Edward VII: The Prince of Wales and the Women He Loved

by Catharine Arnold

“Victorian England: We know what that was supposed to mean ― all priggish prudery and "we-are-not-amused" harrumphing. Except now we know it wasn't all that . . . [Catharine Arnold’s] new biography focuses ― deliciously ― on the women who shared the scandalously plentiful sex life of Queen Victoria's eldest son, the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII.” ― USA Today

Edward Prince of Wales, better known as “Bertie,” was the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Charming and dissolute, he was a larger-than-life personality with king-size appetites. A lifelong womanizer, Bertie conducted his countless liaisons against the glittering backdrop of London society, Europe, and the stately homes of England in the second half of the 19th century.

Bertie’s lovers were beautiful, spirited, society women who embraced a wide field of occupations. There was Lillie Langtry, the simple Jersey girl who would become an actress and producer; “Daisy” Brooke, Countess of Warwick, the extravagant socialite who embraced socialism and stood for Parliament as a Labour party candidate; bisexual French actress Sarah Bernhardt, celebrated for her decadent appeal and opium habit; and by total contrast the starchy Agnes Keyser, who founded a hospital for army officers. One of Bertie’s most intriguing liaisons was with American heiress Jennie Churchill, unhappy wife of Sir Randolph Churchill and mother of Sir Winston.

While the scandals resulting from his affairs―from suicides to divorces―were a blight on the royal family, Bertie would become a surprisingly modern monarch. His major accomplishment was transforming the British monarchy into the modern institution that we know today and ensuring its survival in a period when every other European dynasty collapsed in the wake of WWI.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Royalty, British Literature, Audiobook, Historical

304 pages, Hardcover

Published July 25, 2017

About the author

Catharine Arnold read English at Cambridge and holds a further degree in psychology. A journalist, academic and popular historian, Catharine's previous books include the novel "Lost Time", winner of a Betty Trask award. Her London trilogy for Simon & Schuster comprises of "Necropolis: London and Its Dead", "Bedlam: London and Its Mad" and "City of Sin: London and Its Vices".

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Juicy, gossipy, the perfect audiobook to have on while getting back into the swing of things at work post-holidays.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read. Full of gossipy tidbits and scandal of the era. It’s not a deep dive into Edward VII or his mistresses, but it’s a good insight into the times of the Victorian elite in England.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to start off by thanking St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for sending an arch of this to my Kindle. It is much appreciated. I just loved this book. I

I have not done and in depth study of the Reign of King Edward, I know more about his mother's reign than I do his.

I think that this book would be a good place to start in trying to learn about him. The book centers around the women in King Edward VII ( Bertie) life. Like Lillie Langtry, Daisy Warwick, and Alice Keppel. She also touches on Queen Alix and other women who Bertie had affairs with briefly ( i.e Prostitutes).

Catherine Arnold is a master story teller. I love her writing style she kept me entranced throughout this book. I got it done very quickly.

I couldn’t put it down.

I like how she started the book by talking about Prince Albert's death. Victoria consumed in her grief shunned and blamed Bertie for his death. I think that this greatly affected Bertie, and his subsequent relationships. I kind of wish that Catherine Arnold had explored this avenue a little bit more. She then goes on and talks about brief affairs that Bertie had ( i.e. prostitutes). She the moves onto more serious relationships. She spent the most time on Lillie Langtry, Alice Keppel and Daisy Warrick. Given detailed accounts about their early life and their relationship with the Prince of wales. She does dedicate some chapters to Jennie Churchill, who was the mother of Winston Churchill.Jennie was rumored to be Bertie’s mistress but it was never proven.

I have to say these were my favorite chapters. I heard of Winston Churchill, but I didn’t realize how interesting his family was. I intend remedy this by learning more about them. Overall, i really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in reading about Edward VII.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the electronic ARC.

