Edward VII (1841-1910) was not a typical king. He spent almost his entire life under a shed, as an underestimated son of a great ruler:Queen Victoria. He himself only became a monarch at the age of 60. He had a plethora of new responsibilities, but he had no intention of giving up his past pastimes. He went on vacation like a normal aristocrat. Well, almost normal ...
The British king had a wide variety of estates in England at his disposal, but he was fond of excursions to the mainland. He tried to visit Marienbad at least once a year:a spa in the Czech Republic, which, thanks to his visits, became one of the most popular resorts in Europe. Monarch used to go there for relaxation, but also for health and ... losing unnecessary kilograms . As an elegant elderly gentleman, Edward took great care to be in shape and believed that nothing would help him like a good spa.
What was the king doing on vacation?
During his visits to Marienburg, he always stayed in the same hotel - the luxurious Weimar. Each day of relaxation started with three glasses of mineral water . He drank the first one in his hotel room, the other two outside. He had his own private bench near the hotel on which no one else was allowed to sit. Water had been brought to him from Weimar, but Edward had always insisted that the head waiter should do so. After all, respect has to be!
Edward VII for a stroll in Marienbad…
After the king had drunk his ration of water and had eaten his breakfast, he went to the bathhouse for a healing bath. For several quarters of an hour, he soaked his roots, then returned to his hotel for lunch. He supposedly remembered that he was on a slimming treatment, but he was not very good at maintaining his nutritional discipline . He was telling everyone around what not to eat and drink, but he ate himself to the best of fried trout, partridges with eggplant ... and peaches. The local doctor recommended the latter to him as healthier than oranges. As a result, during two-week stays, never lost more than 3 kilos of weight . But he was also very pleased with this result.
Monarch among commoners…
The problems began when the king went for a walk after lunch or dinner. Marienbad differed from royal estates in England in that the ruler of the British Empire met ordinary people at every turn. In fact, Edward didn't know what to make of it. He told his associates that he dreamed that no one would recognize him as a king. On one occasion ordered his Minister of War, Mr. Haldane, to change into typical Austrian clothes and took him for a car ride.
… And his favorite hotel:Weimar.
Both pretended to be "ordinary" tourists. They stopped at a completely random roadside restaurant:
"I'll eat here!" He said loudly. He ordered two coffees (...). He told me that Austrian coffee always tastes great and it is easy to know where the border with Germany is, because after that the coffee is already nasty. (...) "Now I'm going to pay" - he finally said - "And I will only give a small tip to this woman (...) in case she suspects that I am the king."
The article is mainly based on the book:Christopher Hibbert, Edward VII:The Last Victorian King, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007 ...
On the other hand, Edward got the most real anger when someone… did not recognize that he was king! One day, he visited some friends who were also resting in Marienbad, unannounced. At the door, the butler inadvertently asked him about his dignity. The king literally exploded: You should know who I am! For my part, I perfectly remember that a year ago you were the third valet at the Duchess of Manchester!
Now, Edward did not know what to think about ordinary passers-by. One day he was glad to be greeted by them. Another time he personally complained to the emperor the impudence of crowds. The ruler of Austria-Hungary reacted immediately and for the future royal walks were supervised by an army of officials …
And amazing connections
The visits of the British monarch were also an important social event. Many people came to Marienbad only to meet the lovable king in person. Indeed, countless high-class ladies have done it. But there were also candidates for… completely different acquaintance.
... but the inspiration for its writing was the latest novel by Krystyna Kaplan entitled "It happened in Marienbad" (Literatura Fakt PWN 2012).
As one of the members of the royal entourage recalled:
Being in Marienbad meant [for me] a very hard work as I had to spend a lot of time meeting people who were hard to get rid of. For example (...) a beautiful young lady from the Viennese underworld wanted to have the honor of sleeping with the king . When she heard that such a thing was not even negotiable, she replied that in the worst case she could sleep with me, because it would be a shame that the money she spent on the ticket would be wasted.
Well, Edward VII probably never found out about this would-be guest. Unaware of his extraordinary popularity among women of uncertain reputation, he visited Marienbad throughout his reign, until his death in 1910 ...
We recommend:
- Krystyna Kaplan, It happened in Marienbad , Literatura Fakt PWN, 2012.