If you walk into the Musée de l'Erotisme in Paris—or at least, back when it was still open—you’d find something that looks less like an antique and more like a steampunk contraption. It’s a chair. But not the kind of chair you’d use for a polite tea service. This is the King Edward VII chair, often whispered about as the "siège d'amour" or love chair. It was built for a man who loved the finer things in life, particularly the company of women, and who found that his expanding waistline was making his extracurricular activities a bit... challenging.
History is funny that way.
We often think of Victorian and Edwardian royalty as these stiff, upright figures trapped in corsets and rigid etiquette. Then you find out the future King of England had a custom-built mahogany "love seat" crafted by the legendary Parisian cabinetmaker Louis Soubrier. It wasn't just a rumor. It’s a real piece of engineering designed to accommodate a very specific set of physical constraints. Bertie, as his friends called him, was a hedonist. He spent decades as the Prince of Wales waiting for his mother, Queen Victoria, to finally vacate the throne. He had time on his hands. He had an appetite for Parisian nightlife. And eventually, he had a belly that got in the way of his favorite pastime.
The Engineering of the King Edward VII Chair
Honestly, the mechanics of the thing are what really get people talking. It isn't just a bench. The King Edward VII chair features a dual-level design with a set of stirrups. Imagine a plush, upholstered piece of furniture that looks like a hybrid between a sled and an armchair. Soubrier, whose workshop was on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, delivered the original to Le Chabanais, which was basically the most high-end, luxurious brothel in 19th-century Paris.
The chair solved a physics problem.
By 1900, Edward’s waistline was legendary. He was a man of "substantial girth." The chair allowed him to interact with two women simultaneously—one on the top level and one on the bottom—without his weight becoming a literal crushing issue. It was about ergonomics. People forget that even in the 1890s, high-end furniture was being adapted for specialized "lifestyle" needs. The craftsmanship was impeccable. We’re talking about hand-carved wood and the finest fabrics, all designed to facilitate what the French called joie de vivre.
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Life at Le Chabanais and the Prince's Paris
You have to understand the context of Paris at the turn of the century to get why this chair exists. It wasn't some back-alley operation. Le Chabanais was a place where world leaders and artists hung out. It cost millions of francs to deck out. The "Hindu Room" inside the brothel won a design prize at the 1889 World's Fair. That's the level of prestige we're talking about. The King Edward VII chair sat in his private room there, a space reserved exclusively for him whenever he hopped across the Channel to escape the stifling atmosphere of the British court.
Bertie was the "Uncle of Europe." He was related to every royal house on the continent. But in Paris, he was just a wealthy guy who liked good food, expensive cigars, and very specific furniture.
The original chair stayed at Le Chabanais until the house was closed in 1946 following the Marthe Richard law, which banned brothels in France. After that, it went into the hands of private collectors. It’s popped up at auctions and exhibitions over the years, including a 1992 Sotheby’s sale. Even today, Soubrier’s descendants still have the original blueprints and a replica in their private collection. It’s a bizarre family legacy, but one that highlights the intersection of royal history and the history of human intimacy.
Why the King Edward VII Chair Matters to Historians
Is it just a dirty joke? Not really.
Historians like Catherine Horwood or biographers like Jane Ridley look at these artifacts to understand the man behind the crown. The King Edward VII chair represents a shift in how the British monarchy was perceived. Victoria was the "Widow of Windsor," a symbol of mourning and morality. Edward was the "Playboy Prince." He was a diplomat who used his charm and his love for French culture to help forge the Entente Cordiale.
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His ability to navigate the social circles of Paris—even the scandalous ones—actually had political benefits. He was approachable. He was human. He had flaws that were very, very visible.
Misconceptions About the Design
People often get the orientation wrong. They look at pictures of the King Edward VII chair and assume it works like a modern recliner. It doesn’t. The structure is built for a face-to-face engagement while supporting the King's midsection and providing leverage via the metal stirrups. It's an early example of "assistive technology" for the bedroom.
- It was not a mass-produced item; it was a bespoke commission.
- It wasn't hidden in a basement; it was a centerpiece of his private suite.
- The design has been replicated for movies and museums, but the original's patina and wear tell a much more personal story.
The Legacy of the Love Chair
What do we do with this information now? In the 2020s, we’re obsessed with "wellness" and "sexual health," but the Edwardians were already there, just with more velvet and mahogany. The King Edward VII chair is a reminder that the "good old days" were often much wilder than the history books let on.
If you're a collector of Victoriana or just a fan of weird history, the chair is the ultimate conversation piece. It challenges the idea that aging and weight gain should end one’s pursuit of pleasure. In a weird way, it’s a monument to the King’s refusal to grow old gracefully. He wanted to grow old disgracefully, and he spent the money to ensure he could do exactly that.
How to Explore This History Further
You can't exactly go buy an original King Edward VII chair at IKEA. However, you can still trace the roots of this story if you know where to look.
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- Visit the Soubrier Collection: The Soubrier firm still exists in Paris. While they are a high-end furniture rental and design house for the film industry now, they remain the keepers of the chair’s technical history.
- Explore the Musée de l'Erotisme Archive: While the physical museum in Pigalle closed its doors in 2016, the catalogs and photos of their collection—including the chair—are still widely available in academic circles and high-end art books.
- Read Jane Ridley’s "Bertie: A Life of Edward VII": This is arguably the most comprehensive biography of the King. It doesn't shy away from his time in Paris and provides the necessary context for why he felt the need for such elaborate furniture.
- Check out the "Siège d'amour" documentaries: Several European history channels have done deep dives into the craftsmanship of the chair, often interviewing the artisans who maintain the replicas today.
Understanding the King Edward VII chair requires looking past the initial shock value. It’s a piece of social history. It tells us about the craftsmanship of the Belle Époque, the private lives of the world’s most powerful people, and the lengths a King would go to for a bit of comfort. It’s a reminder that beneath the medals and the royal sashes, there was a man who just wanted to have a good time without his back giving out.
If you ever find yourself in Paris, walking down the Rue du Chabanais, look up at the building at number 12. It’s an apartment building now. No signs of the Hindu Room. No stirrups. But the ghost of the King Edward VII chair still lingers in the history of the city, a testament to a time when royalty was a lot more colorful than the portraits suggest.
The best way to appreciate this piece of history is to view it as a triumph of engineering over anatomy. It wasn't about being a King; it was about being a man who refused to let physics win.
To see the chair today, your best bet is to look for traveling exhibitions on "The Art of Love" or "History of the Erotic," as the surviving replicas and the occasional original components move between private galleries in London and Paris. Don't expect to see it in the Tower of London next to the Crown Jewels anytime soon, but in the world of antique furniture and royal biography, it remains one of the most significant, and certainly the most unique, seats in history.