Politically conservative but socially ecumenical, he forged a new elite defined as much by pragmatism as by his insatiable appetite for amusement. Edward’s commitment to the status quo was instinctive and unswerving – he was adamantly opposed to the suffragette movement and regarded with distaste the Labour Party, which emerged at the turn of the twentieth century – but so was his belief that enjoyment could be found in company that was neither male nor patrician.
