Edward VII, king of the United Kingdom, emperor of India (1901-1910)
“His reputation as the sole originator of the entente [cordiale with France] is undeserved. It ignores the patient work of Lord Lansdowne …, Paul Cambon, French Ambassador in London, and Théophile Delcassé, who told a friend on taking office in 1898, ‘I do not wish to leave this desk without having restored the good understanding with England.’ It also ignores England’s need to end her isolation from the continental powers and to overcome her colonial difficulties, particularly in Africa. But as Sir Sidney Lee [who published a biography of King Edward] in the 1920’s] said, ’the credit for influencing public opinion not only in France but also in England in favour of the entente, the credit for lulling the French suspicions of perfide Albion and English suspicions of France, the credit for creating an atmosphere in which agreement could be reached, must go to Edward VII.'” (Ch. Hibbert, Edward VII. A portrait, [London 1976], p. 258-259)