In, Edward VII: The Prince of Wales and the Women He Loved, Catherine Arnold chronicles the life of Queen Victoria’s son as he struggles to find his proper place within the Royal family. Despite being heir to the throne, Edward has a difficult relationship with his mother. As a result, the Prince rebels against her and society’s expectations. Consequently, Edward pursues multiple relationships with women outside his marriage, bringing further reproach on Queen Victoria and the British people. Within this narrative, Arnold explores the hierarchy of the upper classes and how they conducted themselves. However, most of the ink is given to Bertie’s affairs.
Edward VII has an uneven feel to it. The details of the Royal family and British high society are fascinating but are outweighed by Edward’s scandalous behavior. The average reader could grow weary of the sordid aspects of the Prince’s conduct. His unfaithfulness is disturbing and exhausting. In addition, the climax had a decidedly “copy and paste’ feel to it. I am disappointed that Edward VII turns into more of a soap opera than a reliable historical record.


I was given a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This was a well researched and insightful look at King Edward VII. He is often overlooked in favor of his long-reigning mother, Queen Victoria but did have his own impact.

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.

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.

I've read several of Catharine Arnold's books before and really love her approach to historical biography; the characters seem to spring off the page as she weaves an interesting narrative that is chatty and full of anecdotes, yet also meticulously researched. This is biography that reads like a good novel.

This book is no exception. Rather than the focus being on Edward VII himself, 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 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.

I just wish that there were accompanying photographs in the book - I kept having to stop to Google what this fascinating cast of characters looked like!

Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in Victorian/Edwardian history, royalty or the scandals surrounding the infamous Marlborough House set. Or indeed anyone who likes a pacy and engaging factual read.

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

This book is full of gossip and scandal and great fun to read! There is much less about Edward VII than there is about his mistresses, however, and they were certainly a fascinating lot. There was the dashing Jersey Lily who eventually became an actress and hated the 'dreary rehearsals' in a 'cold and darkened theatre and Jennie Churchill who was 'too shrewd to be explicit about their relationship'. (I read in her niece's book, however, that she sometimes wondered why the room was so dark and perfumed when she entered it after the Prince visited!) The list also included the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt who kept a cheetah, a wolfhound, and chamelons on her shoulder which changed colour to suit her gowns and Countess Daisy who became a socialist after a newspaper editor explained the uselessness of costume balls as a method of providing work for the 'masses'. There were also Agnes Keyser, a rather moral nurse from a privileged background, and the ravishing Alice Keppel with her curvacous figure and 'superabundent vitality', the legacy of her Greek grandmother.

Catherine Arnold does get Bertie's character exactly right. He could be very ruthless, for example, he ignored one poor former mistress who tried to blackmail him about a failed abortion, and he treated poor Harriet Mordaunt and Gordon Cummings abominably. He was a womaniser and a gambler. However, he was strongly against racism, and he was 'a man of sensitivity' who rejoiced in his friend's triumphs and wept at their sorrows. He was apparently 'hard to know and not love'.

I didn't notice anything especially new in this book and the sometimes blunt statements annoyed me. For example, Arnold writes that Jennie Churchill had 200 lovers - she is alleged to have had them. However, it was very engaging and I could never read enough about Edward VII!

I received this free ebook from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Available Editions
EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781250069146
PRICE $27.99 (USD)

Arnold's biography of Edward VII, presented through mini biographies of his many women, provides the reader with lots of description and makes for an interesting read. Well done.

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.

This is a well researched book on the Prince of Wales, Edward VII. Our childhood does not define us, our character we develop on our own does! I have no sympathy with his self indulgent lifestyle, it is a miracle, he didn't start Aids. He was spoiled, self centered, and truly dispicable. I do feel sorry for Princess Alix. She deserved do much better. I highly recommend! Thanks! Enjoy!
carolintallahassee 👒