The death of King Edward VII on May 6, 1910, marked the proper end of Edwardian era. Society marched gaily on until the summer of 1914, but no longer was there a charismatic, pleasure-loving, and cosmopolitan monarch to look to for amusement, fashion, sport, and manners. Though most of the king’s set were just as middle-aged and elderly as he was, Edward VII’s appetites still set the tone, and King George V and Queen Mary’s firm adherence to the quiet life sent ripples on unease throughout high society. The splintering of cliques that had begun well into Edward’s reign now bore fruit since the new king and queen were alleged to detest Americans, to despise the raffish crowd the dead king collected around him, the bed-hopping, and the indiscriminate mingling of wealth with blue blood. According to The Edwardian Daughter, the memoir written by Sonia Cubitt (née Keppel–and HRH the Duchess of Cornwall’s grandmother), Mrs. George Keppel lost no time in packing up the family for a long trip away from England now that her lover was dead. Court mourning was instituted, and though many hesitated to throw themselves back into the London Season the king’s death so abruptly interrupted, the smart set commemorated their deceased king and social leader with the infamous “black Ascot.”

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