Edward VII’s Gift to Diplomacy? 1903 Visit to Paris

Abstract

Edward VII’s most famous and most exhaustively discussed state visit was his trip to Paris, following on from his trip to Italy, which had concluded a Mediterranean cruise in the spring of 1903. Indeed, the extent of the discussions makes it almost tempting to keep the Paris visit to a footnote to the Italy chapter, since there is no need to go over the narrative details of what is already such a well-trodden path in diplomatic histories of the period. However, what these histories do not do is locate this state visit in the framework of the new diplomacy, with its emphasis on the cultural and symbolic significance of such enterprises. In terms of the significance of the visit, Edward has often been popularly credited with being the architect of the Entente Cordiale — but, as figures like George Monger point out, he played no part in the initial negotiations that laid the foundations for the Entente.¹ Nor, afterwards, can he be shown to have been particularly interested in the diplomatic niceties of its actual operation. Yet this chapter still insists that his visit was essential to the establishment of the Entente Cordiale, both in the initial achievement and in its maintenance, because of the symbolic importance of his public endorsement of the value of the link between Britain and France. We are often taught to think of a royal tour as being an ornamental addition to the daily duties and achievements of diplomacy.