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iphigenie72's review
5.0
Interesting biography, doesn’t talk too much about the affairs Edward VII is known for. I thought it was pretty well rounded though it doesn’t endear Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, they were pretty harsh parents. I think the childhood years is where I felt a connection with the prince, he had anger issues (throughout his life, really) and so I saw myself in him, I did not expect that from this book.
It must have been so hard to be in the shadow of Queen Victoria for so long, there was rebellion in the son, but I also think he just liked to have fun though people still had to respect him as a prince (that was like a “your my friend but” clause). I’m not sure I understand the bed hopping rules of the aristocracy at the time, seems like a lot of hypocrisy to me, but the prince was caught in a couple of scandals and I think his affairs is what he is remembered for; the book talks about this but with no salacious details and his later affairs are more long term relationships from someone who couldn’t divorce. I think that Edward VII was lucky in the wife that was chosen for him, she seemed like the right one for him and after chafing a little bit seem to adjust to whom she had married.
What surprised me is how little real power the King seemed to have, I thought that came later in the 20th Century. What influence King Edward VII had was through his family connections and those were throughout Europe at the time so it’s not like he didn’t have any power, but his prime ministers did not listen to him too often.
A fascinating man in the end, but a little eclipsed by Queen Victoria before him and Edward VIII (his grandson) after. I would maybe had liked more on his relationship with his son, the future George V, because they had a good rapport... He seemed to have been a loving father in general.
It must have been so hard to be in the shadow of Queen Victoria for so long, there was rebellion in the son, but I also think he just liked to have fun though people still had to respect him as a prince (that was like a “your my friend but” clause). I’m not sure I understand the bed hopping rules of the aristocracy at the time, seems like a lot of hypocrisy to me, but the prince was caught in a couple of scandals and I think his affairs is what he is remembered for; the book talks about this but with no salacious details and his later affairs are more long term relationships from someone who couldn’t divorce. I think that Edward VII was lucky in the wife that was chosen for him, she seemed like the right one for him and after chafing a little bit seem to adjust to whom she had married.
What surprised me is how little real power the King seemed to have, I thought that came later in the 20th Century. What influence King Edward VII had was through his family connections and those were throughout Europe at the time so it’s not like he didn’t have any power, but his prime ministers did not listen to him too often.
A fascinating man in the end, but a little eclipsed by Queen Victoria before him and Edward VIII (his grandson) after. I would maybe had liked more on his relationship with his son, the future George V, because they had a good rapport... He seemed to have been a loving father in general.
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