Book Description

In each of the past three centuries, a Prince of Wales has waited most of his life to become King, from George IV to Edward VII to Prince Charles. Each one disappointed his reigning parent. Each had an unhappy marriage and famous affairs. But only one single-handedly gave his name to an age: the future Edward VII, Albert Edward, eldest son of Queen Victoria.

How did such a roguish Prince become such a beloved King? The story of "Bertie" is the story of one of the first superstars in the dawning culture of celebrity. Drawing on previously unavailable, little-used or unknown diaries, letters, memoirs, and reportage from both sides of the Atlantic, acclaimed biographer Stanley Weintraub paints an unforgettable picture of the Prince and his worlds: his difficult and frustrating childhood, his introductions to gentlemanly sins at Oxford and Cambridge, his chilly arranged marriage to the pretty but dull Prin-cess Alexandra, and his constant escapes to balls, races, spas, and country houses, where he gambled, gourmandized, caroused, and whored. Husbands who hoped to advance among the gentry worked to arrange affairs between the Prince and their wives, maneuvering to situate bedrooms near his chambers. His string of "god-children" included some almost certainly his own.

Yet despite, or because of, Bertie's flaws, he was loved wherever he went. He was a natural diplomat, able to charm strangers and dance all night. When he toured the United States in 1860, he was a media sensation, and there was even talk of a marriage with President Buchanan's niece. When Victoria finally died in 1901 after decades of withdrawal from public life amid continual mourning for Albert, England relaxed and celebrated for the first time in years. Edward the Caresser presents an extraordinary picture of tragedy and farce, qualities that fit Edward perfectly for the role of modern monarch. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Colorful character...
If you look in the dictionary, you'll find a picture of King Edward VII illustrating the word "cad." In fact, you will also find him next to rogue, rake and bon vivant. Well, not really--but he would be a perfect match! In Edward the Caresser, Stanley Weintraub explores the life of Albert Edward, The Prince of Wales, who later becomes King Edward VII. "Bertie" is perhaps one of the most colorful royals of the last 200 years. The oldest son of Queen Victoria, Bertie is a disappointment from the time he is small, and it just continues throughout his adult life. Because of her lack of confidence in Bertie, Victoria gives him very few royal responsibilities and he will come to the throne at age 59 with very little training. The Prince of Wales uses all his free time to over-indulge in eating, drinking, smoking, gambling, hunting, traveling and most of all, women. He associates with many upper-crust gentlemen of questionable character. And he tends to go from one controversy to the next. His name is dragged through the courts for a variety of offenses from gambling to divorce proceedings. He is blackmailed on more than one occasion over indiscreet letters he has written to various women. He has a number of illegitimate children and often stands as their godfather when they are christened. He also gets himself into tremendous debt financing this opulent lifestyle. But the people of England love the prince--mainly because he is personable and also, because he shows himself to his mothers' subjects: something the Queen stopped doing after the death of her consort. Bertie is definitely a charmer, and as he opens hospitals and plants trees, the British come to forgive him his indiscretions.

One of the things I found most fascinating is comparing the life of this Prince of Wales with that of Charles, the present Prince of Wales. Although a full century separates them, they are made from the same cloth. Both men have spent the majority of their lives in the role of Prince of Wales. Both their mothers are long livers, and they've had to go through life doing inane jobs waiting to become king. They were both married to beautiful women who were adored the world over, and both cheated on their brides. At least Charles hasn't had a stable of mistresses (unlike Bertie), but ironically, the present prince must have assumed he was still living in Victorian society when it was perfectly fine to remain married to your wife and have a mistress, also. There is also irony in that one of Bertie's favorites, Alice Keppel, was the great-grandmother of Charles' current squeeze, Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles has also gotten himself into his fair share of controversy over the years, and we are left to wonder whether he will ever reign as king. (These comparisons are mine only, and are not made by the author in this book).

In terms of the book itself, I became a little bored when Weintraub went into great detail about the Prince's Indian expedition and got tired of reading the details about what he bagged on each hunt. Weintraub also has a disturbing habit of alternating between proper names and titles when mentioning various individuals. For instance, he sometimes mentions Benjamin Disraeli and sometimes Lord Beaconsfield (they are one in the same). It gets very confusing with less well-known individuals. I also think that the author does not do just to Bertie's wife, Alexandra.

