Edward VII

Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. He was the second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and was Prince of Wales and heir apparent for almost 60 years, largely excluded from political influence during his mother's long reign; his tours of North America in 1860 and the Indian subcontinent in 1875 were popular successes, though his reputation as a playboy prince strained his relationship with Victoria. On inheriting the throne in 1901 he proved an effective constitutional monarch, played a role in modernising the British Home Fleet and reorganising the army after the Second Boer War, and fostered good relations with other European countries, especially France, earning him the nickname Peacemaker, though his relations with his nephew Kaiser Wilhelm II were poor. The Edwardian era, named for him, coincided with the start of a new century and saw the rise of steam turbine propulsion and of socialism. He died in 1910 amid a constitutional crisis later resolved by the Parliament Act 1911, and was succeeded by his only surviving son, George V.