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122-745: The post was created in 1907 for King Edward VII 's brother, Field Marshal the Duke of Connaught . Connaught, as Inspector-General of the Forces , had antagonised the War Office by his negative reports on the Esher reforms of the Army. He was too senior to be sacked, so was shifted sideways into the Mediterranean Command. He regarded the post as "the fifth wheel on the coach" and only accepted it on

244-595: A whipping boy for the King's general irritation with the Liberal government. Gladstone was sacked in the reshuffle the following year and the King agreed, with some reluctance, to appoint him Governor-General of South Africa . Edward involved himself heavily in discussions over army reform, the need for which had become apparent with the failings of the Second Boer War . He supported the redesign of army command,

366-712: A German accent. Parliament Act 1911 The Parliament Act 1911 ( 1 & 2 Geo. 5 . c. 13) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords , the two Houses of Parliament . The Parliament Act 1949 provides that the Parliament Act 1911 and the Parliament Act 1949 are to be construed together "as one" in their effects and that

488-568: A broad deployment, and the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John Fisher , who favoured efficiency savings, scrapping obsolete vessels, and a strategic realignment of the Royal Navy relying on torpedo craft for home defence backed by the new dreadnoughts . The King lent support to Fisher, in part because he disliked Beresford, and eventually Beresford was dismissed. Beresford continued his campaign outside of

610-580: A career in the British Army , but his mother vetoed an active military career. He had been gazetted colonel on 9 November 1858 —to his disappointment, as he had wanted to earn his commission by examination. In September 1861, he was sent to Germany, supposedly to watch military manoeuvres, but actually in order to engineer a meeting between him and Princess Alexandra of Denmark . The Queen and Prince Albert had already decided that Edward and Alexandra should marry. They met at Speyer on 24 September under

732-475: A general election, for which Asquith apologised to the King's adviser Lord Knollys and rebuked Churchill at a Cabinet meeting. Edward was so dispirited at the tone of class warfare—although Asquith told him that party rancour had been just as bad over the First Home Rule Bill in 1886—that he introduced his son to Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane as "the last King of England". After

854-614: A general exception for "constitutional" or "structural" bills. The Liberals supported an exception for bills relating to the monarchy and Protestant succession, but not home rule. On 10 November, the discussions were declared to have failed. The government threatened another dissolution if the Parliament Act were not passed, and followed through on their threat when opposition in the Lords did not diminish. The December 1910 general election produced little change from January. The second dissolution of Parliament now seems to have been contrary to

976-597: A lavish scale. Their marriage met with disapproval in certain circles because most of the Queen's relations were German, and Denmark was at loggerheads with Germany over the territories of Schleswig and Holstein . When Alexandra's father, King Christian IX , inherited the throne of Denmark in November 1863, the German Confederation took the opportunity to invade and annex Schleswig-Holstein . The Queen

1098-608: A leader in the movement for Italian unification . Liberal Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone sent him papers secretly. From 1886, Foreign Secretary Lord Rosebery sent him Foreign Office despatches, and from 1892 some Cabinet papers were opened to him. In 1870 republican sentiment in Britain was given a boost when the French Emperor, Napoleon III , was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War and

1220-513: A lifelong heavy smoker, but not a heavy drinker, though he did drink champagne and, occasionally, port. Edward was a patron of the arts and sciences and helped found the Royal College of Music . He opened the college in 1883 with the words, "Class can no longer stand apart from class ... I claim for music that it produces that union of feeling which I much desire to promote." At the same time, he enjoyed gambling and country sports, and

1342-454: A majority with the help of a significant number of Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) and Labour MPs. The IPP saw the continued power of the Lords as detrimental to the prospect of securing Irish Home Rule . Following the election, the Lords relented on the budget (which had been reintroduced by the government), and it passed the Lords on 28 April, a day after the Commons vote. The Lords

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1464-534: A model constitutional monarch . At age seven, Edward embarked on a rigorous educational programme devised by Albert, and supervised by several tutors. Unlike his elder sister Victoria , he did not excel in his studies. He tried to meet the expectations of his parents, but to no avail. Although Edward was not a diligent student—his true talents were those of charm, sociability and tact— Benjamin Disraeli described him as informed, intelligent and of sweet manner. After

1586-827: A momentary loss of consciousness during a state visit to Berlin in February 1909. In March 1910, he was staying at Biarritz when he collapsed. He remained there to convalesce, while in London Asquith tried to get the Finance Bill passed. The King's continued ill health was unreported, and he attracted criticism for staying in France while political tensions were so high. On 27 April he returned to Buckingham Palace, still suffering from severe bronchitis. Alexandra returned from visiting her brother, George I of Greece , in Corfu

1708-515: A reality. Prior to the act, the Lords had had rights equal to those of the Commons over legislation but, by convention, did not utilise its right of veto over financial measures. There had been an overwhelming Conservative- Liberal Unionist majority in the Lords since the Liberal split in 1886. With the Liberal Party attempting to push through significant welfare reforms with considerable popular support, problems seemed certain to arise in

1830-514: A recurrence of the budget problems, was also widely opposed in the House of Lords, and cross-party discussion failed, particularly because of the proposed act's applicability to the passage of an Irish Home Rule Bill. Following a second general election in December , the act was passed with the assent of the monarch, George V , after the House of Lords conceded due to the government's threat that

