Edward VII - Legacy

Legacy

The lead ship of a new class of battleships, launched in 1903, was named in his honour. Many schools in England are named after Edward; two of the largest are in Melton Mowbray and Sheffield. King Edward VII School in Johannesburg, South Africa, is one of the oldest schools in that country, and was named in honour of Edward after his death. King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Mumbai, India, the King Edward Medical University in Pakistan, King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women in Subiaco, Western Australia, and King Edward VII Hall at the National University of Singapore carry King Edward's name. The Parque Eduardo VII in Lisbon, King Edward Avenue in Vancouver, Rue Edouard VII in Paris and King Edward Cigars are also named after him.

Statues of Edward can be found throughout the former empire, such as those in Waterloo Place, London; Centenary Square, Birmingham; Union Street, Aberdeen; Queen's Park, Toronto; North Terrace, Adelaide; Franklin Square, Hobart; Queen Victoria Gardens, Melbourne; Phillips Square, Montreal and outside the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

Before his accession to the throne, Edward was the longest-serving heir apparent in British history, until surpassed by his great-great-grandson Charles, Prince of Wales, on 22 April 2011. As the title Prince of Wales is not exactly coincident with the position of heir apparent, he remains the longest-serving holder of that title, at 59 years, 45 days; Charles has held the title for 700154000000000000054 years, 7002122000000000000122 days.

As king, Edward VII proved a greater success than anyone had expected, but he was already an old man 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 the best of fathers ... I never had a word with him in my life. I am heart-broken and overwhelmed with grief". Edward received criticism for his apparent pursuit of self-indulgent pleasure but he received great praise for his affable and kind good manners, and his diplomatic skill. As his grandson wrote, "his lighter side ... obscured the fact that he had both insight and influence." "He had a tremendous zest for pleasure but he also had a real sense of duty", wrote J. B. Priestley. Lord Esher wrote that Edward was "kind and debonair and not undignified – but too human". Edward VII is buried at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. As Barbara Tuchman noted in The Guns of August, his funeral marked "the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered in one place and, of its kind, the last".

Edward was lauded as "Peacemaker", but had been afraid that his nephew, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, would tip Europe into war. Four years after Edward's death, World War I broke out. The naval reforms and the Anglo-French alliance he had supported, as well as the relationships between his extended royal family, were put to the test.