King Edward VII, who was Grand Master of the United Orders before becoming King in 1901, whereupon he became Patron, gave his name to a new preceptory in 1902; the King Edward VII Preceptory 173. Shortly thereafter, the Grand Master's Council created a statute giving the Grand Master the power to create a Preceptory of Improvement (PoI) under his jurisdiction .

(King Edward VII seems to have had an enthusiasm for improving ritual as he was also responsible for the formation of the King Edward VII Chapter of Improvement in Rose Croix, which was established around the same time).

The minutes of Great Priory of 12th December 1902 recorded:

"A preceptory of instruction has been formed under the auspices of the E. Kt. Imre Kiralfy and the sanction of the King Edward VII Preceptory... and Knights in office will find a most excellent opportunity of perfecting their knowledge of our beautiful ceremonial."

Thus was the King Edward VII Preceptory of Improvement, the first ever preceptory of improvement, established under the authority and licence of the Most Eminent and Supreme Grand Master and the Great Marshal was nominated as his representative to preside generally.

V. E. Kt. Imre Kiralfy's involvement with our ritual was not limited to setting up the KEVII PoI. In 1903, in which year he was made a Knight Commander of the Temple, he presented to Great Priory a compilation of music to accompany the ceremonies. This has since been revised and arranged to conform to the current ritual and a copy of the music may be found HERE (including notes by M.E.& S. Kt. Paul Clement GCT).

From 2018, Provincial Priors have been encouraged to create preceptories of improvement in their own provinces and requested to nominate one of their Knights to receive instruction from the KEVII PoI for this purpose. However, having been meeting continuously since 1902, the KEVII PoI is the original and the most senior of the regularly constituted Preceptories of Instruction for the Templar Order. The KEVII PoI will celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2027.

The King Edward VII PoI is financed by every Preceptory within Great Priory through an annual fee that is now collected through their Province.