1952-519: A shudder." Once widowed, the Queen effectively withdrew from public life. Shortly after Prince Albert's death, she arranged for Edward to embark on an extensive tour of the Middle East, visiting Egypt, Jerusalem , Damascus , Beirut and Istanbul . The British government wanted Edward to secure the friendship of Egypt's ruler, Said Pasha , to prevent French control of the Suez Canal if

2074-723: A son of Prince Albert, he also held the titles of Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Saxony . He was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 8 December 1841, Earl of Dublin on 17 January 1850, 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 and Gotha in favour of his younger brother Alfred . The Queen and Prince Albert were determined that their eldest son should have an education that would prepare him to be

2196-637: A special embassy to the Shah with a full Order of the Garter the following year. As king, Edward's main interests lay in the fields of foreign affairs and naval and military matters. Fluent in French and German, he reinvented royal diplomacy by numerous state visits across Europe. He took annual holidays in Biarritz and Marienbad . One of his most important foreign trips was an official visit to France in May 1903 as

2318-583: A week later on 5 May. On 6 May, Edward suffered several heart attacks, but refused to go to bed, saying, "No, I shall not give in; I shall go on; I shall work to the end." Between moments of faintness, his son the Prince of Wales (shortly to be King George V ) told him that his horse, Witch of the Air, had won at Kempton Park that afternoon. The King replied, "Yes, I have heard of it. I am very glad": his final words . At 11:30 p.m. he lost consciousness for

2440-504: A written constitution, Parliament chose instead to legislate through the usual channels in response to the crisis. This was a pragmatic response, which avoided the further problems of codifying unwritten rules and reconstructing the entire government. It is commonly considered a statute of "constitutional importance", which gives it informal priority in Parliament and in the courts with regard to whether later legislation can change it and

2562-496: Is not always clear. Edward always strove to be discreet, but this did not prevent society gossip or press speculation. Keppel's great-granddaughter Camilla Parker Bowles became the mistress and subsequent wife of King Charles III , Edward's great-great-grandson. It was rumoured that Camilla's grandmother Sonia Keppel was fathered by Edward, but she was "almost certainly" the daughter of George Keppel , whom she resembled. Edward never acknowledged any illegitimate children. Alexandra

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2684-557: Is the same bill that has been rejected twice. The 1911 act made clear that the life of a parliament could not be extended without the consent of the Lords. Parliament had been limited to a maximum of seven years under the Septennial Act 1716 , but the Parliament Act 1911 amended the Septennial Act to limit Parliament to five years, reckoned from the first meeting of Parliament after the election. In practice, no election

2806-576: The 2010 general election was held five years and one day after the 2005 general election ; the 1992 general election was held on 9 April 1992 and the next general election was not held until 1 May 1997. The reduction in the maximum length of a parliament was seen as a counterbalance to the new powers granted to the Commons. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 , in contrast, called for general elections every five years (unless called sooner, as in 2017 ), and provided for an earlier dissolution of Parliament only by certain specified legal procedures. The act

2928-559: The Conservative majority in the House of Lords refused to pass the " People's Budget " proposed by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Asquith. The crisis eventually led—after Edward's death—to the removal of the Lords' right to veto legislation. The King was displeased at Liberal attacks on the peers, which included a polemical speech by David Lloyd George at Limehouse . Cabinet minister Winston Churchill publicly demanded

3050-461: The Conservative majority in the Lords could be overcome by creating many new Liberal peers. Until the Parliament Act 1911, there was no way to resolve disagreements between the two houses of Parliament except through the creation of additional peers by the monarch. Queen Anne had created twelve Tory peers to vote through the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The Reform Act 1832 had been passed when

3172-601: The Derby Stakes and the St Leger Stakes . In 1900, Persimmon's brother, Diamond Jubilee , won five races (Derby, St Leger, 2000 Guineas Stakes , Newmarket Stakes and Eclipse Stakes ) and another of Edward's horses, Ambush II, won the Grand National . In 1891 Edward was embroiled in the royal baccarat scandal , when it was revealed he had played an illegal card game for money the previous year. He

3294-674: The First World War broke out. The naval reforms he had supported and his part in securing the Triple Entente between Britain, France, and Russia, as well as his relationships with his extended family, fed the paranoia of the German Emperor, who blamed Edward for the war. Publication of the official biography of Edward was delayed until 1927 by its author, Sidney Lee , who feared German propagandists would select material to portray Edward as an anti-German warmonger. Lee

3416-826: The First World War the following month, was appointed to command Central Force at home. The position of GOC-in-C Mediterranean was left vacant. On the formation of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in March 1915, Hamilton was appointed commander-in-chief. King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions , and Emperor of India , from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , Edward, nicknamed "Bertie",

3538-545: The French Third Republic was declared. However, in the winter of 1871, a brush with death led to an improvement in both Edward's popularity with the public and his relationship with his mother. While staying at Londesborough Lodge, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire , Edward contracted typhoid fever , the disease that was believed to have killed his father. There was great national concern, and one of his fellow guests ( Lord Chesterfield ) died. Edward's recovery

3660-575: The Indian subcontinent in 1875 proved popular successes, but despite public approval, his reputation as a playboy prince soured his relationship with his mother. Edward inherited the throne upon his mother's death in 1901. He 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

3782-710: The Ottoman Empire collapsed. It was the first royal tour on which an official photographer, Francis Bedford , was in attendance. As soon as Edward returned to Britain, preparations were made for his engagement, which was sealed at Laeken in Belgium on 9 September 1862. Edward married Alexandra at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle , on 10 March 1863. He was 21; she was 18. The couple established Marlborough House as their London residence and Sandringham House in Norfolk as their country retreat. They entertained on