This was not what I expected but was none the less a great read. I do not think I really know any more about Edward VII than before I started, but I was pulled into each story about the women in his life and the scandals that touched him because of his vices. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the time period, but not wanting to get more information about the king's rule.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Edward VII: The Prince of Wales and the Women He Loved. It was quite interesting.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

This was a book club choice and it was brutal to read. Lily was the only interesting character in the book.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Equal parts interesting and boring

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting bit of fluffy social history from the point of view of the Prince of Wale's many mistresses. Lillie Langtry, Jennie Churchhill, and Daisy, Lady Warwick, among others.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

This doesn't offer new info but is fun, light and gossipy.
I quite enjoyed it

[John Plowright · Rating 4 out of 5]

The full title of Catharine Arnold’s book is ‘Edward VII. The Prince of Wales and the Women He Loved’. This rather clumsy title might be taken to suggest that Edward, like Prince Hal, tidied up his act once he ascended to the throne. This was most definitely not the case and Arnold’s book begins with a superb picture of Edward’s coronation in Westminster Abbey where a special pew – nicknamed the ‘loose box’ – was set aside for some of his past and present paramours.

Most biographers either love or hate their subjects and Arnold belongs firmly in the former camp excusing Edward’s many affairs on the grounds that much of Bertie’s misbehaving was the product of “boredom” because “Queen Victoria resolutely refused to abdicate” or that his engaging in multiple sexual liaisons was no different from those of most upper-class men of the time. She also quotes Anita Leslie approvingly when she wrote that, “After all, he merely wanted to go to bed with a lot of women and took advantage of unparalleled opportunities. Would many men act differently if put in his place?”

Without wishing to sound puritanical these all seem rather poor excuses for some very poor behaviour. As has already been noted, Edward did not turn over a new leaf once he ultimately become King and there are more useful ways in which a Prince of Wales can occupy his time in that position than indulging his carnal appetites. To say that Edward was merely doing as others did is no defence at all. Edward had an example to set, especially if he aspired to make the royal family seem a model family. Doubtless Leslie, and by extension Arnold, is correct in assuming that many men would be tempted to act as Edward did but I like to think that few men would follow his lead in going whoring in Paris during their wife’s difficult first pregnancy.

Arnold’s bibliography not only omits ‘The Pursuit of Pleasure’ by Keith Middlemas, which would have helped her flesh out her picture of a priapic Edwardian High Society but also has no reference to Celia and John Lee’s ‘The Churchills: A Family Portrait’. This is a much more serious omission because whereas Arnold claims that Jennie Churchill “was too clever to leave any explicit clues” about an affair with Edward, the Lees’ book provides evidence to suggest that the two were indeed lovers for two-years. According to Arnold “Notes from Bertie to Jennie are models of discretion” yet according to the Lees the way the Prince wrote to her, asking her to serve him tea in her ‘geisha dress’ (a loose fitting kimono) would have been a totally inappropriate way to address any respectable woman, married, widowed or single.

In short, Arnold’s book is a very entertaining read, with racy prose befitting its subject matter and a wealth of wonderful anecdotes focusing on Edward’s relationships with Lillie Langtry, Daisy Warwick, Alice Keppel and Jennie Churchill but even if one forgives the author far being too indulgent to her royal subject the fact that she doesn’t appear to have researched her topic as thoroughly as she might means one can’t, in good conscience, bestow five stars.

[Courtney Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catharine Arnold's books approach to writing historical biography is actually compelling, reading more like a thick juicy novel rather than a dry dusty tome of history, but the topic of the book is less than celebratory.

The characters are alive and appear to jump off the page as the author weaves a fascinating narrative that is lively and full of anecdotes, yet also is thoroughly researched. Rather than the focus being on Edward VII himself (although it's impossible to not get a good amount of him), this focuses on the women in his life, of which there were many. From his long-suffering wife, Alix, to the mistress who saw out his final years with him, Alice Keppel, the great-grandmother of Camilla Parker Bowles, the current Prince of Wales wife, the reader is shown in vivid detail some of the king's most interesting companions. The accompanying scandals are also covered, with numerous court cases, exiles and attempts at blackmail.

This book is full of titillating gossip and scandals and was at times fun to read, with more racy women than you can shake a stick at, both aristocratic and women from decidedly ‘blue-collar’ types who actually worked to earn their keep, but in the end, the reader has to remember that this isn’t make-believe but real people who behaved in such a manner. It is clear that Edward, known as Bertie, didn’t treat women equally, and it seems obvious that emotionally and psychologically he never grew up beyond the age of a teenage boy with all the raging hormones and inability to think of anyone but himself that go with it. This book doesn’t look at every relationship that he pursued, rather it tends to focus on the more long-term love affairs that he had. It also tries to make an excuse for his behaviour in explaining how repressed society was in Victorian times, and that his behaviour shouldn’t cause one to raise an eyebrow in response. However, just because royalty behaved in such a manner, doesn’t make it any less repulsive or reprehensible.

