11.09
On this date in 1841, Edward VII King of Great Britain was born. Edward was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and before his accession to the throne, served as heir apparent and held the title of Prince of Wales for longer than any of his predecessors. During the long reign of his mother, he was largely excluded from political power and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. The Edwardian era, which covered his reign and was named after him, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society. He married Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863, and together they would have three sons (including the future George V) and three daughters. Edward ascended to the throne upon the death of his mother on January 22, 1901 and was crowned on August 9, 1902 at Westminster Abbey. He died on May 6, 1910, after a series of heart attacks and was interred within St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