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3904-504: The Septennial Act 1716 ) to five. Following the House of Lords' rejection of the 1909 " People's Budget ", the House of Commons sought to establish its formal dominance over the House of Lords, which had broken convention in opposing the bill. The budget was eventually passed by the Lords, after the Commons' democratic mandate was confirmed by holding a general election in January 1910 . The following Parliament Act, which looked to prevent

4026-591: The rise of socialism . Edward 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 . Edward was succeeded by his only surviving son, George V . Edward was born on 9 November 1841 in Buckingham Palace . He was the eldest son and second child of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . He

4148-416: The Commons and the Lords as a means by which to enforce Commons superiority in controversial areas; the number of members of the Lords present would be limited so that a Liberal majority of fifty or more in the House of Commons could overrule the Lords. However, the issue of home rule for Ireland was the main contention, with Unionists looking to exempt such a law from the Parliament Act procedure by means of

4270-434: The Commons dropped it. This led to a resolution in the House of Commons on 26 June 1907, put forward by Liberal Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman , declaring that the Lords' power ought to be curtailed. In 1909, hoping to force an election , the Lords rejected the financial bill based on the government budget (the " People's Budget ") put forward by David Lloyd George , by 350 votes to 75. This action, according to

4392-455: The Commons, was "a breach of the constitution and a usurpation of the rights of the Commons". The Lords suggested that the Commons demonstrate at the polls the veracity of its claim that the bill represented the will of the people. The Liberal government sought to do so through the January 1910 general election . Liberal representation in the House of Commons fell steeply, but the party retained

4514-401: The House of Lords dropped their opposition to it: King William IV had threatened to create eighty new peers by request of the prime minister, Earl Grey . This created an informal convention that the Lords would give way when the public was behind the House of Commons. For example, Irish disestablishment , which had been a major point of contention between the two main parties since the 1830s,

4636-546: The Household , and had benefited from advice from Edward's financier friends, some of whom were Jewish, such as Ernest Cassel , Maurice de Hirsch and the Rothschild family . At a time of widespread antisemitism , Edward attracted criticism for openly socialising with Jews. Edward's coronation had originally been scheduled for 26 June 1902. However, two days before, he was diagnosed with appendicitis . The disease

4758-447: The King did not favour Irish Home Rule, but Knollys refused on the grounds that it was not appropriate for the monarch's views to be known in public. The election resulted in a hung parliament , with the Liberal government dependent on the support of the third-largest party, the nationalist Irish Parliamentary Party . The King suggested a compromise whereby only 50 peers from each side would be allowed to vote, which would also obviate

4880-441: The King informed Asquith that he would not be willing to contemplate creating peers until after a second general election. Balfour refused to say whether or not he would be willing to form a Conservative government, but advised the King not to promise to create peers until he had seen the terms of any proposed constitutional change. During the campaign, the leading Conservative Walter Long asked Knollys for permission to state that

5002-486: The King's horse Minoru won the Derby on 26 July 1909, he returned to the racetrack the following day and laughed when a man shouted: "Now, King. You've won the Derby. Go back home and dissolve this bloody Parliament!" In vain, the King urged Conservative leaders Arthur Balfour and Lord Lansdowne to pass the budget, which Lord Esher had advised him was not unusual, as Queen Victoria had helped to broker agreements between

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5124-467: The King's insistence, but resigned two years later, effectively ending his military career. The post was next offered to Lord Kitchener , recently returned as Commander-in-Chief, India . Kitchener, who had ambitions to be appointed Viceroy , also had to be persuaded by the King to accept, but first went on a seven-month world tour. On his return in April 1910 the King released him from his promise to take up

5246-571: The Liberals a majority in the Lords) or give the prime minister the right to do so was considered "outrageous" by Knollys, who thought the King should abdicate rather than agree to it. Talk of removing the Lords' veto played a major role in the January 1910 election . Early in the election campaign, Lloyd George talked of "guarantees" and Asquith of "safeguards" that would be necessary before forming another Liberal government, but such talk ceased after

5368-404: The Liberals did not have sufficient mandate to demand the creation of peers. The King thought the whole proposal "simply disgusting" and that the government was "in the hands of Redmond & Co". Lord Crewe announced publicly that the government's wish to create peers should be treated as formal " ministerial advice " (which, by convention, the monarch must accept), although Lord Esher argued that

5490-448: The Lords were rejected by the Commons, and opposition to the bill showed little sign of reducing. This led H. H. Asquith to declare the King's intention to overcome the majority in the House of Lords by creating sufficient new peers. The bill was finally passed in the Lords on 11 August 1911, by 131 votes to 114, a majority of 17. This reflected a large number of abstentions. At the request of prominent Cabinet member Sir Edward Grey ,

5612-413: The Lords' power of veto to one of delay, but Asquith inserted a phrase "in the opinion of my advisers" so the King could be seen to be distancing himself from the planned legislation. The Commons passed resolutions on 14 April that would form the basis for the Parliament Act 1911 : to remove the power of the Lords to veto money bills, to replace their veto of other bills with a power to delay, and to reduce

5734-481: The Parliament Act 1949 without direct permission from the House of Lords. Since it was passed under the 1911 act, the 1949 act had never received the required consent of the Lords. However, the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords found that the 1911 act was not primarily about empowering the Commons, but rather had the purpose of restricting the ability of the Lords to reject legislation, i.e. altering

