Edward VII

King of the United Kingdom

9 November 1841 Buckingham Palace, London

6 May 1910(1910-05-06) (68) Buckingham Palace, London

NamesAlbert Edward

King of the United Kingdom from 1901 to 1910 For other uses, see Edward VII (disambiguation). King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, Emperor of India Edward VIIPhotograph by W. & D. Downey, 1900sKing of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, Emperor of India (more...) Reign22 January 1901 – 6 May 1910 Coronation9 August 1902Imperial Durbar 1 January 1903PredecessorVictoriaSuccessorGeorge VBorn(1841-11-09 ) 9 November 1841 Buckingham Palace, LondonDied6 May 1910(1910-05-06) (aged 68) Buckingham Palace, LondonBurial20 May 1910 St George's Chapel, Windsor CastleSpouseAlexandra of Denmark ​ ​(m. 1863 )​Issue more... Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale George V Louise, Princess Royal Princess Victoria Maud, Queen of Norway Prince Alexander John of Wales HouseSaxe-Coburg and GothaFatherPrince AlbertMotherQueen VictoriaSignature Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and nicknamed "Bertie", Edward was related to royalty throughout Europe. He was Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne for almost 60 years. During the long reign of his mother, he was largely excluded from political influence and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. He travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial public duties, and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and of the Indian subcontinent in 1875 proved popular successes, but despite public approval, his reputation as a playboy prince soured his relationship with his mother. As king, Edward played a role in the modernisation of the British Home Fleet and the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. He re-instituted traditional ceremonies as public displays and broadened the range of people with whom royalty socialised. He fostered good relations between Britain and other European countries, especially France, for which he was popularly called "Peacemaker", but his relationship with his nephew, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, was poor. The Edwardian era, which covered Edward's reign and was named after him, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society, including steam turbine propulsion and the rise of socialism. He died in 1910 in the midst of a constitutional crisis that was resolved the following year by the Parliament Act 1911, which restricted the power of the unelected House of Lords.