One important change in this Era was within "Education." The introduction of compulsory education until the age of 14 started to make a big difference, especially for the working classes. Children were no longer allowed to work under a certain age. The whole education system started to look at what was being taught and now Reading, Writing and Arithmetic became compulsory for everyone. Sewing lessons were tailored for girls and physical education was added tot he school curriculum.
At this time, there was a gulf between the education of boys and girls. Boys were given a more efficient education, girls were expected to marry and were educated accordingly.
In 1906, the Schools Meals Act was passed and schools were allowed to serve dinners for the poorest children who were often malnourished. This was not compulsory though, and not all schools provided free meals because money for these meals had to be raised from local taxpayers. Dinners served to these hungry children were heavy and filling. A typical school meal was a thick pea soup with bread and dripping. For dessert, a fruit pudding. For the children from the poor working classes, this would have been their only daily meal.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR
The whole concept of one Family living "Upstairs" and being cared for by a whole team of servants "Downstairs" is a world away from the present generation. Yet, in the Edwardian era, it seemed to be the only "way of living." To get a job as a kitchen maid, living-in, with 3 good meals a day and being paid wages, was a good alternative to the "workhouse" or to begging on the streets.
For the Family living "Upstairs," it seemed, that they lived a very "easy" life with the servants doing every little task, from helping the ladies to dress, drawing the master's bath and opening the doors, and so on.
Those living "Upstairs" and those living "Downstairs" had very different lives. We learn from the 1911 census that 1.3million people worked 'below stairs'. With millions of families living in complete poverty, going into "Service" was a much sought-after alternative to near starvation but it was not an easy life.
The "domestic servant" was at the beck and call of the Family every hour of the day. While the Family ate 9-course meals, the servants were "treated" to the leftover cold cuts, and while the Family organized their social calendar, the servants were lucky to get one day off a month.
Yet, a careful and sensible 'servant' could have a steady life and a decent old age.
The Princess Alexandra of Denmark was born at the Yellow Palace in 1844. She was the eldest daughter of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucks-burg and Louise of Hesse-Cassel. The Princess was christened Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia. Within the family she was known as "Alix."
The Princess was introduced to the Prince of Wales (her future husband) in 1861 and the couple married on 10th March 1863. He was 21. She was 18. They honeymooned at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. The couple had 5 children: Prince Albert Victor Christian, Prince George, Princess Louise, Princess Victoria and Princess Maud.
The Sandringham estate was their country retreat where they loved entertaining and house parties. The marriage was a happy one even though Bertie had many mistresses. Alix suffered with deafness. King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were crowned together at Westminster Abbey in 1901.
Queen Alexandra was involved in many charities and hospitals and made her mark on fashion. After the death of her husband (King Edward VII), she moved back into Marlborough House but kept Sandringham House, where she died on 20th Nov.1925 and she was buried next to her husband at St.George's Chapel, Windsor.
(Info from Englishmonarchs)
Prince Albert Edward, the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, was born on 9th Nov.1841 at Buckingham Palace. To his family and friends, this Prince was known as "Bertie". Bertie was christened in St.George's Chapel, Windsor, on 25th Jan.1842. His mother and father embarked their first son on a strenuous educational regime devised by Prince Albert (his father). Driven hard in his youth, the heir to the throne was often overtired and rebellious. Bertie wanted a career in the army, but being the heir to the throne, he was denied this.
The Prince met Princess Alexandra (his future wife) on 24th Sept.1861 and they married at St.George's Chapel, Windsor, on 10th March 1863. They had 5 children. Prince Albert Victor, Prince George, Princess Louise, Princess Victoria and Princess Maud. During his mother's reign, Bertie undertook public duties but was always excluded by his mother from acting as her deputy until 1898.
At 50 years of age, Edward became King on the death of his mother, Queen Victoria in 1901. The new King's interests lay in foreign affairs and military and naval matters. Fluent in French and German, Edward VII made a number of visits abroad. He was also related to nearly every Continental sovereign and came to be known as the "Uncle of Europe." Edward played a part in encouraging military and naval reforms, pressing for the reform of the Army Medical Service and the modernization of the Home Fleet.
King Edward VII died on 6th May 1910 at the age of 68 and he lay in state at Westminster Hall, where a quarter of a million people filed past his body. He was buried in St.George's Chapel, Windsor, on 20th March 1910.
(Info from Royal.uk)
I have always been interested in the Edwardian Era, It's fashion, the way we lived back then, how the Law affected the Country, as well as the many inventions which even affect us today, the "Upstairs, Downstairs," as well as the many other interesting facts.
The turn from the late Victorian world into the modern Edwardian one changed life completely, and although King Edward VII's reign was very short, this King influenced the whole country in such a way that an Era was named after him.
Men and women of the Court both wore make-up. This happened in the Elizabethan Era, but now make-up was used more often, and there was a wide choice of lotions, powders and ointments than ever before. Time and expensive ingredients were lavished on appearances but "Beauty" in the 17th Century was seen as fleeting. Poor health and hygiene, along with the use of poisonous materials, meant a woman was thought to be "past her prime at 20, decayed at 4 and 20, and old and insufferable at 30."