5856-610: The People Bill (1884) in the House of Lords . On other matters, he was more conservative; for example, he did not favour giving votes to women , although he did suggest that the social reformer Octavia Hill serve on the Commission for Working Class Housing . He was also opposed to Irish Home Rule , instead preferring a form of dual monarchy . As Prince of Wales, Edward had come to enjoy warm and mutually respectful relations with Gladstone, whom his mother detested. But

5978-657: The Russians went on giving ground, the yellow race would, in twenty years time, be in Moscow and Posen ". Wilhelm went on to attack his British guests for supporting Japan against Russia, suggesting that the British were committing "race treason". In response, Edward stated that he "could not see it. The Japanese were an intelligent, brave and chivalrous nation, quite as civilised as the Europeans, from whom they only differed by

6100-684: The auspices of Edward's elder sister, Victoria, who had married the Crown Prince of Prussia in 1858. Princess Victoria, acting upon instructions from her mother, had met Alexandra at Strelitz in June; Alexandra made a very favourable impression. She and Edward were friendly from the start, and marriage plans advanced. Edward gained a reputation as a playboy. Determined to get some army experience, he attended manoeuvres in Ireland, during which he spent three nights with an actress, Nellie Clifden , who

6222-437: The best of fathers ... I never had a [cross] word with him in my life. I am heart-broken and overwhelmed with grief". Edward has been recognised as the first truly constitutional British sovereign and the last sovereign to wield effective political power. Though lauded as "Peacemaker", he had been afraid that German Emperor Wilhelm II, who was one of his nephews, would tip Europe into war. Four years after Edward's death,

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6344-439: The bier. Despite the time that had elapsed since his death, Alexandra noted his body remained "wonderfully preserved". On the morning of 17 May, the coffin was placed on a gun carriage and drawn by black horses to Westminster Hall , with the new king, his family and Edward's favourite dog, Caesar , walking behind. Following a brief service, the royal family left, and the hall was opened to the public; over 400,000 people filed past

6466-400: The bill as it lacked an electoral mandate. The King was annoyed that his efforts to urge passage of the budget had become public knowledge and had forbidden Knollys, who was an active Liberal peer, from voting for the budget, although Knollys had suggested that this would be a suitable gesture to indicate royal desire to see the budget pass. In December 1909, a proposal to create peers (to give

6588-401: The bottom button of waistcoats is said to be linked to Edward, who supposedly left his undone because of his large girth. His waist measured 48 inches (122 cm) shortly before his coronation. He introduced the practice of eating roast beef and potatoes with horseradish sauce and Yorkshire pudding on Sundays, a meal that remains a staple British favourite for Sunday lunch . He was

6710-530: The budget unless they had their way (an attempt by Lloyd George to win their support by amending whiskey duties was abandoned as the Cabinet felt this would recast the budget too much). Asquith now revealed that there were no "guarantees" for the creation of peers. The Cabinet considered resigning and leaving it up to Balfour to try to form a Conservative government. The King's speech from the throne on 21 February made reference to introducing measures restricting

6832-486: The cause was not cancer. The next day, Edward was sitting up in bed, smoking a cigar. Two weeks later, it was announced that he was out of danger. Treves was honoured with a baronetcy (which the King had arranged before the operation) and appendix surgery entered the medical mainstream. Edward was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 9 August 1902 by the Archbishop of Canterbury , Frederick Temple . Edward refurbished

6954-456: The coffin over the next two days. As Barbara Tuchman noted in The Guns of August , his funeral, held on 20 May 1910, marked "the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered in one place and, of its kind, the last." A royal train conveyed the King's coffin from London to Windsor Castle, where Edward was buried at St George's Chapel . Before his accession to the throne, Edward was

7076-504: The completion of his secondary-level studies, his tutor Frederick Waymouth Gibbs was replaced by Robert Bruce as his personal governor. After an educational trip to Rome, undertaken in the first few months of 1859, Edward spent the summer of that year studying at the University of Edinburgh under, among others, the chemist Lyon Playfair . In October, he matriculated as an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford . Now released from

7198-590: The country until 1898. He was sent summaries of important government documents, but she refused to give him access to the originals. Edward annoyed his mother, who favoured the Germans, by siding with Denmark on the Schleswig-Holstein Question in 1864 and in the same year annoyed her again by making a special effort to meet Giuseppe Garibaldi , the Italian general and revolutionary, who was

7320-572: The creation of the Territorial Force , and the decision to provide an Expeditionary Force supporting France in the event of war with Germany. Reform of the Royal Navy was also suggested, partly due to the ever-increasing Naval Estimates, and because of the emergence of the Imperial German Navy as a new strategic threat. Ultimately a dispute arose between Admiral Lord Charles Beresford , who favoured increased spending and

7442-607: The duration of Parliament." Section 8 defined the short title as the "Parliament Act 1911". The bill was also an attempt to place the relationship between the House of Commons and House of Lords on a new footing. As well as the direct issue of money Bills, it set new conventions about how the power the Lords continued to hold would be used. It did not change the composition of the Lords, however. The Lords would only be able to delay money bills for one month, effectively ending their ability to do so. These were defined as any public bill which contained only provisions dealing with

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7564-451: The educational strictures imposed by his parents, he enjoyed studying for the first time and performed satisfactorily in examinations. In 1861, he transferred to Trinity College, Cambridge , where he was tutored in history by Charles Kingsley , Regius Professor of Modern History . Kingsley's efforts brought forth the best academic performances of Edward's life, and Edward actually looked forward to his lectures. In 1860, Edward undertook

