1-628-437 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

King Edward VII (1841-1910), late 19th century. Edward VII was King of Great Britain between 1901 and 1910. Before his accession to the throne, Edward held the title of Prince of Wales, and has the distinction of having been heir apparent to the throne longer than anyone in English or British history. During the long widowhood of his mother, Queen Victoria, he was largely excluded from wielding any political power but came to represent the personification of the fashionable, leisured elite. Edward's reign saw the first official recognition of the office of the Prime Minister in 1905 and he was the first British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, which was renamed by his son, George V, as the House of Windsor.