Because his mother, Queen Victoria, had one of the longest reigns in history, Edward VII did not ascend to the British throne until 22 January 1901 when he was fifty-nine years old. Even so, his ascension did not seem especially auspicious. His own mother had feared that he was an inveterate playboy who had from an early age proven himself unsuited to kingship. Still, despite these misgivings and the relative brevity of his reign from his coronation in 1901 to his death in 1910, in many ways he rejuvenated the nation and the monarchy's place in the national life and thus prepared both for the unprecedented and prolonged horrors of the coming Great War. In fact, Edward VII's enthusiasm for the construction of the new Dreadnought battleships and his opposition to any reductions in military…

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Citation: Kich, Martin. "Reign of King Edward VII". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 August 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=623, accessed 24 November 2024.]