7686-690: The end of centuries of Anglo-French rivalry and Britain's splendid isolation from Continental affairs, and attempted to counterbalance the growing dominance of the German Empire and its ally, Austria-Hungary . Edward was related to nearly every other European monarch, and came to be known as the "uncle of Europe". German Emperor Wilhelm II and Emperor Nicholas II of Russia were his nephews; Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain , Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden , Crown Princess Marie of Romania , Crown Princess Sophia of Greece , and Empress Alexandra of Russia were his nieces; King Haakon VII of Norway

7808-450: The end of the tour, Queen Victoria was given the title Empress of India by Parliament, in part as a result of the tour's success. Edward was regarded worldwide as an arbiter of men's fashions. He made wearing tweed , Homburg hats and Norfolk jackets fashionable, and 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

7930-880: The first reigning British monarch to visit the Russian Empire , despite refusing to visit in 1906, when Anglo-Russian relations were strained in the aftermath of the Russo-Japanese War , the Dogger Bank incident , and the Tsar's dissolution of the Duma . The previous month, he visited the Scandinavian countries, becoming the first British monarch to visit Sweden. While Prince of Wales, Edward had to be dissuaded from breaking with constitutional precedent by openly voting for W. E. Gladstone 's Representation of

8052-438: The first tour of North America by a Prince of Wales. His genial good humour and confident bonhomie made the tour a great success. He inaugurated the Victoria Bridge, Montreal , across the St Lawrence River , and laid the cornerstone of Parliament Hill, Ottawa . He watched Charles Blondin traverse Niagara Falls by highwire, and stayed for three days with President James Buchanan at the White House . Buchanan accompanied

8174-499: The fourth or fifth years of a parliament could be delayed until after the next election, which could prove an effective measure to prevent it being passed. Specifically, two years had to elapse between the second reading in the House of Commons in the first session and the passing of the bill in the House of Commons in the third session. The Speaker also has to certify that the conditions of the bill have been complied with. There are significant restrictions on amendments to ensure that it

8296-446: The guest of President Émile Loubet . Following a visit to Pope Leo XIII in Rome, this trip helped create the atmosphere for the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale , an agreement delineating British and French colonies in North Africa, and ruling out any future war between the two countries. The Entente was negotiated in 1904 between the French foreign minister, Théophile Delcassé , and the British foreign secretary, Lord Lansdowne. It marked

8418-400: The imposition, repeal, remission, alteration, or regulation of taxation ; the imposition for the payment of debt or other financial purposes of charges on the Consolidated Fund , or on money provided by Parliament, or the variation or repeal of any such charges; supply; the appropriation, receipt, custody, issue or audit of accounts of public money; and the raising or guarantee of any loan or

8540-400: The large Conservative majority in the Lords, but Lord Crewe , Liberal leader in the Lords, advised that this would reduce the Lords' independence, as only peers who were loyal party supporters would be picked. Pressure to remove the Lords' veto now came from the Irish nationalist MPs, who wanted to remove the Lords' ability to block the introduction of Home Rule. They threatened to vote against

8662-422: The last time and was put to bed. He died 15 minutes later. Alexandra refused to allow Edward's body to be moved for eight days afterwards, though she allowed small groups of visitors to enter his room. On 11 May, the late king was dressed in his uniform and placed in a massive oak coffin, which was moved on 14 May to the throne room, where it was sealed and lay in state, with a guardsman standing at each corner of

8784-485: The longest-serving heir apparent in British history. He was surpassed by his great-great-grandson Charles III on 20 April 2011. The title Prince of Wales is not automatically held by the heir apparent; it is bestowed by the reigning monarch at a time of his or her choosing. Edward was the longest-serving holder of that title until surpassed by Charles on 9 September 2017. Edward was Prince of Wales between 8 December 1841 and 22 January 1901 (59 years, 45 days); Charles held

8906-416: The monarch was entitled in extremis to dismiss the government rather than take their "advice". Esher's view has been called "obsolete and unhelpful". Edward habitually smoked twenty cigarettes and twelve cigars a day. In 1907, a rodent ulcer , a type of cancer affecting the skin next to his nose, was cured with radium . Towards the end of his life he increasingly suffered from bronchitis . He suffered

9028-498: The name of Albert" and diminish the status of his father with whom the "name should stand alone". The numeral VII was occasionally omitted in Scotland, even by the national church , in deference to protests that the previous Edwards were English kings who had "been excluded from Scotland by battle". J. B. Priestley recalled, "I was only a child when he succeeded Victoria in 1901, but I can testify to his extraordinary popularity. He

9150-579: The navy and Fisher ultimately announced his resignation in late 1909, although the bulk of his policies were retained. The King was intimately involved in the appointment of Fisher's successor as the Fisher-Beresford feud had split the service, and the only truly qualified figure known to be outside of both camps was Sir Arthur Wilson , who had retired in 1907. Wilson was reluctant to return to active duty, but Edward persuaded him to do so, and Wilson became First Sea Lord on 25 January 1910. Edward

9272-476: The next ten years, Edward's affability and popularity, as well as his use of family connections, assisted Britain in building European alliances. When his mother died on 22 January 1901, Edward became King of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India and, in an innovation, King of the British Dominions . He chose to reign under the name of Edward VII, instead of Albert Edward—the name his mother had intended for him to use —declaring that he did not wish to "undervalue

