Monday, February 7, 2011

Object of the Day: A Souvenir of the Coronation of King Edward VII, 1902

The eldest son of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, Edward was groomed from an early age to be a proper constitutional monarch. Unlike his eldest sister, he was not very good at his studies, but what he lacked in studiousness, he made up for in charm and wit. Edward was a bit of a rogue in some ways. During his attempt at a military career, he was caught with an actress in his tent. Prince Albert, though quite ill, traveled to reprimand his son and urge the boy to be more discrete. The trip proved to be the last of Prince Albert’s life. He died two weeks later. Queen Victoria blamed her son for her husband’s death. Had Prince Albert not traveled in a weakened state, he could have recovered. Victoria was said to have commented of Prince Edward, “I never can, or shall, look at him without a shudder.”


Nevertheless, upon his mother’s death in 1901, Prince Edward became King Edward VII. Edward and his wife, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, were crowned in Westminster Abbey on August 9, 1902. His reign marked not only the changing of the centuries, but a fascinating and tumultuous period of technological, political and social change. He never stopped being a rogue, but he never stopped being charming either. Queen Alexandra resigned herself to her husband’s behavior, and allowed him as much freedom as he wanted. While his reign was relatively short, ending with his death in May, 1910, he proved to be a competent and popular king who was influential in many areas of world culture.

As was tradition, for his 1902 coronation, many souvenirs were manufactured to celebrate the event. This was one of them. This delicate dish bears images of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra with their crowns and ciphers. The dish is unusually ornate and finely crafted with open-work, gilt edges which show the prominent style of the times.

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