King Edward VII was built at the Devonport Dockyard, and was laid down in March 1902, launched in July 1903, and completed in February 1905.

Following the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the 3rd Battle Squadron became part of the Grand Fleet, where King Edward VII served for the next two years.

On the morning of 6 January 1916, while steaming to Belfast for a refit, King Edward VII struck a naval mine that had been laid by the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Möwe.

Attempts to tow King Edward VII to port failed when she took on a dangerous list, so she was abandoned and her crew evacuated to several destroyers.

The new ships, though based on the general Majestic type that had formed the basis of the preceding four battleship designs, marked the first significant change in the series.

The King Edward VII-class ships were powered by a pair of 4-cylinder triple-expansion engines that drove two screws, with steam provided by sixteen water-tube boilers.

King Edward VII was commissioned on 7 February at Devonport Dockyard for service as Flagship, Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet.

[3][6] On 5 March, King Edward VII was recommissioned as flagship of Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, Commander-in-Chief, Channel Fleet.

[7] On 6 August, the day after Britain declared war on Germany, elements of the Grand Fleet sortied to inspect the coast of Norway in search of a German naval base violating Norwegian neutrality.

[10] In late August, King Edward VII reported that two of her four 12-inch guns had developed cracks in the inner tubes, necessitating replacement.

She accordingly left Scapa Flow for Devonport to have the guns replaced, Bradford shifting his flag to her sister ship Dominion temporarily.

Four hours later, they met the 1st and 4th Battle Squadrons, en route from Scapa Flow, though they failed to reach the German High Seas Fleet before the latter withdrew.

[14] King Edward VII and the rest of the squadron joined the Grand Fleet for another sweep into the North Sea on 25 December.

[16] On 23 January, the 1st and 2nd Battlecruiser Squadrons sortied to ambush the German I Scouting Group in what resulted in the Battle of Dogger Bank the following day.

[19] On 6 January 1916, King Edward VII—having transferred her flag temporarily—departed Scapa Flow at 07:12 on a voyage around the northern coast of Scotland to Belfast, where she was scheduled to undergo a refit.

Signals to the passing collier Princess Melita induced her to close with King Edward VII and attempt to tow the battleship.

Initially believing the attack to have been from a German U-boat, the flotilla leader Kempenfelt and twelve destroyers sortied to come to King Edward VII's aid.

Towing began at 14:15, but King Edward VII settled deeper in the water and took on a 15° list in a rising sea and strong winds and soon proved to be unmanageable.

Fortune, Marne, and Musketeer departed to take the battleship's crew to port, while Nessus stayed on the scene until 17:20 with tugs that had arrived to assist.

After Nessus departed, the tugs continued to stand by, and saw King Edward VII capsize at 20:10 and sink around nine hours after the explosion.

The cause of her loss was initially unknown, as the British were at that time unaware of Möwe's minefield, and the battleship Africa had passed through the area earlier that day without incident.