Coming after the inherent social conservatism of the long Victorian age, the Edwardian era offered something of a breath of fresh air – from a rollerskating craze that swept the nation to the invention of ping-pong. However, it wasn't all fun and games: society still conformed to a strict class system, and people were governed by an exhaustingly long list of dos and don'ts – from not shaking anyone's hand to having all of your dinner conversation topics dictated by your hostess.
The tone of upper-class society was set by King Edward VII himself (), a man who loved to live life to the full he smoked huge numbers of cigarettes and cigars, had a string of mistresses, and enjoyed a diet stuffed with rich