Obviously, a womanizer Bertie as a character could be both gentle and yet ruthless, treating women dreadfully. Quite simply he was everything you wouldn’t want in your sovereign. One could make the excuse for his behaviour as being ‘typically male,’ wanting to sleep with any woman he desired and his using his position as the Prince of Wales to get what he wanted. One would almost be correct in thinking of him as sleazy. This book lifts the lid on the bad behaviour of a rich, indulged man who used women for his own purposes.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free Kindle copy of Edward VII: The Prince of Wales and the Women He Loved by Catharine Arnold courtesy of Net Galley and St. Martin's Press the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my history book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have read about some of England's Royalty, but never one on Edward VII. It is the first book by Catharine Arnold that I have read.

This is a light and quick read. The author focuses on a few selected extended loves of Edward VII, also known as Bertie, so I feel the title can be a little misleading. That said, she does an excellent job of detailing the hypocrisy that existed in Victorian England among the royals and their sexual escapades when the rest of the country was expected to be virtuous, but was not. It would be very difficult to accomplish in today's world of social media everywhere at anytime.

The time period covered primarily Bertie's time waiting to ascend the throne, which did not happen until late in life. No time was spent on what type of ruler he was once he became King for a short period of nine years, but that was not the subject of the book. He did have some gall as he has his "ladies" sit in a front pew during his coronation.

I recommend this book for anyone looking for a light read about the life of one of England's more colorful royal characters.

[Tam Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to win an ARC, so that is what this review is based on. This book was true to the title. The focus was on the major women that Bertie was involved with, with very little focus on his time as King. It covered the life stories of each of the women and how they met Bertie, and the details of their relationships. There was no attempt to make either Bertie or his "women" look like individuals that we can empathize with. That is not a negative comment about the book; I actually liked that the author was very up front about each of the relationships and their affect on his time as Prince of Wales and his time as King, as well as how these extramarital relationships affected his relationships with his mother and wife. In fact, there were several points where I put down the book thinking that Edward VII was a real SOB because of how he treated women (one woman ended up in an asylum). But, it was a good book with little attempt to soften our views of either Edward VII or his many mistresses. You do have sympathy for his poor wife, however.

[Hal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather fascinating look into the wild and woolly life of Edward VII better known as Bertie. Much like Prince Charles also a Prince of Wales, waited most of his life to become king. Charles still in that role and will not get it apparently. Despite the Victorian age Bertie certainly got away with a lot more when it comes to the ladies.

Catharine Arnold walks us through these many affairs along with a number of scandals that ensnared the Prince. We get to know many of the players on both sides and how this very close knit but formal society functioned. Some of the more familiar names profiled are Lillie Langtry and Jennie Churchill.

Well written and detailed, however I would have been nice to see many more pictures of the characters involved, they were quite sparse. An intriguing read all together that appeals to the voyeur in many of us.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a quick run-through of Edward VII's most long-standing sexual liaisons over the course of his life. Having read several books about Bertie, I didn't really learn anything new here except for a very long and boring chapter about a gambling scandal in which he became enmeshed. I question why it was even included in this book. That being said, the author has a very readable style of writing, and I quite enjoyed the time I spent reading this book. The illustrations included left me wanting, so I spent some time on the internet perusing photos of the "beauties" of the day. As the author says, ideals of beauty change over time. That's all I'm saying.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read lots of books about English history and enjoy studying the subject, so I was very happy to receive a copy of "Edward VIII: The Prince of Wales and the Women He Loved." Lillie Langtry was well-known to me, as I have read biographies and seen the excellent miniseries featuring Francesca Annis. I've even visited her vineyard in Calif. So it was a pleasure to read about Bertie and all those women, as well as his long-suffering wife and mother, Princess Alexandra and Queen Victoria. Ms. Arnold combines scholarship with a very readable style which makes this accessible and enjoyable, even for readers who are new to histories of the British monarchy and Victorian life.

