Edwardian Lives

Edwardian childhood is both a surprisingly long way off and quite near. We have plenty of evidence of its material culture, and some of us have even grown up with Edwardian relatives. Their experience of childhood was obviously very different to that of today's child - no radio, television, computers or plane trips - and the Edwardian child seldom, if ever, had a holiday away from home. 

The first two years of the Edwardian childhood included two national events of great contrast: a royal funeral and a coronation.

When Queen Victoria died on the 22 January 1901 after a reign of sixty years, there was a genuine outbreak of grief and also of doubt and anxiety about the future at many levels of society. Children were not the only ones who could remember no other ruler, and perplexingly for them, adults seemed to be responding as children whose mother had died. To quote The Illustrated London News of January 26, 1901

'…at the end of the Victorian Era, who is not conscious of a great blank? Death has taken from us the Sovereign who, in a sense that has no precedent, mothered not only her own subjects, but even other nations…'

Convention demanded that the nation mourn her passing. An observer noted '...it was the most extraordinary thing. Everybody - the children as well - wore black… All the shops had black shutters up and everyone felt as if they'd lost somebody.'

For the children, of course, life did go on, even if they had been dressed in mourning clothes: '...it seemed as if the world stood still and could never continue without the queen. However, the following day King Edward was proclaimed King and life went on as usual.' (Lost Voices of the Edwardians by Max Arthur, London: Harper Press 2006).

The Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra took place on the 9 August 1902. Despite the cool damp weather of that summer, the country was very much in a mood to celebrate, with the recent end of the Boer Wars and the King's near-miraculous recovery from acute appendicitis, which had originally delayed the coronation. Many celebrations were aimed at children, including fêtes, organised sports and games, picnics, pageants, tea parties, and fancy dress competitions. There were holidays from school, in some cases of a week's duration, and many local authorities gave each of their child residents a souvenir, usually a mug or medallion, from the vast range of commemorative items produced.