Albert, Prince Consort (1819-1861)


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He was a very good consort to Victoria, and wasn't treated that kindly by the British people.
 
HRH Prince Albert just before he died in 1861-
 

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A young and dashing Prince-
 

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Another painting of a dashing Prince Albert-
 

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HRH Prince Albert, the Prince Consort-
 

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A sketch of a young Prince Albert done by Queen Victoria-
 

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A painting by Winterhalter: Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their young family-
 

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I've read just about every biography of Queen Victoria ever written. She fell in love with Albert literally at first sight, and remained in love with him till he died.
She wore mourning for him for the rest of her life.

He was a very intelligent man, and accomplished as well. He designed Osbourn House and Balmoral. He could compose music and was a patron of the arts. He was also a savvy politician whose great dream was to see his beloved Germany a constitutional monarchy like Great Britain. If he had lived to see World War I, ti would have broken his heart. Also, he was the one who popularised the Christmas Tree.
 
Albert was the child of a broken home. His mother Louise, tired of her husband's affairs, had one of her own. She was banished by Albert's father (the hypocrite) and died shortly afterwards.
 
And he was present at the birth of all his children!
And it occurred very rarely in that times.
Which contemporary father experienced that so many times?
 
Good point! Most fathers-to-be were not allowed in the birthing room, and were kept outside the doors while the child was being born. It wasn't considered 'proper' for a man to witness the birth of his child.
 
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He was certainly a man of many talents - campaigner aganist slavery, architecht, 'reformer and thinker' , administrator and faithful husaband/family man. Just what 21st century society needs!
 
Albert was the child of a broken home. His mother Louise, tired of her husband's affairs, had one of her own. She was banished by Albert's father (the hypocrite) and died shortly afterwards.

Yes, that's true. I was born and raised in St. Wendel, the city to which Luise of Saxe-Coburg escaped. There are many stories about her, she married her secound husband in St. Wendel and was very popular to the people of St. Wendel, streets and restaurants are named after her. Later she went to Paris and died there after suffering from cancer at the age of 30.

Two years ago there was an exhibition in the Museum of St. Wendel and I was able to see Luise's gown, Alberts christening robe and other dresses he had worn as a toddler. It was amazing! :flowers:
 
Albert was a skilled politician who helped Victoria rule her empire and restore respect to the throne, something which her Hanoverian relatives had squandered for many years. Victoria's seclusion after Albert's untimely death cost her some support from her subjects but her longevity and re-emergence into public undoubtedly helped restore their affection for the "old gal."
 
Albert was a skilled politician who helped Victoria rule her empire and restore respect to the throne, something which her Hanoverian relatives had squandered for many years. Victoria's seclusion after Albert's untimely death cost her some support from her subjects but her longevity and re-emergence into public undoubtedly helped restore their affection for the "old gal."


Just a note - Victoria didn't 'rule' anything - she reigned and her governments (yes plural as by the time she came to the throne many of the colonies had their own local governments with wide ranging powers although not over foreign policy) did the ruling. She was a constitutional monarch with a parliament making the rules and she had the rights to 'advise, warn and be consulted' and the responsibility to sign the laws. She didn't make the laws and, as had been shown in 1832, the monarch was largely under the control of the PM (the PM told the King to swamp the House of Lords with enough peers to pass the Great Reform Act if the Lords refused to pass it - the King made it known that he would do so so the Lords past the Act). If she ruled she wouldn't have had Gladstone as PM. She was totally unconstitutional over the Bedchamber Affair and Albert made sure that that never happened again. She got away with it the first time because the change wasn't the result of an election and the support in the Commons for Peel wasn't all that great but she wouldn't have been able to do it if the majority in favour had been greater as an election would have been fought over the rights of the monarch and she would have lost, I believe.
 
Thanks for correcting me for using "rule" instead of "reign" but I did not mean to imply that Victoria was a legislator and I doubt if many took my post to mean that. I'm glad you only posted a "note" and not a "song." :)
 
Prince Albert of Coburg... Consort to Queen Victoria

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the husband of Queen Victoria.

He was born in the Saxon duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld to a family connected to many of Europe's ruling monarchs.
At the age of 20 he married his first cousin, Queen Victoria, with whom he had nine children.

At first, Albert felt constrained by his position as consort, which did not confer any power or duties upon him.
Over time he adopted many public causes, such as educational reform and the abolition of slavery, and took on the responsibilities of running the Queen's household, estates and office.

He was heavily involved with the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Albert aided in the development of Britain's constitutional monarchy by persuading his wife to show less partisanship in her dealings with Parliament—although he actively disagreed with the interventionist foreign policy pursued during Lord Palmerston's tenure as Foreign Secretary.


He died at the early age of 42, plunging the Queen into a deep mourning which lasted for the rest of her life.
Upon Queen Victoria's death in 1901, their son, Edward VII, succeeded as the first monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, named after the ducal house to which Albert belonged.

Albert was a dashing prince, highly intelligent , a man who .. had he lived, would have had a profound effect and influence on the later 19th century.

His grandson was to return to Germany and claim the ancient title of Prince of Coburg
along with all the immense wealth, buildings and landholdings.
He lived through 2 tragic wars which brought an abrupt end to his family dynasty in far off Germany
go here .......

www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/educ...ch/v18977660FQ6BjEnj


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I watched a brief introduction to a video about Prince Albert. In that clip, a commentator quoted Disraeli as saying that if Prince Albert had lived long enough, he would have been a dictator. Did Prince Albert love power that much? Did he try to exercise power over Queen Victoria? The brief clip tried to show that his unhappy childhood left him with a desire to control events and people.
 
I don't about Disraeli's comment remembering that every PM from Peel onwards sought out his advice at times but he most certainly ruled Victoria and was by her side when she saw ministers and even on many occasions he saw the ministers alone.
 
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Yes, I imagine that the ministers quickly caught on that if they wanted to "influence" Victoria, or at least get her to agree to their positions, they would necessarily have to deal with Albert. But do any historians believe that he would have been a dictator? It is one thing to control a person, many consorts have tried, and a few have succeeded, but to be a dictator?? That is a harsh assessment that I have never heard leveled at the Prince.
 
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He was a very good consort to Victoria, and wasn't treated that kindly by the British people.

I agree, and Queen Victoria had loved him very much. Prince Albert's paternity was also clouded with rumors about his illegitimacy. Even though his father recognized him as his own son. It was still alleged that he is not Ernst I's son because of rumors that both his parents were having affairs.
 
Was Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert a love match? I can see that QV respects PA because she listens to his advice and even mourns his death for the rest of her life. Isn't that love?:)
 
Victoria certainly fell in love with Albert from the beginning. In time Albert came to love her as much as she loved him.
Much the same as their great-great-grandchildren really - Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Elizabeth fell in love with Philip aged 13 but his love for her came later but is just as deep and abiding.
 
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