Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra
The coronation of Edward VII and his wife, Alexandra, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 9 August 1902. Originally scheduled for 26 June of that year, the ceremony had been postponed at very short notice, because the King had been taken ill with an abdominal abscess that required immediate surgery. In contrast to the coronation of Queen Victoria, Edward's mother and predecessor, some 64 years earlier, Edward and Alexandra's coronation had been carefully planned as a spectacle reflecting the influence and culture of the British Empire, then at the height of its power, but also as a meaningful religious occasion.
The King and Queen in their coronation robes
The King and Queen leaving for their coronation from Buckingham Palace
The moment of crowning in the coronation service; painting by Edwin Austin Abbey
The anointing of Queen Alexandra; painting by Laurits Tuxen
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
Portrait by W. & D. Downey, 1900s
Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1846
Edward and his staff at Niagara Falls, 1860
The marriage of the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, Windsor, 10 March 1863