Townend, Peter, ed. (1970). Burke's Peerage & Baronetage (105thed.). London: Burke's Peerage Ltd. p.lxvii (ROYAL LINEAGE).

An extremely funny story abut hygiene. This book was found in nursery and I used it as part of story time and the children thoroughly enjoyed it and wanted to hear it over and over. It has a great message for hygiene and can be related to all children of all ages. This fun picture book perfectly captures the not-so-nice side of a typical little boy. Children will laugh out loud at the hilarious illustrations and will love joining in with the repetitive chorus. His godparents were the King of Prussia, his paternal step-grandmother the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (for whom the Duchess of Kent, his maternal grandmother, stood proxy), his great-uncle the Duke of Cambridge, his step-great-grandmother the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg (for whom the Duchess of Cambridge, his great-aunt, stood proxy), his great-aunt Princess Sophia (for whom Princess Augusta of Cambridge, his first cousin once-removed, stood proxy) and his great-uncle Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. [2]Before his accession to the throne, Edward was the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. He was surpassed by his great-great-grandson Charles III on 20 April 2011. [128] The title Prince of Wales is not automatically held by the heir apparent; it is bestowed by the reigning monarch at a time of his or her choosing. [129] Edward was the longest-serving holder of that title until surpassed by Charles on 9 September 2017. [130] Edward was Prince of Wales between 8 December 1841 and 22 January 1901 (59 years, 45 days); Charles held the title between 26 July 1958 and 8 September 2022 (64years, 44days). [129] [131] [132]

During Queen Victoria's widowhood, Edward pioneered the idea of royal public appearances as they are understood today—for example, opening the Thames Embankment in 1871, the Mersey Tunnel in 1886, and Tower Bridge in 1894 [37]—but his mother did not allow him an active role in the running of the country until 1898. [38] [39] He was sent summaries of important government documents, but she refused to give him access to the originals. [12] Edward annoyed his mother, who favoured the Germans, by siding with Denmark on the Schleswig-Holstein Question in 1864 and in the same year annoyed her again by making a special effort to meet Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian general and revolutionary, who was a leader in the movement for Italian unification. [40] Liberal Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone sent him papers secretly. [12] From 1886, Foreign Secretary Lord Rosebery sent him Foreign Office despatches, and from 1892 some Cabinet papers were opened to him. [12] While Prince of Wales, Edward had to be dissuaded from breaking with constitutional precedent by openly voting for W. E. Gladstone's Representation of the People Bill (1884) in the House of Lords. [12] [90] On other matters, he was more conservative; for example, he did not favour giving votes to women, [12] [91] although he did suggest that the social reformer Octavia Hill serve on the Commission for Working Class Housing. [92] He was also opposed to Irish Home Rule, instead preferring a form of dual monarchy. [12] While the bed sharing and eating together wasn’t necessarily a positive indicator of the pair’s sexual preferences, the two for a time maintained a close alliance and apparent friendship. In fact, Richard was engaged to Alice, Philip’s sister for a while. However, he ended up renouncing her and spreading a rumour that she was having an affair and had given birth to an illegitimate child. Richard also married his wife, Berengaria of Navarre, while he was still betrothed to Philip’s sister. Not exactly things a person should do if they were trying to keep on the woman’s brother’s good side. GCSI: Extra Knight Companion of the Star of India, 25 June 1861; [149] Extra Knight Grand Commander, 24 May 1866 [150] As previously mentioned, Philip also helped Richard win the crown of England. Thanks to their alliance, Philip went to war against Richard’s father with Richard later joining in, ultimately defeating Henry II. Henry then named Richard his heir and died two days later.Glencross, Matthew (2015), The State Visits of Edward VII: Reinventing Royal Diplomacy for the Twentieth Century, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-1-137-54898-6 Poet Lord Byron (1788-1824), shagged anything that stayed still long enough (including his half-sister, Augusta, and over 200 male lovers during a holiday around Greece.) The idea wasn’t even mooted until 1948 and it stems from an official record announcing that, as a symbol of unity between the two countries, the kings of France and England had slept the night in the same bed. It was an accepted political act, nothing sexual about it; just two politicians literally getting into bed together, a bit like a modern-day photo opportunity.” a b Weir, Alison (1996), Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy, Revised Edition, London: Random House, p.319, ISBN 978-0-7126-7448-5

In the case of Richard and Philip, the bed sharing and the other statements of love between them are generally thought to have been a political statement. The two had teamed up to overthrow Henry II, and were just announcing to the world that France and England were allies. About the notion that the two were gay, historian Dr. John Gillingham states, As king, Edward's main interests lay in the fields of foreign affairs and naval and military matters. Fluent in French and German, he reinvented royal diplomacy by numerous state visits across Europe. [83] He took annual holidays in Biarritz and Marienbad. [56] One of his most important foreign trips was an official visit to France in May 1903 as the guest of President Émile Loubet. Following a visit to Pope Leo XIII in Rome, this trip helped create the atmosphere for the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale, an agreement delineating British and French colonies in North Africa, and ruling out any future war between the two countries. The Entente was negotiated in 1904 between the French foreign minister, Théophile Delcassé, and the British foreign secretary, Lord Lansdowne. It marked the end of centuries of Anglo-French rivalry and Britain's splendid isolation from Continental affairs, and attempted to counterbalance the growing dominance of the German Empire and its ally, Austria-Hungary. [84]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 Asquith. The crisis eventually led—after Edward's death—to the removal of the Lords' right to veto legislation. The couple established Marlborough House as their London residence and Sandringham House in Norfolk as their country retreat. They entertained on a lavish scale. Their marriage met with disapproval in certain circles because most of Queen Victoria's relations were German, and Denmark was at loggerheads with Germany over the territories of Schleswig and Holstein. When Alexandra's father inherited the throne of Denmark in November 1863, the German Confederation took the opportunity to invade and annex Schleswig-Holstein. The Queen was of two minds as to whether it was a suitable match, given the political climate. [27] After the marriage, she expressed anxiety about their socialite lifestyle and attempted to dictate to them on various matters, including the names of their children. [28] London Bridge on the Night of the Marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, by William Holman Hunt (1864)