By the time Queen Victoria died in 1901, it felt like time for a change. Her son Edward certainly thought so. For 40 years, the Palace had been a virtual mausoleum. Edward VII openly described it as the Sepulchre. Now he swept in with a force described as, "Like a Viennese hussar bursting suddenly into an English vicarage". Edward VII was determined to modernise Buckingham Palace. I mean, for example, what Queen Victoria had never allowed were loose anywhere near the public rooms of Buckingham Palace. So if you were invited to a levee or an occasion there, best not to have anything to drink for the first 24 hours beforehand. Whereas Edward VII was a bit more sympathetic, and he built, moved, and built some loose so that when people came for things, they could actually use the facilities.


直到1901年，维多利亚女王逝世时，似乎改变的时机到了。至少她的儿子，爱德华，是那样想的。40年间，白金汉宫实质上就是一座陵墓，爱德华七世也是这样公开的形容它，现在他趾高气昂地进入宫殿，就像维也纳骑士突然闯入英国教区牧师屋一样。爱德华七世决心对白金汉宫进行现代化改造，举个例子，维多利亚女王从不允许在白金汉宫附近的公共空间安置厕所。所以如果你获邀参加招待会，或者有事去那边，在此24小时之前不要喝任何东西，而爱德华七世还是挺有同情心的。他建造了一些厕所，让来这里的人们可以用上这些设施。