Edward VII of the United Kingdom

"Uncle of Europe"

Edward VII was, mainly through his mother and his father-in-law, related to nearly every other European monarch and came to be known as the "uncle of Europe." The German Emperor Wilhelm II, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, King Alphonso XIII of Spain, and Carl Eduard, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha were Edward's nephews; King Haakon VII of Norway was his son-in-law and nephew by marriage; King George I of the Hellenes and King Frederick VIII of Denmark were his brothers-in-law; and King Albert I of Belgium, Manuel II of Portugal, King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and Prince Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, were his cousins. Edward's volatile relationship with his nephew, Wilhelm II, exacerbated the tensions between Germany and Britain in the decade before World War I.

Related Topics:
Wilhelm II - Nicholas II of Russia - Alphonso XIII of Spain - King Haakon VII - George I of the Hellenes - Frederick VIII of Denmark - Albert I of Belgium - Manuel II of Portugal - Ferdinand of Bulgaria - Wilhelmina of the Netherlands - World War I

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In the last year of his life, Edward became embroiled in a constitutional crisis when the Conservative majority in the House of Lords refused to pass the "People's Budget" proposed by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith. The King died before the Liberal victory in the 1910 general election resolved the situation, but he discreetly let Asquith know his willingness to appoint additional peers, if necessary, to enable the budget's passage in the House of Lords.

Related Topics:
House of Lords - Herbert Henry Asquith

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