Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.

The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and nicknamed "Bertie", Edward was related to royalty throughout Europe. He was Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne for almost 60 years. During the long reign of his mother, he was largely excluded from political influence and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. He travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial public duties and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and of the Indian subcontinent in 1875 proved popular successes, but despite public approval, his reputation as a playboy prince soured his relationship with his mother.

As king, Edward played a role in the modernisation of the British Home Fleet and the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War of 18991902. He re-instituted traditional ceremonies as public displays and broadened the range of people with whom royalty socialised. He fostered good relations between Britain and other European countries, especially France, for which he was popularly called "Peacemaker", but his relationship with his nephew, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, was poor. The Edwardian era, which covered Edward's reign and was named after him, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society, including steam turbine propulsion and the rise of socialism. He died in 1910 in the midst of a constitutional crisis that was resolved the following year by the Parliament Act 1911, which restricted the power of the unelected House of Lords.

Prince of Wales (Welsh: Tywysog Cymru, Welsh pronunciation: [təu̯ˈəsoɡ ˈkəmrɨ]) is a title traditionally and ceremonially granted to the heir apparent of the English and later British throne as a personal honour or dignity, and is not heritable, with it being merged with the Crown on accession to the throne. Since 1301, the title Earl of Chester has been given in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales. The Prince of Wales usually has other titles and honours, if the eldest son of the monarch; typically this means being Duke of Cornwall, which, unlike being Prince of Wales, inherently includes lands and constitutional and operational responsibilities. Since the 14th century, the title has been a dynastic title traditionally (but not necessarily) granted by the English or British monarch to male heirs apparent.

Historically, the title was held by native Welsh princes before the 12th century; the term replaced the use of the word king. One of the last Welsh princes, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, was killed at the Battle of Orewin Bridge in 1282. King Edward I of England invested his son Prince Edward (born in Caernarfon Castle in 1284) as the first English Prince of Wales in 1301. The title was claimed briefly by Owain Glyndŵr from ~1400 until ~1415 (date of his assumed death). Since then, it has only been held by the eldest son of the English and subsequently British monarch.

The longest-serving Prince of Wales is Prince Charles, the eldest son of Elizabeth II. The wife of the Prince of Wales is entitled to the title Princess of Wales. Prince Charles's first wife, Diana, used that title, but his second wife, Camilla, uses only the title Duchess of Cornwall (or of Rothesay when in Scotland) because the other title has become so popularly associated with Diana.