearing of black ties with dinner jackets,
       instead of white tie and tails.
     * He pioneered the pressing of trouser legs from side to side in
       preference to the now normal front and back creases.
     * A friend who, when drunk, addressed him with his common nick-name
       of "Tum-tum" never appeared in Royal circles again.
     * A member of his circle who appeared at Royal Ascot races in a
       Norfolk jacket was asked by Edward if he was "goin' ratting".
     * In Howard Spring's novel I met a lady, the true paternity of a
       famous actress is questioned, and a newspaper article raises the
       speculation that Edward VII was her father. The journalist later
       apologises: "The late King had so many affairs, it was natural to
       connect him to any unexplained bastard".
     * While seeing a preformance of the George Bernard Shaw play John
       Bull's Other Island he laughed so hard he broke his chair.
     * When he succeeded to the Throne he went round the palaces smashing
       busts of the hated John Brown, ghillie and confidant of his Late
       Mother, Queen Victoria

   Retrieved from "
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VII_of_the_United_Kingdom"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