9394-521: The now normal front and back creases, and was thought to have introduced the stand-up turn-down shirt collar, created for him by Charvet . A stickler for proper dress, he is said to have admonished Lord Salisbury for wearing the trousers of an Elder Brother of Trinity House with a privy councillor 's coat. Deep in an international crisis, Salisbury informed Edward that it had been a dark morning, and that "my mind must have been occupied by some subject of less importance." The tradition of men not buttoning

9516-526: The order was meant to be in his personal gift and the Foreign Secretary, Lord Lansdowne , had promised it without his consent. He also objected to inducting a Muslim into a Christian order of chivalry . His refusal threatened to damage British attempts to gain influence in Persia, but Edward resented his ministers' attempts to reduce his traditional powers. Eventually, he relented and Britain sent

9638-535: The outbreak of the First World War, and also that of the 1935 parliament due to the Second World War . These made special exemptions to the requirement to hold a general election every five years. Legislation passed without the consent of the Lords, under the provisions of the Parliament Act, is still considered primary legislation , i.e. a fully valid act of Parliament. The importance of this

9760-417: The pigmentation of their skin". Although Edward lived a life of luxury often far removed from that of the majority of his subjects, they expected it, and his personal charm with all levels of society and his strong condemnation of prejudice went some way to assuage republican and racial tensions building during his lifetime. In the last year of his life, Edward became embroiled in a constitutional crisis when

9882-678: The post. Instead the Adjutant-General Sir Ian Hamilton was appointed, with the additional role of Inspector-General of Overseas Forces to make the job more attractive. Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief and High Commissioner in the Mediterranean General Officer Commanding-in-Chief and High Commissioner in the Mediterranean In July 1914 Hamilton was back in Britain and, on the outbreak of

10004-426: The preamble included the words: Whereas it is intended to substitute for the House of Lords as it at present exists a Second Chamber constituted on a popular instead of hereditary basis, but such substitution cannot be immediately brought into operation The long title of the act was "An Act to make provision with respect to the powers of the House of Lords in relation to those of the House of Commons, and to limit

10126-643: The prince to Mount Vernon , to pay his respects at the tomb of George Washington . Vast crowds greeted Edward everywhere. He met Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Prayers for the royal family were said in Trinity Church, New York , for the first time since 1776. The four-month tour throughout Canada and the United States considerably boosted Edward's confidence and self-esteem, and had many diplomatic benefits for Great Britain. Edward had hoped to pursue

10248-481: The process by which Parliament as a whole enacts legislation. The 1949 act had therefore been lawfully enacted. This ruling also appears to mean that efforts to abolish the House of Lords (a major constitutional change) by using the act could be successful, although the issue was not directly addressed in the ruling. The Parliament Act 1911 can be seen in the context of the British constitution : rather than creating

10370-491: 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, 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

10492-540: The relationship between the houses. Between 1906 and 1909, several important measures were considerably watered down or rejected outright: for example, Augustine Birrell introduced the Education Bill 1906 , which was intended to address nonconformist grievances arising from the Education Act 1902 , but it was amended by the Lords to such an extent that it effectively became a different bill , whereupon

10614-492: The repayment thereof. But it did not cover any sort of local taxes or similar measures. Some finance bills have not fallen within this criterion; Consolidated Fund and Appropriation bills have. The Speaker of the House of Commons would have to certify that a bill was a money bill, endorsing it with a Speaker's certificate . The Local Government Finance Act 1988 , which introduced the Community Charge ("Poll Tax"),

10736-411: The resources the monarch could call upon. This did not, however, prevent it from rejecting such bills outright. In 1860, with the repeal of the paper duties , all money bills were consolidated into a single budget. This denied the Lords the ability to reject individual components, and the prospect of voting down the entire budget was seemingly unpalatable. It was only in 1909 that this possibility became

10858-526: The royal palaces, reintroduced the traditional ceremonies, such as the State Opening of Parliament , that his mother had foregone, and founded new honours , such as the Order of Merit , to recognise contributions to the arts and sciences. In 1902, the Shah of Persia, Mozzafar-al-Din , visited England expecting to receive the Order of the Garter . The King refused to bestow the honour on the Shah because

10980-553: The same, regardless of their social station or colour. In letters home, he complained of the treatment of the native Indians by the British officials: "Because a man has a black face and a different religion from our own, there is no reason why he should be treated as a brute." Consequently, Lord Salisbury , the Secretary of State for India , issued new guidance and at least one resident was removed from office. He returned to England on 11 May 1876, after stopping off at Portugal. At

11102-566: The statesman's son, Home Secretary Herbert Gladstone , angered the King by planning to permit Roman Catholic priests in vestments to carry the Host through the streets of London, and by appointing two ladies, Lady Frances Balfour and May Tennant (wife of H. J. Tennant ), to serve on a Royal Commission on reforming divorce law—Edward thought divorce could not be discussed with "delicacy or even decency" before ladies. Edward's biographer Philip Magnus-Allcroft suggests that Gladstone may have become

11224-489: The tensions between Germany and Britain. In April 1908, during Edward's annual stay at Biarritz, he accepted the resignation of British Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman . In a break with precedent, Edward asked Campbell-Bannerman's successor, H. H. Asquith , to travel to Biarritz to kiss hands . Asquith complied, but the press criticised the action of the King in appointing a prime minister on foreign soil instead of returning to Britain. In June 1908, Edward became

