Albert Edward, the eldest son of Queen Victoria, was Prince of Wales and his mother's heir until he was nearly 60 years old. He was very slow to learn, and his parents and tutors thought he was lazy and stubborn, though he suffered from what would later be understood as Attention Deficit Disorder and probably dyslexia. The Queenm blamed him for his father the Prince Consort's early death, and in widowhood never allowed him a formal role. She was slow to appreciate his gifts ion dealing with other people, and the talents that made him an instinctive diplomat. Sent on a tour of the United States of America and Canada when only 18, and to India early in adult life, he was an immediate success.
Although notoriously unfaithful, his marriage to the attractive but self-willed Princess Alexandra of Denmark was successful enough, and he was devoted to his children, though inclined to frighten them when they were very young. To their sorrow the eldest son Eddy, Duke of Clarence, died as a young man. When Edward became King in 1901, he was determined to ensure that his only surviving son George would be adequately prepared for the throne on his accession.
The review of this Book prepared by John Van der Kiste