- Albert, prince consort of Great Britain and Ireland
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orig. Franz Albrecht August Karl Emanuel, prince von Sachsen-Coburg-Gothaborn Aug. 26, 1819, Schloss Rosenau, near Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gothadied Dec. 14, 1861, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, Eng.Prince consort of Queen Victoria of Britain and father of Edward VII.Albert married Victoria, his first cousin, in 1840 and became in effect her private secretary and chief confidential adviser. Their domestic happiness helped assure the continuation of the monarchy, which had been somewhat uncertain. Though the German-born Albert was undeservedly unpopular, the British public belatedly recognized his worth after his death at age 42 from typhoid fever. In the ensuing years the grief-stricken queen made policy decisions based on what she thought Albert would have done.
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▪ British princeoriginal name Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , German Franz Albrecht August Karl Emanuel, Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg-Gothaborn Aug. 26, 1819, Schloss Rosenau, near Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gothadied Dec. 14, 1861, Windsor, Berkshire, Eng.the prince consort of Queen Victoria of Great Britain and father of King Edward VII. Although Albert himself was undeservedly unpopular, the domestic happiness of the royal couple was well known and helped to assure the continuation of the monarchy, which was by no means certain on the Queen's accession. On his death from typhoid fever, the British public, which had regarded him almost as an enemy alien, finally recognized his exceptional qualities. Throughout almost 40 years of widowhood, the Queen decided important questions on the basis of what she thought Albert would have done.A member of the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty, he was the second son of Ernest, duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He was educated in Brussels and at the University of Bonn. The marriage between Victoria and Albert, who were first cousins, was promoted by their uncle Leopold I, king of Belgium. On Oct. 15, 1839, the young queen proposed to Albert, and they were married on Feb. 10, 1840.Albert soon became, in effect, Victoria's private secretary and chief confidential adviser. Following his example, the Queen, who had been inclined to indolence, became almost as hardworking as he. At his urging she abandoned her Whig partisanship in favour of a more seemly political neutrality. Disputes with Prussia in 1856 and the United States in 1861 ended peacefully, at least in part because Albert suggested rewording Foreign Office dispatches so that they could not be construed as ultimatums.Albert's vigilance was unwelcome to various government ministers, especially Lord Palmerston. The British aristocracy did not care for the severe moral tone of the royal household, for Albert's professorial manner (although he rode and shot as well as they), or for his artistic versatility. In collaboration with the London contractor Thomas Cubitt, Albert designed Osborne House (1845–51), the royal residence on the Isle of Wight. He was also an accomplished musician. He successfully managed the Great Exhibition of 1851 at the Crystal Palace, London, and was planning the South Kensington Exhibition of 1862 when he became fatally ill.Additional ReadingCharles Grey, The Early Years of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort (1867, reissued as The Early Years of the Prince Consort, 1967); and Theodore Martin, The Life of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort, 5 vol. (1875–80), were prepared at the Queen's insistence. Excellent, and more recent, biographies include Daphne Bennett, King Without a Crown (1977); and Robert Rhodes James, Albert, Prince Consort (1983).* * *
Universalium. 2010.
