Albert, Prince Consort (1819-1861)


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
As far as biographies go, I'm still fond of Stanley Weintraub's Uncrowned King, which was one of the first royal books I read. I thought I would like A.N. Wilson's biography as much as I liked his earlier one of Victoria, but not so much.

He's a very complicated guy for someone who lived a very straightforward life. I forget which book it was that posed whether his basically-unconstitutional hold on power would have actually become a problem had he lived longer...
 
Last edited:
CyrilVladisla said:
Did Duke Ernest II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha have any children at all? I was under the impression he had no illegitimate children.
Click to expand...

The Duke of Connaught and (I believe) Prince Louis of Battenberg were visiting Coburg and apparently much of the town was waving at them and greeting them in a very casual manner. Louis asked Arthur what was going on and he said they were the "dear, good Ernst" (the Duchess of SCG's term)'s illegitimates. ;)
 
Yes, Ernst was certainly the direct opposite of Albert in the sexual morality department. He had many illegitimate children, and was another of those husbands who reputedly gave their wives an STD which ultimately prevented them from having any children of their own.
 
Last edited:
Prinsara said:
As far as biographies go, I'm still fond of Stanley Weintraub's Uncrowned King, which was one of the first royal books I read. I thought I would like A.N. Wilson's biography as much as I liked his earlier one of Victoria, but not so much.

He's a very complicated guy for someone who lived a very straightforward life. I forget which book it was that posed whether his basically-unconstitutional hold on power would have actually become a problem had he lived longer...
Click to expand...

Thank you. That is the one I have been considering so I will read it.
 
Why was Prince Albert frequently painted wearing both the Order of the Garter and the Order of the Golden Fleece?

I understand that the Prince would normally wear the insignia of the Garter when required for official functions, but did he actually wear the Golden Fleece regularly in the UK? I find it somewhat strange given that it is a foreign order.
 
Last edited:
Prinsara said:
He's a very complicated guy for someone who lived a very straightforward life. I forget which book it was that posed whether his basically-unconstitutional hold on power would have actually become a problem had he lived longer...
Click to expand...

Jane Ridley's Bertie.

"On the other hand, he had interfered in politics, attempted to shape foreign policy and acted almost as an unofficial member of the Cabinet."

"His spectacular career demonstrates just how much could be achieved by a genuinely able ruler. But his quest for power was arguably destined to set the monarchy on a collision course with Parliament. His inability to delegate and his insistence on keeping control of the court in his own hands are worrying signs. In some ways, his death was opportune. It removed the Crown from the front line of politics at a time when the rise of a robust system of two-party politics meant that retreat was essential to the monarchy's survival. At the moment of his death, however, Albert seemed indispensable."
 
I often wondered how was Prince Alberts English seeing as he was a German Prince and it wasn't his mother tongue.
 
Considering he had no problem talking to the Pope in Italian about architecture or British politicians/architects/scientists/scholarly people about anything, while he never apparently lost his famous accent, I think Albert's polymath capabilities extended to verbal communication.

Again, I forget the source, but I think one thing he did do was have Victoria check most of his written English correspondence. So he was obviously slightly less-confident there.
 
Last edited:
I'm never sure about this... Victoria was not as fluent or as confident in German when she met Albert as you would expect a native German speaker to be. The only comparison I can think of is someone who moves to a different country as a young child, considering how much care was taken with her English at some point.
 
Wasn’t there quite a vigorous and long debate about Victoria and how well she spoke German as she was growing up, on one of the Victoria threads? It was several months ago and I hope I’m not dreaming!
 
Curryong said:
Wasn’t there quite a vigorous and long debate about Victoria and how well she spoke German as she was growing up, on one of the Victoria threads? It was several months ago and I hope I’m not dreaming!
Click to expand...

Yes, I think so, since I was part of it. It was more the "Languages Royals Speak", I think.