11346-560: The term of Parliament from seven years to five (the King would have preferred four ). But in that debate Asquith hinted—to ensure the support of the nationalist MPs—that he would ask the King to break the deadlock "in that Parliament" (i.e. contrary to Edward's earlier stipulation that there be a second election). The budget was passed by both Commons and Lords in April. By April, the Palace was having secret talks with Balfour and Randall Davidson , Archbishop of Canterbury, who both advised that

11468-556: The title between 26 July 1958 and 8 September 2022 (64 years, 44 days). As king, Edward VII proved a greater success than anyone had expected, but he was already past the average life expectancy and had little time left to fulfil the role. In his short reign, he ensured that his second son and heir, George V , was better prepared to take the throne. Contemporaries described their relationship as more like affectionate brothers than father and son, and on Edward's death George wrote in his diary that he had lost his "best friend and

11590-523: The two Houses over Irish disestablishment in 1869 and the Third Reform Act in 1884. On Asquith's advice, however, he did not offer them an election (at which, to judge from recent by-elections, they were likely to gain seats) as a reward for doing so. The Finance Bill passed the Commons on 5 November 1909, but was rejected by the Lords on 30 November; they instead passed a resolution of Lord Lansdowne's stating that they were entitled to oppose

11712-479: The two acts may be cited together as the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 . The act effectively removed the right of the House of Lords to veto money bills completely, and replaced its right of veto over other public bills with the ability to delay them for a maximum of two years (the Parliament Act 1949 reduced this to one). It also reduced the maximum term of a parliament from seven years (as set by

11834-438: The two men was irreversibly damaged, and their bitterness would last for the remainder of their lives. Usually, Edward's outbursts of temper were short-lived, and "after he had let himself go ... [he would] smooth matters by being especially nice". In late 1891, Edward's eldest son, Albert Victor , was engaged to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck . Just a few weeks later, in early 1892, Albert Victor died of pneumonia. Edward

11956-433: The wishes of Edward VII . Edward had died in May 1910 while the crisis was still in progress. His successor, George V , was asked if he would be prepared to create sufficient peers, which he would only do if the matter arose. This would have meant creating over 400 new Liberal peers. The King, however, demanded that the bill would have to be rejected at least once by the Lords before his intervention. Two amendments made by

12078-544: Was absolutely forced by that limitation; until the Septennial Act was repealed by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 , all parliaments were dissolved by the monarch under the royal prerogative on request of the Prime Minister. The five-year maximum duration in the amended Septennial Act referred to the lifetime of the parliament, and not to the interval between general elections. For example,

12200-545: Was also hampered by the extensive destruction of Edward's personal papers; Edward had left orders that all his letters should be burned on his death. Subsequent biographers have been able to construct a more rounded picture of Edward by using material and sources that were unavailable to Lee. Historian R. C. K. Ensor , writing in 1936, praised the King's political personality: ...he had in many respects great natural ability. He knew how to be both dignified and charming; he had an excellent memory; and his tact in handling people

12322-417: Was an enthusiastic hunter. He ordered all the clocks at Sandringham to run half an hour ahead to provide more daylight time for shooting. This tradition of so-called Sandringham time continued until 1936, when it was abolished by Edward VIII . He also laid out a golf course at Windsor. By the 1870s Edward had taken a keen interest in horseracing and steeplechasing. In 1896, his horse Persimmon won both

12444-485: Was aware of his affairs, and seems to have accepted them. In 1869, Sir Charles Mordaunt , a British Member of Parliament , threatened to name Edward as co-respondent in his divorce suit. Ultimately, he did not do so but Edward was called as a witness in the case in early 1870. It was shown that Edward had visited the Mordaunts' house while Sir Charles was away sitting in the House of Commons . Although nothing further

12566-471: Was both his nephew and his son-in-law; kings Frederick VIII of Denmark and George I of Greece were his brothers-in-law; kings Albert I of Belgium , Ferdinand I of Bulgaria , and Carlos I and Manuel II of Portugal were his second 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: Wilhelm II. His difficult relationship with his nephew exacerbated

12688-411: Was christened Albert Edward at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle , on 25 January 1842. He was named Albert after his father and Edward after his maternal grandfather, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn . He was known as Bertie to the royal family throughout his life. As the eldest son of the British sovereign, Edward was automatically Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay at birth. As

12810-464: Was forced to appear as a witness in court for a second time when one of the participants unsuccessfully sued his fellow players for slander after being accused of cheating. In the same year Edward was involved in a personal conflict, when Lord Charles Beresford threatened to reveal details of Edward's private life to the press, as a protest against Edward interfering with Beresford's affair with Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick . The friendship between

12932-401: Was generally not treated operatively. It carried a high mortality rate, but developments in anaesthesia and antisepsis in the preceding 50 years made life-saving surgery possible. Sir Frederick Treves , with the support of Lord Lister , performed a then-radical operation of draining a pint of pus from the infected abscess through an incision in the king's abdomen; this outcome showed that

13054-478: Was greeted with almost universal relief. Public celebrations included the composition of Arthur Sullivan 's Festival Te Deum . Edward cultivated politicians from all parties, including republicans, as his friends, and thereby largely dissipated any residual feelings against him. On 26 September 1875, Edward set off for India on an extensive eight-month tour; on the way, he visited Malta, Brindisi and Greece. His advisors remarked on his habit of treating all people

