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Biographer Jane Ridley looks at the man who gave his name to the Edwardian age, although only king for nine years of his life. The eldest son of Victoria and Albert was 59 when he eventually acceded to the throne in 1901. Ridley uncovers a stormy mother-son relationship and a playboy prince denied any responsibilities. Despite all this, Ridley shows how Edward was an instinctive diplomat who did a good job as king, reinventing the monarchy for the 20th century.

Ridley, great-granddaughter of Edwin Lutyens, is author of Edwin Lutyens, winner of the Duff Cooper prize, and of an acclaimed biography The Young Disraeli.