Table Of Content(parrying out a ‘royal paper chase’ through
castles, country houses and villas up and
down the continent, Gordon Brook-Shepherd
has uncovered many previously unpublished
letters, documents, diaries and photographs
which show us King Edward as he was to
his family, his diplomatic allies and rivals,
and to his most intimate friends - among
them Count Mensdorff, the indiscreet Aus¬
trian ambassador; Sir Ernest Cassel, the
German-born financial wizard who enabled
the King to indulge his extravagant tastes;
and the Marquis de Soveral, Portuguese
politician and favourite of many of the most
beautiful women of Europe, including Queen
Alexandra herself.
From these new sources, and from the major
state archives of the period, the author traces
Edward’s graduation from prince of pleasure
to international statesman and provides us
with the first study of this monarch as a
European figure. No fewer than ten of his
nephews and nieces were to sit on European
thrones. But even those unique contacts
were extended to embrace Republican France
- with whom he helped to forge the entente
cordiale - and widened still further by his
breezy but very effective spa diplomacy at
Marienbad and Biarritz and his yachting
expeditions in the Baltic and Mediterranean.
It is an historical irony that though Edward
VII was dedicated to the cause of peace, he
did much to cement those alliances which
drew Britain into-the First World War; the
threats of Germany and his exasperating
nephew, the Kaiser, run throughout the
story. Together with a new historic evalua¬
tion of the King, the book gives us a fresh
and sympathetic portrait of the man himself-
the spell of his charm, his common-sense,
his zest for life and his loyalty to men-friends
and mistresses alike (borne out by his pre¬
viously unpublished letters to Lily Langtry
and by new material about her successor,
Alice Keppel).
£5-5 onet
By the Same Author
Russia’s danubian empire
THE AUSTRIAN ODYSSEY
WHERE THE LION TROD
DOLLFUSS
THE ANSCHLUSS
EAGLE AND UNICORN
THE LAST HABSBURG
BETWEEN TWO FLAGS
(Slatin Pasha)
UNCLE OF
EUROPE
Gordon
Brook- Shepherd
University of TO**
Pit Greensburg
Library
COLLINS
St James’s Place, London
1975
William Collins Sons & Co Ltd
London . Glasgow . Sydney . Auckland
Toronto . Johannesburg
First published 1975
© Gordon Brook-Shepherd, 1975
isbn o 00 211856 4
Set in Monotype Garamond
Made and printed in Great Britain by
William Collins Sons & Co Ltd Glasgow
For my Nicky
A daughter of Europe
CONTENTS
page
Foreword 11
part i 1841-1901
1 A European Cradle 19
2 Prince of Pleasure 41
3 Prince of Europe 65
part 11 1901-1903
4 King of England 99
5 The King’s Men 126
part hi 1903
6 A Royal Secret 153
7 A Royal Triumph 165
8 ‘Comme Chez Moi’ 187
part iv 1903-1907
9 Marienbad 211
10 Alliance Under Fire 236
11 Uncle and Nephew 256
12 Biarritz and Beyond 266
part v 1907-1910
13 The Austrian Option 289
14 The Russian Pact 316
15 Berlin At Last 331
16 ‘A Full Stop’ 348
Map of the King’s Travels 362
Family Tree 363
Source Notes 365
Index 377
Map of Edward VII’s Europe Endpapers
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The acknowledgements for permission to reproduce these
illustrations are made in italics.
I PRINCE OF PLEASURE
between pages 56 and 57
The Prince of Wales, Princess Alexandra, and the
Duke of Clarence
by kind permission of H.M. The Queen
Edward with his family when grown up
Radio Times Hulton Picture Library
Ascot, 1896
The Mansell Collection
The Veleta
Luis de Soveral fencing and posing
The Countess of Soveral
II KING OF ENGLAND
between pages 120 and 121
Edward
Sir Arthur Bryant
Alice Keppel
The Hon. Mrs S. R. Cubitt
Mrs Ronald Greville’s houseparty, 1905
by kind permission of H.M. The Queen
With the Kaiser at Friedrichshof
by kind permission of H.M. The Queen
With the Shah of Persia, 1902
William Gordon Davis
III DIPLOMACY 1903
between pages zoo and 201
Luis, Marquis de Soveral
The Countess of Soveral
Celebrations in Lisbon
Radio Times Hulton Picture Library
The King at Vincennes and Longchamps
Radio Times Hulton Picture Library
With Pope Leo XIII
The Mansell Collection
IV YACHT DIPLOMACY
between pages 280 and 281
Edward and Alexandra at Cowes
Kadio Times Hulton Picture Library
Aboard the Czar’s yacht
by kind permission of H.M. The Queen
The King and de Soveral on the Britannia
The Countess of Soveral
Reval, 1908
bj kind permission of H.M. The Queen
‘Soveral Uberall’
The Countess of Soveral
Gaeta, 1907
by kind permission of H.M. The Queen
V UNCLE OF EUROPE
between pages 296 and 297
Alfonso XIII and Princess Ena
Baron Alfons von Paw el- Kammingen
Windsor, 1907
Kadio Times Hulton Picture Library
Inspecting stags at Lobau
Nationalbibliothek, Vienna
King Edward takes Franz Josef for his first ride in a car
,
Nationalbibliothek Vienna
Edward VII at Marienbad
An informal visit to the Kaiser in 1906
The Mansell Collection
State Visit, Berlin 1909
Kadio Times Hulton Picture Library
VI FULL STOP
between pages 336 and 337
The Derby, 1909
The Mansell Collection
The last picnic, Biarritz 1910
,
Victor Cavendish-Bentinck Esq.
between pages 3 5 2 and 3 5 3
Friday, 6th May 1910
Kadio Times Hulton Picture Library
Farewell to the King
The Mansell Collection