[Evelina Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book if you are looking to understand a little more about London society and Bertie’s many paramours throughout his time as the Prince of Wales. It also touched briefly on the disappointment of his mother, Queen Victoria, over some of his decisions - he never could quite live up to her expectations. I often wonder what his life would have been like if his mother had abdicated the throne to him. Would he have grown up and stopped carousing or would he have continued on with the Marlborough Set and their antics? Something tells me things would have been much different had Victoria trusted him with more worldly responsibilities.

[Joseph J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining read about Edward VII, his relationship to his wife Queen Alexandra, and his many mistresses. The latter included Lilly Langtry, Lady Randolph Churchill, and the famous Mrs. Keppel. There is much to learn about Edwardian lifestyle, including gargantuan eating habits! The lives of his mistresses are followed beyond Edward's life and brief reign. I knew Mrs. Keppel was the great grandmother of Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. I did not know that she and Charles MAY by distant cousins!

[Sarah W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book serves as a brief overview of the life of Edward VII (Queen Victoria's son and successor), with the focus on the women he had affairs with and the scandals that marked his long career as Prince of Wales. That said, this work is not a biography of Edward VII and the events of his reign are barely mentioned, rather, this book provides a window into late Victorian high society and the rampant infidelity practiced among members. An interesting read and a good introduction to Edward, but one that left me wanting more information about both the man and the world he inhabited.

[Lauras · Rating 2 out of 5]

The topic is quite interesting but the text is riddled with easily-checked factual mistakes such as identifying Prince Louis of Battenburg as Edward VII's nephew; Louis was his nephew-by-marriage and not even that at the historical time of the events related. A second mistake was calling Laeken, Belgium Princess Alexandra of DENMARK's "hometown" (it was Copenhagen.) There are many others and they spoiled my enjoyment of the book.

[Writemoves · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about royals behaving badly specifically Edward VII who succeeded his mother Queen Victoria to the throne. Edward VII (aka Bertie) enjoyed the good life, wine, women, food, gambling, drinking etc. I skimmed through most of the book as I have no real interest in the royal family today, much less the royal family at the end of the 19th century. Some scandalous tales of divorce, adultery and debauchery to pique the reader's interest.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author did a wonderful job here in summing up Edward VIIth life with a special focus on his relationships with women. You'll learn about his special ladies, his marriage to Alix, that he lived in Marlborough House and that his last mistress was Alice Keppel. Inside you'll also find some fine illustrations and photographs. Great portrait on Bertie, a highly recommended read if you're interested in Royal History!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at Edward VII. Well written and kept my interest from start to finish. Full of great details and facts. So interesting to see how times were then and how they have changed. Insightful as to how his behavior/lifestyle affected his wife and the government. I recommend this book for a good enjoyable read. I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway!

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

an easy read as far as British royalty goes. the author keeps her chapters short and to the point. ignoring the overlapping of individuals and events in order to dwell on the party boy prince's main or most notorious affairs. i wished each chapter had been accompanied with appropriate pictures. instead, only a few of the individuals were represented.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the women whose company Bertie enjoyed included Lilly Langtry, Jennie Churchill, and Sarah Bernhardt. The book describes British history and the social mores of the upper class. Despite, his failures as the Prince of Wales, Bertie is described as an efficient monarch.

[Carolyn Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and entertaining but the title is slightly misleading because the book is not about Edward VII - it is about the women (excluding his long-suffering wife Alix) loved by him, specifically Lillie Langtry, Daisy Warwick and Alice Keppel.

[Sally Crosiar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book and wouldn't have finished it if not for a book club discussion. If one is fascinated by the British upper class, then perhaps it would be a good read. I am not so fascinated and found the endless genealogy of all Edward VII's many paramours tedious. Not a fan.

[Emg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gossipy and disappointing. Author read a few books and abridged the relevant sections. No new material so it seemed repetitive (interesting that two long chapters were devoted to the Baccarat Scandal which only very indirectly related to a woman he loved).

[Zosi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This is a perfectly adequate biography that primarily focuses on 3 of Bertie’s mistresses. It’s readable, but not extraordinary. I would have liked to see her touch on other mistresses that she alluded to but didn’t cover in depth, like Sarah Bernhardt.

[Eliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Full of amusing anecdotal details.