13176-524: Was grief-stricken. "To lose our eldest son", he wrote, "is one of those calamities one can never really get over". Edward told the Queen, "[I would] have given my life for him, as I put no value on mine". Albert Victor was the second of Edward's children to die. In 1871, his youngest son, Alexander John, had died just 24 hours after being born. Edward had insisted on placing Alexander John in a coffin personally with "the tears rolling down his cheeks". On his way to Denmark through Belgium on 4 April 1900, Edward

13298-483: Was hidden in the camp by his fellow officers. Albert, though ill, was appalled and visited Edward at Cambridge to issue a reprimand. Albert died in December 1861, just two weeks after the visit. The Queen was inconsolable, wore mourning clothes for the rest of her life and blamed Edward for his father's death. At first, she regarded her son with distaste as frivolous, indiscreet and irresponsible. She wrote to her eldest daughter, "I never can, or shall, look at him without

13420-476: Was highlighted in Jackson v Attorney General , in which the lawfulness of the Parliament Act 1949 was questioned. The challenge asserted that the Parliament Act 1911 had delegated power from Parliament as a whole to the Commons, and that the Parliament Act 1949 was therefore delegated rather than primary legislation. If this were the case, then the House of Commons could not further increase its own powers through

13542-485: Was in fact the most popular king England had known since the earlier 1660s." Edward 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; his private secretary, Sir Francis Knollys , claimed that he was the first heir to succeed to the throne in credit. Edward's finances had been ably managed by Sir Dighton Probyn , Comptroller of

13664-701: Was in two minds as to whether it was a suitable match, given the political climate. After the marriage, she expressed anxiety about their socialite lifestyle and attempted to dictate to them on various matters, including the names of their children. Edward had mistresses throughout his married life. He socialised with actress Lillie Langtry ; Lady Randolph Churchill ; Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick ; actress Sarah Bernhardt ; noblewoman Lady Susan Vane-Tempest ; singer Hortense Schneider ; prostitute Giulia Beneni (known as "La Barucci"); wealthy humanitarian Agnes Keyser ; and Alice Keppel . At least fifty-five liaisons are conjectured. How far these relationships went

13786-464: Was not certified as a money bill and was therefore considered by the Lords. Whilst finance bills are not considered money bills, convention dictates that those parts of a finance bill dealing with taxation or expenditure (which, if in an act alone, would constitute a money bill) are not questioned. Other public bills could no longer be vetoed ; instead, they could be delayed for up to two years. This two-year period meant that legislation introduced in

13908-469: Was now faced with the prospect of a Parliament Act, which had considerable support from the Irish Nationalists. A series of meetings between the Liberal government and Unionist opposition members was agreed. Twenty-one such meetings were held between 16 June and 10 November. The discussions considered a wide range of proposals, with initial agreement on finance bills and on a joint sitting of

14030-417: Was passed by the Lords in 1869 after Queen Victoria intervened and W. E. Gladstone won the 1868 election on the issue. However, in practice, this gave the Lords a right to demand that such public support be present and to decide the timing of a general election. It was the prevailing wisdom that the House of Lords could not amend money bills , since only the House of Commons had the right to decide upon

14152-543: Was proven and Edward denied he had committed adultery , the suggestion of impropriety was damaging. During his mother's widowhood, Edward pioneered the idea of royal public appearances as they are understood today—for example, opening the Thames Embankment in 1871, the Mersey Railway Tunnel in 1886, and Tower Bridge in 1894 —but his mother did not allow him an active role in the running of

14274-472: Was quite exceptional. He had a store of varied, though unsystematized, knowledge gathered at first-hand through talking to all sorts of eminent men. His tastes were not particularly elevated, but they were thoroughly English; and he showed much (though not unfailing) comprehension for the common instincts of the people over whom he reigned. This was not the less remarkable because, though a good linguist in French and German, he never learned to speak English without

14396-608: Was rarely interested in politics, although his views on some issues were notably progressive for the time. During his reign, he said use of the word nigger was "disgraceful", despite it then being in common parlance. In 1904, Wilhelm II and Edward met during an Anglo-German summit in Kiel . Wilhelm, with the Russo-Japanese War in mind, started to go on about the " Yellow Peril ", which he called "the greatest peril menacing ... Christendom and European civilisation . If

14518-525: Was related to royalty throughout Europe. He was Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne for almost 60 years. During his mother's reign, he was largely excluded from political influence and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. He married Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863, and the couple had six children. As Prince of Wales, Edward travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial public duties and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and of

14640-585: Was repealed in 2022, restoring the previous system of dissolution under the royal prerogative. The Lords continued to suggest amendments to money bills over which it had no right of veto; and in several instances these were accepted by the Commons. These included the China Indemnity Bill 1925 and the Inshore Fishing Industry Bill 1947. The use of the Lords' now temporary veto remains a powerful check on legislation. It

14762-582: Was the victim of an attempted assassination when 15-year-old Jean-Baptiste Sipido shot at him in protest over the Second Boer War . The culprit was acquitted by a Belgian court because he was underage. The perceived laxity of the Belgian authorities, combined with British disgust at Belgian atrocities in the Congo , worsened the already poor relations between the United Kingdom and the Continent. However, in

14884-528: Was used in relation to the Government of Ireland Act 1914 , which had been under the threat of a Lords veto, now removed. Ulster Protestants had been firmly against the passing of the bill. However, the Government of Ireland Act 1914 never came into force because of the outbreak of the First World War . Amendments to the Parliament Act 1911 were made to prolong the life of the 1910 parliament following

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