It was fashionable to have a very pale complexion. This demonstrated that a person was rich enough not to have to work outside in the fields. To make quite sure that skin remained pale, people sometimes wore masks when outdoors. Powders and creams could also help achieve pallor.
A pale complexion was achieved by making a cream from powdered white chalk and/or even white lead, mixed with white of egg and vinegar. This made a smooth shiny finish and people had to be careful not to laugh or the new "skin" would crack. Unbelievably, wine was also considered good for the complexion. The cheeks were reddened by adding a little cerise powder (white lead to which red colouring was added). Lips were reddened with fruit juice or cochimeal.
Lotions and perfumes were kept in china pots or glass phials which were stored in beautiful wooden boxes. The dressing room, decorated with silk hangings, became a reception room where the "toilette" was carried out in public. Vanity was no longer a sin, but a virtue.
(Info from the Royal Museums Greenwich)
Rich "Stuarts" dressed in clothes that were more comfortable than those worn by wealthy "Tudors". Women appreciated less tight lacing and the disappearance of the farthingale. A gentleman swaggered around in breeches, doublet, lace collar and wide brimmed hat with a plume.
They were clothes that displayed restrained elegance. Only rich people could afford the expensive fabrics that were required, such as silk brocade and edgings of hand-made lace. The favourite colours of one of the Queens' was orange, blue, grey, peach, yellow and olive green, and these were often adopted by her courtiers.
Fashionable ladies and gentlemen followed the style of dress worn by King Charles I and his young French bride, Henrietta Maria. They wore clothes that displayed restrained elegance. The more relaxed styles were a change from the more restricting and highly decorated clothe worn at the Court of the previous King, James I.
In Stuart times, salt, sugar, currents, raisins, dates, figs and apricots were all called Spices. These were very important, being used to flavour food but also for medicines and perfumes. Because they came from distant lands, and took a long sea journey to bring back, Spices were very expensive.
Sugar colonies were established in the Caribbean. From the 1640s, the English, along with the Dutch and French, began establishing sugar colonies in the Caribbean Islands. The sugar was harvested and a syrup extracted that was shipped in casks from the West Indies and refined in England. It was boiled until it reached the point of crystallisation, cooled and poured into clay cone-shaped moulds. Sugar became very popular in food and drink. Cane sugar farming was so profitable that the plantation owners referred to sugar as "white gold." The rich were becoming used to the flavour of white sugar crystals in their tea and coffee, and bought silver sugar spoons, boxes, sieves and tongs. By the 18th Century, the West Indian sugar industry was supplying the whole of the Western world and fabulous fortunes were made.
In the 1650s, coffee became widely drunk in England for the first time. Coffee was imported from the East. So popular did this drink become that, in the later 17th Century, many "Coffee Houses" sprung up in the towns. By 1675, there were over 3,000 coffee houses in England. Merchants and professional men met in the new coffee houses, to read newspapers, talk politics, do business and gossip.
Tea also became popular in England in the late 17th Century. Tea was discovered by the Chinese in ancient times, but only reached Europe in the 17th Century. It was made popular by Catherine of Baganza, the wife of King Charles II. She made tea-drinking fashionable in England among the wealthy.
Breakfast was taken shortly after rising and was a relatively light meal. For the poor, this would have been of coarse bread; for the rich, there was probably a selection of cold meats, bread and butter and cakes, served with tea, coffee and chocolate.
The 17th Century dinner was taken at midday. Dinner prepared in a rich household probably contained two or three courses --- but they were very large and varied. In a poorer household, one course would have been served along with bread and ale. In a rich house, the first course would include most of the more elaborate meat dishes, together with soups. The next course would be a range of lighter meats, game and maybe some sweeter dishes to compliment. The third course was composed of fruit, sweets and cheese --- and very often contained beautifully crafted dishes, designed to show off the cooks' skills as well as to whet the appetite.
Supper was taken in the early evening. This was a single course, but in a wealthy household it would be made up of numerous dishes, both savoury and sweet. Just before bedtime, a light meal might be served --- for example, a "sack posset" made of eggs, wine and spices.
In the Stuart Era, food took up to four-fifths of an ordinary family's budget. Despite ways of treating food, such as salting meat and fish, the diet of the poor remained rather basic. The diet was based on hunks of bread, coarse hard cheese, meat if it could be afforded, and fish. Pottage continued to be a part of the staple diet. Ale was consumed in vast quantities.
At the end of the 17th Century, a writer estimated that half the population could afford to eat meat every day. Below them, about 30% could afford to eat meat 2 and 6 times a week, and the bottom 20% could only eat meat once a week.
Anne was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland between 1702 and 1707. On 1st May, 1707, under the Acts of Union, the Kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as Great Britain. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death in 1714.
BORN 1665 St.James's Palace, London
DIED 1714 Kensington Palace
SPOUSE Prince George of Denmark
CHILDREN Prince William, Duke of Gloucester (+ more)
PARENTS James VII and II and Anne Hyde.
Mary II was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, King William III and II, from 1689 until her death. Popular histories usually refer to the joint reign as that of William and Mary.
BORN 1662 St.James's Palace London
DIED 1694 Kensington Palace, London
CO-MONARCH William III and II
SIBLINGS Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Louisa Maria Stuart (+more)
PARENTS James II of England, Anne Hyde
BOOKS Memories of Mary, Queen of England (1689-1693).
