King of Great Britain and Ireland and dependencies overseas, Emperor of India (1901–10). The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, he was 59 before he succeeded to the throne on the death of his mother. As Prince of Wales he served on the Royal Commission on working-class housing (1884–85), but in general the queen excluded him from public affairs, denying him access to reports of cabinet meetings until 1892. As monarch his state visit to Paris in 1903 improved relations between Britain and France, and promoted public acceptance of the entente cordiale. In domestic politics he was influential in 1910 through his insistence that his approval for the Parliament Bill to reform the House of Lords must be preceded by a general election. He was succeeded in 1910 by his second son, George V.