Editing Edward VII (section)

==Death==
{{main|Death and state funeral of Edward VII}}
[[File:King Edward VII after death.jpg|thumb|[[Post-mortem photography|Deathbed photograph]], May 1910]]
[[File:4125s2.ogv|thumb|[[Death and state funeral of Edward VII|Funeral procession of Edward VII]], London, 1910]]
Edward habitually smoked twenty cigarettes and twelve cigars a day. In 1907, a [[rodent ulcer]], a type of cancer affecting the skin next to his nose, was cured with [[radium]].<ref>[[#Ridley|Ridley]], p. 409</ref> Towards the end of his life he increasingly suffered from [[bronchitis]].<ref name="dnb" /> He suffered a momentary loss of consciousness during a state visit to Berlin in February 1909.<ref>[[#Lee|Lee]], p. 676; [[#Ridley|Ridley]], p. 432</ref> In March 1910, he was staying at [[Biarritz]] when he collapsed. He remained there to convalesce, while in London Asquith tried to get the Finance Bill passed. The King's continued ill health was unreported, and he attracted criticism for staying in France while political tensions were so high.<ref name="dnb" /> On 27 April he returned to Buckingham Palace, still suffering from severe bronchitis. Alexandra returned from visiting her brother, [[George I of Greece]], in [[Corfu]] a week later on 5 May.

On 6 May, Edward suffered several heart attacks, but refused to go to bed, saying, "No, I shall not give in; I shall go on; I shall work to the end."<ref name="p151">[[#Bentley-Cranch|Bentley-Cranch]], p. 151</ref> Between moments of faintness, his son the Prince of Wales (shortly to be King [[George&nbsp;V]]) told him that his horse, Witch of the Air, had won at [[Kempton Park Racecourse|Kempton Park]] that afternoon. The King replied, "Yes, I have heard of it. I am very glad": his [[List of last words (20th century)#1910–1919|final words]].<ref name="dnb" /> At 11:30&nbsp;p.m. he lost consciousness for the last time and was put to bed. He died 15 minutes later.<ref name="p151" />

Alexandra refused to allow Edward's body to be moved for eight days afterwards, though she allowed small groups of visitors to enter his room.<ref>[[#Ridley|Ridley]], p. 558</ref> On 11 May, the late king was dressed in his uniform and placed in a massive oak coffin, which was moved on 14 May to the throne room, where it was sealed and lay in state, with a guardsman standing at each corner of the bier. Despite the time that had elapsed since his death, Alexandra noted his body remained "wonderfully preserved".<ref>[[#Ridley|Ridley]], pp. 560–561</ref> On the morning of 17 May, the coffin was placed on a gun carriage and drawn by black horses to [[Westminster Hall]], with the new king, his family and Edward's favourite dog, [[Caesar (dog)|Caesar]], walking behind. Following a brief service, the royal family left, and the hall was opened to the public; over 400,000 people filed past the coffin over the next two days.<ref>[[#Ridley|Ridley]], pp. 563–565</ref> As [[Barbara Tuchman]] noted in ''[[The Guns of August]]'', his funeral, held on 20 May 1910, marked "the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered in one place and, of its kind, the last." A royal train conveyed the King's coffin from London to Windsor Castle, where Edward was buried at [[St George's Chapel]].<ref>[[#Ridley|Ridley]], p. 568</ref>