The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII, the Playboy Prince
Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, History
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, History
Book Type: Paperback
Anita C. reviewed on + 32 more book reviews
Excellent, well researched biography of Edward VII of England, son of Victoria and Albert. Entertaining reading with many photos of the royal families of Europe.
Back cover reads:
"Born Prince Albert Edward, and known to familiars as "Bertie," the future King Edward VII had a well-earned reputation for debauchery. A notorious gambler, glutton and womanizer, he preferred the company of wastrels and courtesans to the dreary life of the Victorian court. His own mother, Queen Victoria, considered him a lazy halfwit, temperamentally unfit to succeed her. When he ascended to the throne in 1901, at age fifty-nine, expectations were low. Yet by the time he died, nine years later, he had proven himself a deft diplomat, a hardworking head of state, and the architect of Britain's modern constitutional monarchy.
This richly entertaining biography chronicles the eventful life of the quintessential black sheep of Buckingham Palace, who matured into as wise and effective a monarch as Britain has ever seen. Granted unprecedented access to the royal archives, noted scholar Jane Ridley draws on numerous primary sources to pain a vivid portrait of the man and the age to which he gave his name."
Back cover reads:
"Born Prince Albert Edward, and known to familiars as "Bertie," the future King Edward VII had a well-earned reputation for debauchery. A notorious gambler, glutton and womanizer, he preferred the company of wastrels and courtesans to the dreary life of the Victorian court. His own mother, Queen Victoria, considered him a lazy halfwit, temperamentally unfit to succeed her. When he ascended to the throne in 1901, at age fifty-nine, expectations were low. Yet by the time he died, nine years later, he had proven himself a deft diplomat, a hardworking head of state, and the architect of Britain's modern constitutional monarchy.
This richly entertaining biography chronicles the eventful life of the quintessential black sheep of Buckingham Palace, who matured into as wise and effective a monarch as Britain has ever seen. Granted unprecedented access to the royal archives, noted scholar Jane Ridley draws on numerous primary sources to pain a vivid portrait of the man and the age to which he gave his name."
