Editing Edward VII (section)

===Accession===
[[File:Edward VII in coronation robes.jpg|alt=Edward in coronation robes holding a sceptre. A crown and orb are on the table to his right.|thumb|Portrait by Sir [[Luke Fildes]], 1901]]
When [[Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria|his mother died]] on 22 January 1901, Edward became King of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India and, in an innovation, King of the British [[Dominion]]s.<ref>[[#Lee|Lee]], p. 7; [[#Middlemas|Middlemas]], p. 104</ref> He chose to reign under the name of Edward VII, instead of Albert Edward—the name his mother had intended for him to use{{efn|No English or British sovereign has ever reigned under a double name.}}—declaring that he did not wish to "undervalue the name of Albert" and diminish the status of his father with whom the "name should stand alone".<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27270|date=23 January 1901|page=547|supp=y}}</ref> The numeral VII was occasionally omitted in Scotland, even by the [[Church of Scotland|national church]], in deference to protests that the previous Edwards were English kings who had "been excluded from Scotland by battle".<ref name="dnb" /> [[J. B. Priestley]] recalled, "I was only a child when he succeeded Victoria in 1901, but I can testify to his extraordinary popularity. He was in fact the most popular king England had known since the earlier 1660s."<ref>[[#Priestley|Priestley]], p. 9</ref>
[[File:Edward VII (Puck magazine).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Caricature in ''[[Puck (magazine)|Puck]]'' magazine, 1901]]
Edward donated his parents' house, [[Osborne House|Osborne]] on the [[Isle of Wight]], to the state and continued to live at Sandringham.<ref>[[#Windsor|Windsor]], p. 14</ref> He could afford to be magnanimous; his private secretary, Sir [[Francis Knollys, 1st Viscount Knollys|Francis Knollys]], claimed that he was the first heir to succeed to the throne in credit.<ref>[[#Lee|Lee]], p. 26</ref> Edward's finances had been ably managed by Sir [[Dighton Probyn]], [[Comptroller of the Household]], and had benefited from advice from Edward's financier friends, some of whom were Jewish, such as [[Ernest Cassel]], [[Maurice de Hirsch]] and the [[Rothschild family]].<ref>[[#Middlemas|Middlemas]], pp. 38, 84, 96; [[#Priestley|Priestley]], p. 32</ref> At a time of widespread [[antisemitism]], Edward attracted criticism for openly socialising with Jews.<ref>{{Citation |last=Allfrey |first=Anthony |title=King Edward VII and His Jewish Court |date=1991 |place=London |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |isbn=978-0-297-81125-1}}</ref><ref>[[#Lee|Lee]], pp. 63–64; [[#Ridley|Ridley]], p. 271</ref>

[[Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra|Edward's coronation]] had originally been scheduled for 26 June 1902. However, two days before, he was diagnosed with [[appendicitis]].<ref name="Lee102">[[#Lee|Lee]], pp. 102–109</ref> The disease was generally not treated operatively. It carried a high mortality rate, but developments in [[anaesthesia]] and [[antisepsis]] in the preceding 50 years made life-saving surgery possible.<ref name="app">{{Citation |last1=Mirilas |first1=P. |title=Not just an appendix: Sir Frederick Treves |journal=Archives of Disease in Childhood |volume=88 |issue=6 |pages=549–552 |date=2003 |doi=10.1136/adc.88.6.549 |pmc=1763108 |pmid=12765932 |last2=Skandalakis, J. E.}}</ref> [[Sir Frederick Treves]], with the support of [[Lord Lister]], performed a then-radical operation of draining a pint of pus from the infected [[abscess]] through an incision in the king's abdomen; this outcome showed that the cause was not cancer.<ref>[[#Ridley|Ridley]], p. 365</ref> The next day, Edward was sitting up in bed, smoking a cigar.<ref>[[#Windsor|Windsor]], p. 20</ref> Two weeks later, it was announced that he was out of danger. Treves was honoured with a baronetcy (which the King had arranged before the operation)<ref>[[#Bentley-Cranch|Bentley-Cranch]], p. 127</ref> and appendix surgery entered the medical mainstream.<ref name="app" /> Edward was crowned at [[Westminster Abbey]] on 9 August 1902 by the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], [[Frederick Temple]].<ref name="Lee102" />

Edward refurbished the royal palaces, reintroduced the traditional ceremonies, such as the [[State Opening of Parliament]], that his mother had foregone, and founded new [[Order (honour)|honours]], such as the [[Order of Merit]], to recognise contributions to the arts and sciences.<ref>[[#Bentley-Cranch|Bentley-Cranch]], pp. 122–139; [[#Ridley|Ridley]], pp. 351–352, 361, 372</ref> In 1902, the Shah of Persia, [[Mozzafar-al-Din]], visited England expecting to receive the [[Order of the Garter]]. The King refused to bestow the honour on the Shah because the order was meant to be in his personal gift and the Foreign Secretary, [[Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne|Lord Lansdowne]], had promised it without his consent. He also objected to inducting a Muslim into a Christian [[order of chivalry]]. His refusal threatened to damage British attempts to gain influence in Persia,<ref>[[#Hattersley|Hattersley]], pp. 39–40</ref> but Edward resented his ministers' attempts to reduce his traditional powers.<ref>[[#Lee|Lee]], p. 182</ref> Eventually, he relented and Britain sent a special embassy to the Shah with a full Order of the Garter the following year.<ref>[[#Lee|Lee]], p. 157; [[#Middlemas|Middlemas]], pp. 125–126</ref>