All in all, Edward the Caresser is an enjoyable read. The author states that Bertie "was a walking argument for the defects of primogeniture." After reading this book,, you'll wonder how the monarchy survived.

Rather a waste...
Looks like I'm alone, but I found this book frightfully superficial and entirely lacking in depth. The marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and for that matter, the relationships between the Prince and his mistresses, is glossed over and there is nothing in this book that makes one feel like they have learned anything substantial about anyone. I was SO disappointed, having read many other wonderful books on the subject. This is hardly worth the time or effort to order/read this one.

Remarkable portrait of a larger-than-life character
An old saying goes something like, 'The child is the father of the man.' Coming off successful biographies of Queen Victoria, the Prince Consort, and other eminent Victorians, Stanley Weintraub has given us a fine biography of the Victorian era's most elderly 'child' of all, Albert Edward (aka 'Bertie'), the Prince of Wales.

Heir to the throne must be a difficult position in the best of circumstances and despite his luxuriant lifestyle, Bertie's circumstances were not the best. His mother decided early on that her eldest son was uneducable (Weintraub argues he was dyslexic), unreliable, untrustworthy, and at least partially at fault for the early death of the Prince Consort, the husband she worshipped. As the decades passed, she refused to modify this harsh judgment, viewing him as a wayward and unruly child even after the Prince was himself a grandfather. In fact, if never an intellectual like his father (Weintraub seems to doubt the Prince ever in his life read a book cover to cover), Bertie proved himself clever, sympathetic, popular with the people, and a fairly skilled, if unofficial, diplomat. Nevertheless, the Queen would not allow him access to state papers, or hand off to him any but the most minor of ceremonial duties.

Barred by custom from involvement in politics, and by his mother from any meaningful preparation for his inheritance, Bertie devoted himself to the one area he could influence the most, society. Weintraub's biography shines in its illustration of how the Prince's active social life, essentially frivolous in so many ways, nevertheless helped him discover talents and develop skills that served him in good stead as sovereign. And while never prurient, Weintraub is nevertheless comprehensive in his treatment of Bertie's many extramarital affairs, from his brief flings to his longstanding relationships with Lillie Langtry, Alice Keppel, and others (including, lest we forget, his beautiful and long-suffering wife, Princess Alix of Denmark).

Weintraub's picture of Albert Edward, in short, is a fully drawn one, and the reader can develop a fairly complete understanding of him as a man and as a Prince. I found him very human, disturbing and yet sympathetic. I would recommend this biography to any student of Britain's Royal Family or historian of the Victorian era.

Looking forward to the sequel!
Edward the Caresser is a fine biography of the Prince of Wales who became King Edward VII. The title is slightly misleading since he was only called "Edward the Caresser" after he became King in 1901, and while he was Prince of Wales he was known to the public as "Prince Albert Edward". But such quibbling should be put aside. This is a wonderfully entertaining story of a boy and man who had many fine qualities which were not appreciated by his parents Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who set impossibly high standards for him and were constantly and openly disappointed when he failed to meet them. Bertie (as he was known in the family) also had to deal with being compared to his older sister and younger brother, who were their parents' favorites. After being made to bear the burden of being (in his mother's eyes) the chief contributor to his father's death, Bertie spent the rest of Victoria's reign looking for something to do. Since the Queen refused to allow him constructive work, having fun in various dissipations was his main occupation. Given such a background, the fact that Bertie turned out to be a kind, good natured man with a wide circle of friends and a loving wife and family is surprising.

Stanley Weintraub always produces a fine biography, and I hope he will follow up on "Edward the Caresser" with another volume on Edward VII's reign. It will be interesting to see how the playboy prince from an emotionall disadvantaged background turned into one of the most successful and well beloved British monarchs of the twentieth centuries ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A fascinating book
A well-written book full of interesting information.The only problem with the book is that Agnes Keyser seems to be more of an afterthought to Alice Keppel than a subject in her own right.The treatment of Mrs. Keppelis wonderfully detailed.I highly recommend this book! ... Read more