The Guns of August

In May 1910, nine kings ride in the funeral procession of King Edward VII of England. They do not yet know it, but the funeral marks the end of the old order: “[T]he sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendor never to be seen again” (1). Edward had been the last of the Victorian English dynasty who held the world’s powers in a tenuous détente. One of the kings present is Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who has always hated Edward, calling him “a Satan.” Wilhelm believes that Edward has sought to ally with powers encircling Germany to stave off total European domination by the newly formed German Empire.

Among the other members of the funeral procession are the major players of what will come to be known as World War I: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is in attendance, as are the leaders, or close representatives of leaders, of Russia, Japan, China, Italy, and Sweden. These leaders represent 70 nations. Edward was “the Uncle of Europe” (4). He was the uncle of Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany and, through his wife’s sister, the Dowager Empress Marie of Russia, of Czar Nicholas II.