It's interesting that every portrayal of Albert ever gives him the heavy accent, even after years in the UK. I'm not sure if any of his children were around at the point to say anything differently, though. It may be true and not just prejudice!

I like that Robert Hardy even made quite a lot of effort to ensure his accent was properly Coburg, though. ;)
 
The Albert docudrama I happen to be watching, although I haven't seen enough to have an opinion yet.
 
And although I thought Hardy was great in Edward the Seventh and this whole thing (Victoria the ITV series) was crummy enough for me to lose interest in watching, Tom Hughes is fantastic. What an amazing performance as Albert. (It's astounding what making him a little more soft-spoken will do. And the "note-taking" scene is just...hilarious and really plausible.)
 
Last edited:
Prince Albert wrote Invocazione All' Armonia between 1835 to 1841.
 
Prince Albert was given full access to Cabinet and State papers. From 1841 onwards he attended audiences which Queen Victoria held with her minsters.
Do you think that some of the ministers of Queen Victoria resented the fact that Prince Albert had access to Cabinet and State papers?
 
CyrilVladisla said:
Prince Albert was given full access to Cabinet and State papers. From 1841 onwards he attended audiences which Queen Victoria held with her minsters.
Do you think that some of the ministers of Queen Victoria resented the fact that Prince Albert had access to Cabinet and State papers?
Click to expand...

Yes, but more because he was a foreigner and less about the constitutionality of it.

I think some other ministers who appreciated his work thought it was natural that a man should be running things and a wife should be delegating to her husband, especially one in the unnatural position of Sovereign.
 
I'd imagine it was quite sad given the unhappy marriage and divorce of his parents.
Princess Louise his mother also sadly died of cancer on the 30th of August 1831.
 
Whether it objectively was or wasn't, I don't think Albert viewed it as unhappy, other than the sadness and trauma of his mother. He was very close to his brother and his tutor, they lived quietly in the country, he spent a lot of time outdoors, and he discovered he liked to work and learn things. He used to look back quite nostalgically at his peaceful life in Coburg once he was engulfed in his stressful one in Britain.

Why was Albert only a Serene Highness if there were no morganatic lines?
 
Prinsara said:
Whether it objectively was or wasn't, I don't think Albert viewed it as unhappy, other than the sadness and trauma of his mother. He was very close to his brother and his tutor, they lived quietly in the country, he spent a lot of time outdoors, and he discovered he liked to work and learn things. He used to look back quite nostalgically at his peaceful life in Coburg once he was engulfed in his stressful one in Britain.

Why was Albert only a Serene Highness if there were no morganatic lines?
Click to expand...
I don’t think Albert was serene highness but rather H.H and Albert’s father did have illegitimate children.
 
In November 1840, shortly after the birth of the Princess Royal, Prince Albert was given a key to Queen Victoria's boxes of government papers.
Did the fact that he held the key displease some government officials?
 
We don’t know whether the birth of the Prince of Wales (and therefore his conception) was right on the dot though or whether he was a little late (or early.) After all, babies do choose their own time (and date) of arrival.

Alternate history is a fascinating subject and if the nearly 22 year old Victoria had been left with just a baby daughter, her son not yet conceived, history would indeed have been changed. She would undoubtedly have been advised to marry again after five or so years of widowhood and there would have been another Consort and another family.

And trust Albert to have caught a cold due to the mishap. That man’s physical constitution seems to have been remarkably fragile!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Blog Real
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent & Strathearn & Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Replies
7
Views
1K
Prinsara
Prinsara
C
Line of Succession Between Princess Charlotte and Queen Victoria
Replies
7
Views
3K
Countessmeout
Countessmeout
CyrilVladisla
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg - 1816
Replies
9
Views
2K
CyrilVladisla
CyrilVladisla
burbankstorylady
List of Other Royal Biography Authors
Replies
1
Views
2K
burbankstorylady
burbankstorylady
B
Memoirs of Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha
Replies
2
Views
3K
burbankstorylady
burbankstorylady

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom