View source for Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

{{Short description|Consort of Queen Victoria from 1840 to 1861}}
{{Redirect|Albert of the United Kingdom|other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Prince Albert
| title        = [[Prince Consort]]
| image        = Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.png
| caption      = Photograph of Albert in 1861
| succession   = [[Consort of the British monarch]]<!--Do NOT change to "Prince consort of the United Kingdom"; he was given the title of Prince Consort in 1857.-->
| reign        = 10 February 1840 – {{avoid wrap|14 December 1861}}
| birth_name   = Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1819|8|26|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Schloss Rosenau]], Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1861|12|14|1819|8|26|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Windsor Castle]], England
| burial_date  = 23 December 1861
| burial_place = {{br separated entries | Royal Vault, [[St George's Chapel]]; | 18 December 1862  | [[Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore]]}}
| consort      = yes
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Queen Victoria]]|10 February 1840}}
| issue        = {{ubli
| [[Victoria, Princess Royal]]
| [[Edward VII]]
| [[Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine]]
| [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
| [[Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]]
| [[Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll]]
| [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]]
| [[Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany]]
| [[Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg]]}}
| full name    = Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel
| house        = {{plainlist|
* [[Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]] (until 1826)
* [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] (from 1826)}}
| father       = [[Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
| mother       = [[Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
| signature    = Prince Albert's signature.svg
}}
'''Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha''' (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.royal.uk/prince-albert |title=Prince Albert |newspaper=The Royal Family|date=21 September 2017 |last1=Dunn |first1=Charlotte }}</ref> 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the husband of [[Queen Victoria]].<!--Do NOT change to "prince consort of the United Kingdom"; he was given the title of Prince Consort in 1857.--> As such, he was [[consort of the British monarch]] from [[Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert|their marriage]] on 10 February 1840 until his death in 1861. Victoria granted him the title [[Prince Consort]] in 1857.

Albert 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 Victoria, his first cousin, with whom he had nine children. Initially, he felt constrained by his role as consort, which did not afford him power or responsibilities. He gradually developed a reputation for supporting public causes, such as [[educational reform]] and the [[abolition of slavery]] worldwide, and he was entrusted with running the [[Queen's household]], office and estates. He was heavily involved with the organisation of the [[Great Exhibition]] of 1851, which was a resounding success.

Victoria came to depend more and more on Albert's support and guidance. He aided the development of Britain's [[constitutional monarchy]] by persuading his wife to be less partisan in her dealings with the [[British parliament]], but he actively disagreed with the [[interventionist foreign policy]] pursued during [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston]]'s tenure as [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|Foreign Secretary]]. Albert died in 1861 at the age of 42, devastating Victoria so much that she entered into a deep state of mourning and [[Black#Mourning|wore black]] for the rest of her life. On the day of [[Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria|her death]] in 1901, their eldest son succeeded as [[Edward VII]], the first British monarch of the [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]], named after the [[ducal]] house to which Albert belonged.

== Early life ==
[[File:Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, with her children.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Albert (left) with his elder brother, [[Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Ernest]], and mother, [[Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1800–1831)|Louise]], shortly before her exile from court]]
Albert was born on 26 August 1819 at [[Schloss Rosenau]], near [[Coburg]], Germany, the second son of [[Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]], and his first wife, [[Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]].{{sfnm|Hobhouse|1983|1p=2|Weintraub|1997|2p=20|Weir|1996|3p=305}} His first cousin and future wife, [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]], had been born earlier in the same year with the assistance of the same midwife, [[Charlotte von Siebold]].{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|p=20}} He was baptised into the [[Evangelical Church in Germany|Lutheran Evangelical Church]] on 19 September 1819 in the Marble Hall at Schloss Rosenau, with water taken from the local river, the [[Itz]].{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|p=21}} His godparents were his paternal grandmother, the [[Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf|Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]]; his maternal grandfather, the [[Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg|Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]; the [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor of Austria]]; the [[Albert Casimir, Duke of Teschen|Duke of Teschen]]; and [[Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly|Emanuel, Count of Mensdorff-Pouilly]].{{sfnm|Ames|1968|1p=1|Hobhouse|1983|2p=2}} In 1825, Albert's great-uncle, [[Frederick IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]], died, which led to a realignment of the [[Saxon duchies]] the following year; and Albert's father became the first reigning duke of [[Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]].<ref>e.g. {{harvnb|Montgomery-Massingberd|1977|pp=259–273}}.</ref>

Albert and his elder brother, [[Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Ernest]], spent their youth in close companionship, which was marred by their parents' turbulent marriage and eventual separation and divorce.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=25–28}} After their mother was exiled from court in 1824, she married her lover, [[Alexander von Hanstein, Count of Pölzig and Beiersdorf]]. She presumably never saw her children again, and died of cancer at the age of 30 in 1831.{{sfnm|Hobhouse|1983|1p=4|Weintraub|1997|2pp=25–28}} The following year, their father [[avunculate marriage|married his niece]] [[Princess Marie of Württemberg]]; their marriage was not close, however, and Marie had little—if any—impact on her stepsons' lives.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=40–41}}

The brothers were educated privately at home by [[:de:Johann Christoph Florschütz|Christoph Florschütz]] and later studied in [[Brussels]], where [[Adolphe Quetelet]] was one of their tutors.{{sfn|Hobhouse|1983|p=16}} Like many other German princes, Albert attended the [[University of Bonn]], where he studied law, political economy, philosophy and the history of art. He played music and he excelled at sport, especially [[fencing]] and riding.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=60–62}} His tutors at Bonn included the philosopher [[Immanuel Hermann Fichte|Fichte]] and the poet [[August Wilhelm Schlegel|Schlegel]].{{sfnm|Ames|1968|1p=15|Weintraub|1997|2pp=56–60}}

== Marriage ==
{{main|Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert}}

[[File:Prince Albert - Partridge 1840.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait by [[John Partridge (artist)|John Partridge]], 1840]]
The idea of marriage between Albert and his first cousin Victoria was first documented in an 1821 letter from his paternal grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who said that he was "the pendant to the pretty cousin".{{sfnm|Hobhouse|1983|1pp=15}} By 1836, this idea had also arisen in the mind of their ambitious uncle [[Leopold I of Belgium|Leopold]], who had been [[King of the Belgians]] since 1831.{{sfnm|Hobhouse|1983|1pp=15–16|Weintraub|1997|2pp=43–49}} At this time, Victoria was the [[heir presumptive]] to the British throne. Her father, [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn]], the fourth son of King [[George III]], had died when she was an infant, and her elderly uncle, King [[William IV]], had no surviving legitimate children. Her mother, the [[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchess of Kent]], was the sister of both Albert's father—the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha—and King Leopold. Leopold arranged for his sister, Victoria's mother, to invite the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his two sons to visit her in May 1836, with the purpose of meeting Victoria.<!--Weintraub, pp. 43–49--> William IV, however, disapproved of any match with the Coburgs, and instead favoured the suit of [[Prince Alexander of the Netherlands|Prince Alexander]], second son of the [[William II of the Netherlands|Prince of Orange]].<!--Weintraub, pp. 43–49--> Victoria was well aware of the various matrimonial plans and critically appraised a parade of eligible princes.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=43–49}} She wrote, "[Albert] is extremely handsome; his hair is about the same colour as mine; his eyes are large and blue, and he has a beautiful nose and a very sweet mouth with fine teeth; but the charm of his countenance is his expression, which is most delightful."<ref name="vic">Victoria quoted in {{harvnb|Weintraub|1997|p=49}}.</ref> Alexander, on the other hand, she described as "very plain".<ref name="vic" />

Victoria wrote to her uncle Leopold to thank him "for the prospect of ''great'' happiness you have contributed to give me, in the person of dear Albert&nbsp;... He possesses every quality that could be desired to render me perfectly happy."{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|p=51}} Although the parties did not undertake a formal engagement, both the family and their retainers widely assumed that the match would take place.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=53, 58, 64, 65}}

Victoria came to the throne on 20 June 1837, aged 18. Her letters of the time show interest in Albert's education for the role he would have to play, although she resisted attempts to rush her into marriage.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|p=62}} In the winter of 1838–1839, the prince visited Italy, accompanied by the Coburg family's confidential adviser, [[Baron Stockmar]].{{sfnm|Hobhouse|1983|1pp=17–18|Weintraub|1997|2p=67}}

[[File:Bookplate-Prince Albert.jpg|thumb|[[Coat of arms|Armorial]] [[bookplate]] of Prince Albert]]
Albert returned to the United Kingdom with Ernest in October 1839 to visit Victoria, with the objective of settling the marriage.{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1p=42|Weintraub|1997|2pp=77–81}} Albert and Victoria felt mutual affection and the Queen proposed to him on 15 October 1839.{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1pp=42–43|Hobhouse|1983|2p=20|Weintraub|1997|3pp=77–81}} Victoria's intention to marry was declared formally to the [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|Privy Council]] on 23 November,{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1p=45|Hobhouse|1983|2p=21|Weintraub|1997|3p=86}} and the couple married on 10 February 1840 at the [[Chapel Royal]], [[St James's Palace]].{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1p=52|Hobhouse|1983|2p=24}} Just before the marriage, Albert was naturalised by an Act of Parliament,<ref name="LG19826">{{London Gazette|issue=19826|date=14 February 1840|page=302}}</ref> and granted the style of ''Royal Highness'' by an [[Order in Council]].<ref name="LG1840">{{London Gazette|issue=19821|date=7 February 1840|page=241}}</ref>

Initially Albert was not popular with the British public; he was perceived to be from an impoverished and undistinguished minor state, barely larger than a small English county.{{sfn|Fulford|1949|p=45}} The British prime minister, [[Lord Melbourne]], advised the Queen against granting her husband the title of "[[King Consort]]"; Parliament also objected to Albert being created a [[British peerage|peer]]—partly because of anti-German sentiment and a desire to exclude Albert from any political role.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|p=88}} Albert's religious views provided a small amount of controversy when the marriage was debated in Parliament: although as a member of the [[Evangelical Church in Germany|Lutheran Evangelical Church]] Albert was a Protestant, the non-[[episcopal polity|Episcopal]] nature of his church was considered worrisome.{{sfn|Abecasis-Phillips|2004}} Of greater concern, however, was that some of Albert's family were Roman Catholic.{{sfn|Murphy|2001|pp=28–31}} Melbourne led a [[minority government]] and the opposition took advantage of the marriage to weaken his position further.<!--Weintraub, p. 89--> They opposed a British peerage for Albert and granted him a smaller annuity than previous consorts,{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=8–9, 89}} £30,000 instead of the usual £50,000.{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1p=47|Hobhouse|1983|2pp=23–24}} Albert claimed that he had no need of a British peerage, writing: "It would almost be a step downwards, for as a Duke of Saxony, I feel myself much higher than a Duke of York or Kent."<ref>Quoted in {{harvnb|Jagow|1938|p=37}}.</ref> For the next seventeen years, Albert was formally titled "HRH Prince Albert" until, on 25 June 1857, Victoria formally granted him the title [[Prince Consort]].<ref name="LG1857">{{London Gazette|issue=22015|date=26 June 1857|page=2195}}</ref> Victoria explained, in a letter to Lord Palmerston on 15 March 1857, that she was: "... inclined ... to content herself by simply giving her husband by Letters Patent the title of 'Prince Consort' which can injure no one while it will give him an ''English title'' consistent with his position, & avoid his being treated by Foreign Courts as a ''junior Member'' of the house ''of Saxe-Coburg''".

== Consort of the Queen ==
[[File:Prince Albert - Franz Xaver Winterhalter 1842.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Portrait by [[Franz Xaver Winterhalter|Winterhalter]], 1842]]
The position in which Albert was placed by his marriage, while one of distinction, also offered considerable difficulties; in his own words, "I am very happy and contented; but the difficulty in filling my place with the proper dignity is that I am only the husband, not the master in the house."<ref>Albert to William von Lowenstein, May 1840, quoted in {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|p=26}}.</ref> The Queen's household was run by her former governess,<ref>Or more properly "Lady Attendant".</ref> [[Baroness Lehzen]]. Albert referred to her as the "House Dragon", and manoeuvred to dislodge the Baroness from her position.{{sfn|Fulford|1949|pp=59–74}}

Within two months of the marriage, Victoria was pregnant. Albert started to take on public roles; he became President of the [[Society for the Extinction of the Slave Trade and for the Civilization of Africa|Society for the Extinction of Slavery]] (slavery was still lawful in most parts of the world beyond the British Empire); and helped Victoria privately with her government paperwork.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=102–105}}

In June 1840, while on a public carriage ride, Albert and the pregnant Victoria were shot at by [[Edward Oxford]], who was later judged insane. Neither Albert nor Victoria was hurt, and Albert was praised in the newspapers for his courage and coolness during the attack.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=106–107}} He was gaining public support as well as political influence, which showed itself practically when, in August, Parliament passed the [[Regency Act 1840]] to designate him [[regent]] in the event of Victoria's death before their child reached the age of majority.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|p=107}} Their first child, [[Victoria, Princess Royal|Victoria]], named after her mother, was born in November. Eight other children would follow over the next seventeen years. All nine children survived to adulthood, which was remarkable for the era; biographer [[Hermione Hobhouse]] credited the healthy running of the nursery to Albert's "enlightened influence".{{sfn|Hobhouse|1983|p=28}} In early 1841, he successfully removed the nursery from Lehzen's pervasive control, and in September 1842, Lehzen left Britain permanently—much to Albert's relief.{{sfn|Fulford|1949|pp=73–74}}

After the [[1841 United Kingdom general election|1841 general election]], Melbourne was replaced as prime minister by [[Sir Robert Peel]], who appointed Albert chairman of the [[royal commission]] in charge of redecorating the new [[Palace of Westminster]]. The Palace had [[Burning of Parliament|burned down seven years before]], and was being rebuilt. The commission was set up to promote the fine arts in Britain as a patron and purchaser of pictures and sculpture. The commission's work was slow, and the palace's architect, [[Charles Barry]], took many decisions out of the commissioners' hands by decorating rooms with ornate furnishings that were treated as part of the architecture.{{sfnm|Ames|1968|1pp=48–55|Fulford|1949|2pp=212–213|Hobhouse|1983|3pp=82–88}} Albert was more successful as a private patron and collector.<!--Ames, pp. 132–146, 200–222; Hobhouse, pp. 70–78--> Among his notable acquisitions were early German and Italian paintings—such as [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]'s ''Apollo and Diana'' and [[Fra Angelico]]'s ''St Peter Martyr''—and contemporary pieces from [[Franz Xaver Winterhalter]] and [[Edwin Landseer]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ames|1968|pp=132–146, 200–222}}; {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|pp=70–78}}. The [[National Gallery]], London, received 25 paintings in 1863 [http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/collectors/prince-albert-and-the-gallery presented by Queen Victoria at the Prince Consort's wish] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508005427/https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/collectors/prince-albert-and-the-gallery |date=8 May 2021 }}. See [[#External links|external links]] for works in the [[Royal Collection]].</ref> [[Ludwig Gruner]], of Dresden, assisted Albert in buying artworks of the highest quality.{{sfn|Cust|1907|pp=162–170}}

Albert and Victoria were shot at again on both 29 and 30 May 1842, but were unhurt. The culprit, John Francis, was detained and condemned to death,<ref>{{Old Bailey|defendant=John Francis|trialdate=13 June 1842|id=t18420613-1758}}</ref> although he was later reprieved.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=134–135}} Some of the couple's early unpopularity came about because of their stiffness and adherence to protocol in public, though in private the couple were more easy-going.{{sfnm|Ames|1968|1p=172|Fulford|1949|2pp=95–104|Weintraub|1997|3p=141}} In early 1844, Victoria and Albert were apart for the first time since their marriage when he returned to Coburg on the death of his father.{{sfnm|Ames|1968|1p=60|Weintraub|1997|2p=154}}

[[File:Osborne House c1910 - Project Gutenberg eText 17296.jpg|thumb|[[Osborne House]], Isle of Wight]]
By 1844, Albert had managed to modernise the royal finances and, through various economies, had sufficient capital to purchase [[Osborne House]] on the [[Isle of Wight]] as a private residence for their growing family.{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1p=79|Hobhouse|1983|2p=131|Weintraub|1997|3p=158}} Over the next few years a house modelled in the style of an Italianate villa was built to the designs of Albert and [[Thomas Cubitt]].{{sfnm|Ames|1968|1pp=61–71|Fulford|1949|2p=79|Hobhouse|1983|3p=121|Weintraub|1997|4p=181}} Albert laid out the grounds, and improved the estate and farm.{{sfn|Hobhouse|1983|pp=127, 131}} He managed and improved the other royal estates; his [[model farm]] at [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]] ([[Shaw Farm, Windsor|Shaw Farm]]) was admired by his biographers,{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1pp=88–89|Hobhouse|1983|2pp=121–127}} and under his stewardship the revenues of the [[Duchy of Cornwall]]—the hereditary property of the Prince of Wales—steadily increased.{{sfn|Weintraub|2004}}

Unlike many landowners who approved of child labour and opposed Peel's repeal of the [[Corn Laws]], Albert supported moves to raise working ages and free up trade.{{sfn|Fulford|1949|p=116}} In 1846, Albert was rebuked by [[Lord George Bentinck]] when he attended the debate on the Corn Laws in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] to give tacit support to Peel.{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1p=116|Hobhouse|1983|2pp=39–40}} During Peel's premiership, Albert's authority behind, or beside, the throne became more apparent. He had access to all the Queen's papers, was drafting her correspondence{{sfn|Hobhouse|1983|pp=36–37}} and was present when she met her ministers; he would even see them alone in her absence.{{sfn|Fulford|1949|p=118}} The clerk of the Privy Council, [[Charles Greville (diarist)|Charles Greville]], wrote of him: "He is King to all intents and purposes."<ref>Greville's diary volume V, p. 257 quoted in {{harvnb|Fulford|1949|p=117}}.</ref>

In 1847, Victoria and Albert spent a rainy holiday in the west of Scotland at [[Loch Laggan]], but heard from their doctor, [[Sir James Clark]], that Clark's son had enjoyed dry, sunny days farther east at [[Balmoral Castle]].<!--Weintraub, pp. 189–191--> The tenant of Balmoral, [[Sir Robert Gordon]], died suddenly in early October, and Albert began negotiations to take over the lease from the owner, [[James Duff, 4th Earl Fife|the Earl Fife]].{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=189–191}} In May the following year, Albert leased Balmoral, which he had never visited. In September 1848 he, his wife and their older children went there for the first time.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=193, 212, 214, 203, 206}} They came to relish the privacy it afforded.<ref>Extracts from the Queen's journal of the holidays were published in 1868 as ''Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands''.</ref>

== Reformer and innovator ==
[[File:Prince Albert 1848.jpg|thumb|upright|Early [[daguerreotype]] with [[hand-colouring]], 1848]]
According to historian [[G. M. Trevelyan]], regarding the Prince and home affairs: {{blockquote|His influence over the Queen was on the whole liberal; he greatly admired Peel, was a strong free-trader, and took more interest in scientific and commercial progress, and less in sport and fashion than was at all popular in the best society.<ref>G. M. Trevelyan, British history in the nineteenth century and after 1782–1919 (1937) p. 299.</ref>}}

In 1847, Albert was elected [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of the [[University of Cambridge]] after a [[1847 University of Cambridge Chancellor election|close contest]] with the [[Edward Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis|Earl of Powis]].{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1pp=195–196|Hobhouse|1983|2p=65|Weintraub|1997|3pp=182–184}} Albert used his position as chancellor to campaign successfully for reformed and more modern university curricula by expanding the subjects taught beyond the traditional mathematics and classics to include modern history and the natural sciences.{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1pp=198–199|Hobhouse|1983|2p=65|Weintraub|1997|3pp=187, 207}}

[[Revolutions of 1848|Revolutions spread throughout Europe in 1848]] as a result of a widespread economic crisis.<!--Weintraub, pp. 192 ff.--> Throughout the year, Victoria and Albert complained about Foreign Secretary [[Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Palmerston]]'s independent foreign policy, which they believed further destabilised Continental European powers.{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1pp=119–128|Weintraub|1997|2pp=193, 212, 214 and 264–265}} Albert was concerned for many of his royal relatives, a number of whom were deposed by revolutionaries.<!--Weintraub, pp. 192–201--> He and Victoria, who gave birth to their daughter [[Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll|Louise]] during that year, spent some time away from London in the relative safety of [[Osborne House|Osborne]]. Although there were sporadic demonstrations in England, no effective revolutionary action took place.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=192–201}}

Albert gained public acclaim when he expressed paternalistic yet well-meaning and philanthropic views.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=192–201}} In an 1848 speech to the [[Labourer's Friend Society|Society for the Improvement of the Condition of the Labouring Classes]], of which he was president, he expressed his "sympathy and interest for that class of our community who have most of the toil and fewest of the enjoyments of this world".<ref name="spe">The text of the speech was widely reproduced, e.g. "The Condition of the Labouring Classes". ''[[The Times]]'', 19 May 1848, p. 6.</ref> It was the "duty of those who, under the blessings of Divine Providence, enjoy station, wealth, and education" to assist those less fortunate than themselves.<ref name="spe" />
[[File:Crystal Palace from the northeast from Dickinson's Comprehensive Pictures of the Great Exhibition of 1851. 1854.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Great Exhibition of 1851]] was housed in [[the Crystal Palace]] in [[Hyde Park, London]].]]

His progressive and relatively liberal ideas were expressed by his support of emancipation, technological progress, science education, the ideas of [[Charles Darwin]], and the welfare of the working classes. Albert led reforms in university education, welfare and the royal finances, and supported the campaign against slavery. He also had a special interest in applying science and art to manufacturing industry.{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1pp=216–217|Hobhouse|1983|2pp=89–108}}

The [[Great Exhibition of 1851]] arose from the annual exhibitions of the [[Society of Arts]], of which Albert was president from 1843, and owed most of its success to his efforts to promote it.{{sfn|Weintraub|2004}}{{sfn|Fulford|1949|pp=219–220}} Albert served as president of the [[Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851]], and had to fight for every stage of the project.<ref>e.g. {{harvnb|Fulford|1949|p=221}}.</ref> In the [[House of Lords]], [[Lord Brougham]] fulminated against the proposal to hold the exhibition in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]].{{sfn|Fulford|1949|p=220}} Opponents of the exhibition prophesied that foreign rogues and revolutionists would overrun England, subvert the morals of the people, and destroy their faith.{{sfn|Fulford|1949|pp=217–222}} Albert thought such talk absurd and quietly persevered, trusting always that British manufacturing would benefit from exposure to the best products of foreign countries.{{sfn|Weintraub|2004}}

Victoria opened the exhibition on 1 May 1851 in a specially designed and built glass building known as [[the Crystal Palace]]. It proved a colossal success.{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1p=222|Hobhouse|1983|2p=110}} A surplus of £180,000 was used to purchase land in [[South Kensington]] on which to establish educational and cultural institutions, including the [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]], [[The Science Museum|Science Museum]], [[Imperial College London]] and what would later be named the [[Royal Albert Hall]] and the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]].{{sfn|Hobhouse|1983|p=110}} The area was referred to as "[[Albertopolis]]" by sceptics.{{sfnm|Ames|1968|1p=120|Hobhouse|1983|2p=x|Weintraub|1997|3p=263}}

== Family and public life (1852–1859)==
[[File:Queen Victoria and Prince Albert 1854.jpg|thumb|upright|Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, 1854]]
In 1852, [[John Camden Neild]], an eccentric miser, left Victoria an unexpected legacy, which Albert used to obtain the [[Freehold (Scots law)|freehold]] of Balmoral. As usual, he embarked on an extensive programme of improvements.{{sfn|Hobhouse|1983|p=145}} The same year, he was appointed to several of the offices left vacant by the death of [[the Duke of Wellington]], including the mastership of [[Trinity House]] and [[Grenadier Guards#Colonels-in-Chief|the colonelcy of the Grenadier Guards]].{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=270–274, 281–282}} With Wellington's death, Albert was able to propose and campaign for modernisation of the army, which was long overdue.{{sfnm|Hobhouse|1983|1pp=42–43, 47–50|Weintraub|1997|2pp=274–276}} Thinking that the military was unready for war and that Christian rule was preferable to Islamic rule, Albert counselled a diplomatic solution to conflict between the [[Russian Empire|Russian]] and [[Ottoman empire]]s.<!--Weintraub, pp. 288–293--> Palmerston was more bellicose, and favoured a policy that would prevent further Russian expansion.<ref>e.g. {{harvnb|Fulford|1949|pp=128, 153–157}}.</ref> Palmerston was manoeuvred out of the cabinet in December 1853, but at about the same time a Russian fleet attacked the Ottoman fleet at anchor [[Battle of Sinop|at Sinop]].<!--Weintraub, pp. 288–293--> The London press depicted the attack as a criminal massacre, and Palmerston's popularity surged as Albert's fell.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=288–293}} Within two weeks, Palmerston was re-appointed a minister. As public outrage at the Russian action continued, false rumours circulated that Albert had been arrested for treason and was being held prisoner in the [[Tower of London]].{{sfnm|Fulford|1949|1pp=156–157|Weintraub|1997|2pp=294–302}}

By March 1854, Britain and Russia were embroiled in the [[Crimean War]]. Albert devised a master plan for winning the war by laying [[Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855)|siege to Sevastopol]] while starving Russia economically, which became the Allied strategy after the Tsar decided to fight a purely defensive war.{{sfn|Stewart|2012|pp=153–154}} Early British optimism soon faded as the press reported that British troops were ill-equipped and mismanaged by aged generals using out-of-date tactics and strategy.<!--Weintraub, pp. 303–322--> The conflict dragged on as the Russians were as poorly prepared as their opponents.<!--Weintraub, pp. 303–322--> The Prime Minister, [[Lord Aberdeen]], resigned, and Palmerston succeeded him.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=303–322, 328}} A negotiated settlement eventually put an end to the war by the March 1856 [[Treaty of Paris (1856)|Treaty of Paris]].<!--Weintraub, pp. 326 ff.--> During the war, Albert arranged the marriage of his fourteen-year-old daughter, [[Victoria, Princess Royal|Victoria]], to [[Frederick III, German Emperor|Prince Frederick William of Prussia]], but Albert delayed the marriage until Victoria was seventeen.<!--Weintraub, pp. 326 ff.--> Albert hoped that his daughter and son-in-law would be a liberalising influence in the enlarging but very conservative [[Prussia]]n state.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=326, 330}}

[[File:Queen Victoria Prince Albert and their nine children.JPG|thumb|300px|left|Prince Albert, Queen Victoria and their nine children, 1857. Left to right: [[Princess Alice of the United Kingdom|Alice]], [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Arthur]], Albert (Prince Consort), [[Edward VII|Albert Edward (Prince of Wales)]], [[Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany|Leopold]], [[Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll|Louise]], [[Queen Victoria]] with [[Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom|Beatrice]], [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Alfred]], [[Victoria, Princess Royal|Victoria]] and [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|Helena]]{{sfn|Finestone|1981|p=36}}]]

Albert promoted many public educational institutions. Chiefly at meetings in connection with them, he spoke of the need for better schooling.{{sfn|Hobhouse|1983|p=63}} A collection of his speeches was published in 1857. Recognised as a supporter of education and technological progress, he was invited to speak at scientific meetings, such as the memorable address he delivered as president of the [[British Association for the Advancement of Science]] when it met at [[Aberdeen]] in 1859.{{sfnm|1a1=Darby|1a2=Smith|1y=1983|1p=84|2a1=Hobhouse|2y=1983|2pp=61–62|3a1=Weintraub|3y=1997|3p=232}} His espousal of science met with clerical opposition; he and [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Palmerston]] unsuccessfully recommended a knighthood for Charles Darwin, after the publication of ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'', which was opposed by the [[Samuel Wilberforce|Bishop of Oxford]].{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|p=232}}

[[File:H.R.H. Albert, Prince Consort - John Phillip - ABDCC001042.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait by [[John Phillip]], 1859]]
Albert continued to devote himself to the education of his family and the management of the royal household.<ref>{{harvnb|Fulford|1949|pp=71–105}}; {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|pp=26–43}}.</ref> His children's governess, [[Sarah Lyttelton, Baroness Lyttelton|Lady Lyttelton]], thought him unusually kind and patient, and described him joining in family games with enthusiasm.<ref>Lady Lyttelton's journal quoted in {{harvnb|Fulford|1949|p=95}} and her correspondence quoted in {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|p=29}}.</ref> He felt keenly the departure of his eldest daughter for Prussia when she married her fiancé at the beginning of 1858,<ref>{{harvnb|Fulford|1949|p=252}}; {{harvnb|Weintraub|1997|p=355}}.</ref> and was disappointed that his eldest son, [[Edward VII|the Prince of Wales]], did not respond well to the intense educational programme that Albert had designed for him.<ref>{{harvnb|Fulford|1949|pp=253–257}}; {{harvnb|Weintraub|1997|p=367}}.</ref> At the age of seven, the Prince of Wales was expected to take six hours of instruction, including an hour of German and an hour of French every day.{{sfn|Fulford|1949|p=255}} When the Prince of Wales failed at his lessons, Albert caned him.<ref>Diary of Sir James Clark quoted in {{harvnb|Fulford|1949|p=256}}.</ref> Corporal punishment was common at the time, and was not thought unduly harsh.{{sfn|Fulford|1949|p=260}} Albert's biographer [[Roger Fulford]] wrote that the relationships between the family members were "friendly, affectionate and normal&nbsp;... there is no evidence either in the Royal Archives or in the printed authorities to justify the belief that the relations between the Prince and his eldest son were other than deeply affectionate".{{sfn|Fulford|1949|pp=261–262}} [[Sir Philip Magnus-Allcroft, 2nd Baronet|Philip Magnus]] wrote in his biography of Albert's eldest son that Albert "tried to treat his children as equals; and they were able to penetrate his stiffness and reserve because they realised instinctively not only that he loved them but that he enjoyed and needed their company".<ref>[[Sir Philip Magnus-Allcroft, 2nd Baronet|Magnus, Philip]] (1964) ''King Edward VII'', pp. 19–20, quoted in {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|pp=28–29}}.</ref>

Albert was a talented amateur musician and composer. For his wedding, he composed a [[duet]], ''Die Liebe hat uns nun vereint'' ("Love has now united us"). [[Felix Mendelssohn]] described Albert playing the Buckingham Palace organ "so charmingly and clearly and correctly that it would have done credit to any professional". After tuition from [[George Elvey]], the organist at St George's Chapel, Windsor, Albert composed several choral pieces for [[Anglican]] worship, including settings of the ''[[Te Deum]]'' and ''[[Jubilate]]'', and an [[anthem]], ''Out of the Deep''. His secular compositions included a [[cantata]], ''L'Invocazione all'armonia'', and ''Melody for the Violin'', which [[Yehudi Menuhin]] later described as "pleasant music without presumption".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.classical-music.com/features/articles/prince-albert-how-music-shaped-the-life-and-death-of-queen-victorias-consort/ |title=Prince Albert: how music shaped the life and death of Queen Victoria's consort |last=Green |first=Andrew |date=23 December 2021 |website=classical-music.com |publisher=BBC Music Magazine |access-date=15 July 2022}}</ref>

== Illness and death ==
[[File:Prince Albert 405130.jpg|thumb|upright|[[State portraits of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert|State portrait]] by [[Franz Xaver Winterhalter|Winterhalter]], 1859]]
In August 1859, Albert fell seriously ill with stomach cramps.{{sfn|Stewart|2012|p=182}} His steadily worsening medical condition led to a sense of despair; the biographer [[Robert Rhodes James]] describes Albert as having lost "the will to live".{{sfn|Rhodes James|1983|p=269}} Albert later had an accidental brush with death during a trip to Coburg in October 1860, when he was driving alone in a carriage drawn by four horses that suddenly bolted. As the horses continued to gallop toward a wagon waiting at a railway crossing, Albert jumped for his life from the carriage.<!--Weintraub, pp. 392–393--> One of the horses was killed in the collision, and Albert was badly shaken though his only physical injuries were cuts and bruises.<!--Weintraub, pp. 392–393--> He confided in his brother and eldest daughter that he sensed that his time had come.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=392–393}}

Victoria's mother and Albert's aunt, the Duchess of Kent, died in March 1861, and Victoria was grief-stricken. Albert took on most of the Queen's duties despite his continuing chronic stomach trouble.<ref>{{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|pp=150–151}}; {{harvnb|Weintraub|1997|p=401}}.</ref> The last public event over which he presided was the opening of the Royal Horticultural Gardens on 5 June 1861.{{sfn|Stewart|2012|p=198}} In August, Victoria and Albert visited the [[Curragh Camp]], Ireland, where the Prince of Wales was attending army manoeuvres. At the Curragh, the Prince of Wales was introduced by his fellow officers to [[Nellie Clifden]], an Irish actress.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|p=404}}

By November, Victoria and Albert had returned to Windsor, and the Prince of Wales had returned to Cambridge, where he was a student. Two of Albert's young cousins, [[King Pedro V of Portugal]] and his brother [[Prince Ferdinand of Portugal|Ferdinand]], died of [[typhoid fever]] within five days of each other in early November.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|p=405}} On top of that news, Albert was informed that gossip was spreading in [[gentlemen's club]]s and the foreign press that the Prince of Wales was involved with Nellie Clifden.<ref>{{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|p=152}}; {{harvnb|Weintraub|1997|p=406}}</ref> Albert and Victoria were horrified by their son's indiscretion and feared blackmail, scandal or pregnancy.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|p=406}} Although Albert was ill and at a low ebb, he travelled to Cambridge to see the Prince of Wales on 25 November<ref>{{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|p=154}}; {{harvnb|Fulford|1949|p=266}}</ref> and discuss the indiscreet affair.{{sfn|Weintraub|2004}} In his final weeks, Albert suffered from pains in his back and legs.{{sfn|Stewart|2012|p=203}}

Also in November 1861, the [[Trent Affair|''Trent'' Affair]]—the forcible removal of [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] envoys from a British ship, the [[RMS Trent|RMS ''Trent'']], by [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] forces during the [[American Civil War]]—threatened war between the United States and Britain. The British government prepared an ultimatum and readied a military response. Albert was gravely ill but intervened to defuse the crisis.<ref>{{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|pp=154–155}}; {{harvnb|Martin|1874–1880|pp=418–426, vol. V}}; {{harvnb|Weintraub|1997|pp=408–424}}.</ref> In a few hours, he revised the British demands in a manner that allowed the [[Lincoln administration]] to surrender the Confederate commissioners who had been seized from the ''Trent'' and to issue a public apology to London without losing face. The key idea, based on a suggestion from ''[[The Times]]'', was to give Washington the opportunity to deny that it had officially authorised the seizure and thereby to apologise for the captain's mistake.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Norman B. |last=Ferris|title=The Prince Consort, ''The Times'', and the ''Trent'' Affair|journal=Civil War History|volume=6|issue=2|year=1960|pages=152–156|doi=10.1353/cwh.1960.0014|s2cid=145782920 }}</ref>

On 9 December, one of Albert's doctors, [[Sir William Jenner, 1st Baronet|William Jenner]], diagnosed him with typhoid fever. Albert died at 10:50&nbsp;pm on 14 December 1861 in the [[Blue Room (Windsor Castle)|Blue Room]] at [[Windsor Castle]], in the presence of the Queen and five of their nine children.{{efn|The children present were Edward, Alice, Louise, Helena and Arthur. Victoria was in Germany, Leopold in France and Alfred at sea. Beatrice, the youngest, remained outside of the room.<ref>{{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|p=156}}</ref>}} He was 42 years old.<ref>{{harvnb|Darby|Smith|1983|p=3}}; {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|p=156}} and {{harvnb|Weintraub|1997|pp=425–431}}.</ref> The contemporary diagnosis was typhoid fever, but modern writers have pointed out that Albert's ongoing stomach pain, which left him ill for at least two years before his death, may indicate that a chronic disease such as [[Crohn's disease]],<ref>{{cite journal|author=Paulley, J.W.|year=1993|title=The death of Albert Prince Consort: the case against typhoid fever|journal=QJM|volume=86|issue=12|pages=837–841|pmid=8108541|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.qjmed.a068768}}</ref> kidney failure or [[abdominal cancer]] was the cause of death.<ref>e.g. {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|pp=150–151}}.</ref>

[[File:Post-mortem portrait of Albert, Prince Consort.jpg|thumb|The Prince Consort in his deathbed, December 1861]]
Albert's funeral was held on 23 December 1861 at [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Funeral of Prince Albert, The Prince Consort, 23 December 1861 |url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/406877/the-funeral-of-prince-albert-the-prince-consort-23-december-1861 |access-date=3 April 2023 |publisher=Royal Collection Trust}}</ref> His body was temporarily entombed in the chapel's Royal Vault.<ref>{{harvnb|Darby|Smith|1983|p=21}}; {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|p=158}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Royal Burials in the Chapel since 1805 |url=https://www.stgeorges-windsor.org/about-st-georges/royal-connection/royal-burials/royal-burials-chapel-since-1805/ |access-date=3 April 2023 |work=College of St George}}</ref> A year after his death, his remains were deposited at the [[Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore]], which remained incomplete until 1871.<ref>{{harvnb|Darby|Smith|1983|p=28}}; {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|p=162}}.</ref> The sarcophagus, in which both he and Victoria were eventually laid, was carved from the largest block of granite that had ever been quarried in Britain.{{sfn|Darby|Smith|1983|p=25}} 

The Queen's grief was overwhelming, and the tepid feelings that the public had for Albert were replaced by sympathy.<ref>{{harvnb|Darby|Smith|1983|p=1}}; {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|p=158}}; {{harvnb|Weintraub|1997|p=436}}.</ref> The widowed Victoria never recovered from Albert's death; she entered into a deep state of mourning and wore black for the rest of her life. Albert's rooms in all his houses were kept as they had been even with hot water brought in the morning and linen and towels changed daily.<ref>{{harvnb|Darby|Smith|1983|pp=1–4}}; {{harvnb|Weintraub|1997|p=436}}.</ref> Such practices were common in the houses of the very rich.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|p=438}}

== Legacy ==
[[File:Albert Memorial, London - May 2008.jpg|thumb|The [[Albert Memorial]] in [[Hyde Park, London]]]]
[[File:Royal Albert Hall, Londres, Inglaterra, 2022-11-25, DD 33.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Albert Hall]], South Kensington, London]]
After Albert's death, Victoria withdrew from public life and her seclusion eroded some of Albert's work in attempting to remodel the monarchy as a national institution by setting a moral, if not political, example.{{sfn|Weintraub|1997|pp=441–443}} Albert is credited with introducing the principle that the [[British royal family]] should remain above politics.<ref>{{harvnb|Fulford|1949|pp=57–58, 276}}; {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|pp=viii, 39}}.</ref> Before his marriage to Victoria, she supported the [[British Whig Party|Whigs]]. For example, early in her reign, Victoria had managed to [[Bedchamber crisis|thwart the formation of a Tory government]] by [[Sir Robert Peel]] by refusing to accept substitutions that Peel wanted to make among her ladies-in-waiting.<ref>{{harvnb|Fulford|1949|p=67}}; {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|p=34}}.</ref>

Despite Albert's request for no effigies of him to be raised, many public monuments were erected all over the country and across the [[British Empire]].{{sfn|Darby|Smith|1983|pp=2, 6, 58–84}} The most notable are the [[Royal Albert Hall]] and the [[Albert Memorial]] in London. The plethora of memorials erected to Albert became so great that [[Charles Dickens]] told a friend that he sought an "inaccessible cave" to escape from them.<ref>Charles Dickens to [[John Leech (caricaturist)|John Leech]], quoted in {{harvnb|Darby|Smith|1983|p=102}} and {{harvnb|Hobhouse|1983|p=169}}.</ref>

Albert showed a keen interest in the improvement of army training, and was involved in the establishment and development of [[Aldershot]] in Hampshire as a garrison town and training base in the 1850s. A wooden [[Royal Pavilion, Aldershot|Royal Pavilion]] was built there in which he and Victoria would often stay when they attended military reviews.{{sfn|Hobhouse|1983|pp=48–49}} Albert established and endowed the [[Prince Consort's Library]] at Aldershot, which still exists.{{sfn|Hobhouse|1983|p=53}}

Biographies published after his death were typically heavy on eulogy. [[Theodore Martin]]'s five-volume ''[[magnum opus]]'' was authorised and supervised by Queen Victoria, and her influence shows in its pages. Nevertheless, it is an accurate and exhaustive account.{{sfn|Fulford|1949|pp=ix–x}} [[Lytton Strachey]]'s ''Queen Victoria'' (1921) was more critical, but it was discredited in part by mid-20th-century biographers such as [[Hector Bolitho]] and [[Roger Fulford]], who, unlike Strachey, had access to Victoria's journal and letters.<ref>e.g. {{harvnb|Fulford|1949|pp=22–23, 44, 104, 167, 209, 240}}.</ref>

Scholars dismiss popular myths about Albert, such as the claim that he introduced [[Christmas tree]]s to Britain.{{sfn|Armstrong|2008}} Recent biographers such as [[Stanley Weintraub]] portray Albert as a figure in a tragic romance who died too soon and was mourned by his lover for a lifetime.{{sfn|Weintraub|2004}} In the 2009 film ''[[The Young Victoria]]'', Albert, played by [[Rupert Friend]], is made into a heroic character. In the fictionalised depiction of the 1840 shooting, he is struck by a bullet, which did not happen in real life.{{sfn|Jurgensen|2009}}{{sfn|Knight|2009}}

== Titles, styles, honours and arms ==

=== Titles and styles ===
[[File:Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.jpg|thumb|upright|Albert robed as a [[Knight Grand Cross]] of [[Order of the Bath|the Bath]], 1842]]
In the United Kingdom, Albert was styled "His [[Serene Highness]] Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" in the months before his marriage.<ref name="LG19826"/> He was granted the style of ''[[Royal Highness]]'' on 6 February 1840,<ref name="LG1840"/> and given the title of Prince Consort on 25 June 1857.<ref name="LG1857"/>

=== British honours ===
* '''KG''': [[Order of the Garter|Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter]], ''16 December 1839''<ref name="Shaw">{{cite book|last1=Shaw|first1=William Arthur|author-link1=William Arthur Shaw|year=1906|title=The Knights of England|volume=1|location=London|publisher=Sharrett & Hughes|pages= [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n145/mode/2up 56], [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n171/mode/2up 83], [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n189/mode/2up 101], [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n425/mode/2up 334]}}</ref>
* '''GCB''': [[Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath]] (Military), ''6 March 1840'';<ref>{{cite book|title=History of the Orders of Knighthood of the British Empire; of the Order of the Guelphs and of the Medals, Clasps, and Crosses Conferred for the Naval and Military Services|last=Nicolas|first=Sir Nicholas Harris|year=1842|volume=3|publisher=John Hunter|location=London|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyoforderso03nico#page/n645/mode/2up|page=190|access-date=26 February 2017}}</ref> Great Master, ''25 May 1847''<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=20737|page=1950|date=25 May 1847}}</ref>
* '''GCMG''': [[Order of St Michael and St George|Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George]], ''15 January 1842''<ref name="Shaw"/>
* '''KT''': [[Order of the Thistle|Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle]], ''17 January 1842''<ref name="Shaw"/>
* '''KP''': [[Order of St Patrick|Extra and Principal Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick]], ''20 January 1842''<ref name="Shaw"/>
* '''KSI''': [[Order of the Star of India|Extra Knight of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India]], ''25 June 1861''<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=22523|date=25 June 1861|page=2622}}</ref>

==== Military appointments ====
* [[Field Marshal]] of the [[British Army]], ''8 February 1840''<ref name = "regiments">{{cite web|url=http://www.regiments.org/biography/royals/1819albe.htm |title=H.R.H. Prince Albert, The Prince Consort (1819–1861) |publisher=Regiments.org |access-date=30 November 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103051830/http://www.regiments.org/biography/royals/1819albe.htm |archive-date=3 January 2007}}</ref>
* [[Colonel-in-chief]] of the [[11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars]], ''30 April 1840 – 1842''<ref name = "regiments"/>
* [[Colonel]] of the [[Scots Fusilier Guards]], ''25 April 1842 – 1852''<ref name = "regiments"/>
* [[Captain-general]] and Colonel of the [[Honourable Artillery Company]], ''1843''<ref name = "regiments"/>
* [[Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle]], ''1843''<ref name = "Handbuch">{{citation|title=Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha|year=1854|chapter=Genealogie des Herzogliche Hauses|language=German|pages=[https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00245938/Sachsen_Coburg_Gotha_165771801_1854_0025.tif?logicalDiv=jportal_jparticle_00483174 9]–10|location=Coburg and Gotha|publisher=Meusel}}</ref>
* Colonel-in-chief of the [[60th (The King's Royal Rifle Corps) Regiment of Foot]], ''15 August 1850 – 1852''<ref name = "regiments"/>
* Colonel of the [[Grenadier Guards|1st Grenadier Guards]], ''23 August 1852''<ref name = "regiments"/>
* Colonel-in-chief of the [[Rifle Brigade]], ''23 September 1852''<ref name = "regiments"/>

=== Foreign honours ===
{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
* [[Ernestine duchies]]: [[Saxe-Ernestine House Order|Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order]], ''February 1836''<ref>{{citation|title=Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha für das Jahr 1837|year=1837|language=German|chapter=Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden|page=[https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00244577/Sachsen_Coburg_Gotha_165771801_1837_0030.tif?logicalDiv=jportal_jparticle_00473385 11]|location=Coburg and Gotha|publisher=Meusel}}</ref>
* [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portugal]]:<ref name="Agraciamentos">{{cite journal |last1=Bragança |first1=Jose Vicente de |date=2014 |title=Agraciamentos Portugueses Aos Príncipes da Casa Saxe-Coburgo-Gota |url=https://www.academia.edu/10576008 |language=pt |trans-title=Portuguese Honours awarded to Princes of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |journal=Pro Phalaris |volume=9–10 |pages=7, 12 |access-date=28 November 2019 |archive-date=25 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125152639/https://www.academia.edu/10576008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
** [[Order of Christ (Portugal)|Grand Cross of the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ]], ''23 April 1836''
** Grand Cross of the [[Sash of the Two Orders]] ([[Order of Aviz|Aviz]] and [[Order of St. James of the Sword|St. James]]), ''30 September 1857''
** [[Order of the Tower and Sword|Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword]], ''25 November 1858''
* [[Belgium]]: [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold]], ''18 November 1839'' – wedding gift<ref>{{cite book|title=Almanach royal officiel, publié, exécution d'un arrête du roi|volume=1|author=H. Tarlier|year=1854|location=Brussels|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=p35NAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA37 37]|language=fr}}</ref>
* [[Kingdom of Saxony|Saxony]]: [[Order of the Rue Crown|Knight of the Rue Crown]], ''1839''<ref>{{cite book|title=Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen: 1860|chapter=Königliche Orden|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RxBTAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA4|year=1860|publisher=Heinrich|page=4|language=German|location=Leipzig}}</ref>
* [[Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach]]: [[Order of the White Falcon|Grand Cross of the White Falcon]], ''13 January 1840''<ref>{{citation|title=Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogthum Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach|year=1859|chapter=Großherzogliche Hausorden|page=[https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00285407/Staatshandbuch_Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach_1859_0024.tif?logicalDiv=jportal_jpvolume_00095967 10]|location=Weimar|publisher=Böhlau|language=German}}</ref>
* [[History of Spain (1810–73)|Spain]]: [[List of Knights of the Golden Fleece|Knight]] of the [[Order of the Golden Fleece|Golden Fleece]], ''27 April 1841'' – invested by the Duke of Wellington on behalf of Queen [[Isabella II]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/441170/badge-of-the-order-of-the-golden-fleece|title=Badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece|publisher=Royal Collection|access-date=13 February 2016}}</ref>
* [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]:
** [[Order of the Black Eagle|Knight of the Black Eagle]], ''30 January 1842''<ref>{{citation|title=Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler|year=1851|language=German|chapter=Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm IV. ernannte Ritter|page=[https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10362193?page=32 22]|location=Berlin|publisher=Decker}}</ref>
** [[Order of the Red Eagle|Knight of the Red Eagle, 1st Class]]
* [[Kingdom of Sardinia|Sardinia]]: [[Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation|Knight of the Annunciation]], ''13 December 1842''<ref>{{Cite book|title=Notizia storica del nobilissimo ordine supremo della santissima Annunziata. Sunto degli statuti, catalogo dei cavalieri|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2aP6enNFoYC&pg=PA3|location=Florence|publisher=Eredi Botta|date=1869|access-date=4 March 2019|language=it|first=Luigi|surname=Cibrario|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2aP6enNFoYC&pg=PA110 110]}}</ref>
* [[Netherlands]]: [[Order of the Netherlands Lion|Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion]], ''1842''<ref name="Naotaka">{{cite book |last=Kimizuka |first=Naotaka |date=2004 |title=女王陛下のブルーリボン: ガーター勲章とイギリス外交 |trans-title=Her Majesty The Queen's Blue Ribbon: The Order of the Garter and British Diplomacy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T13tPAAACAAJ |language=ja |location=Tokyo |publisher=NTT Publishing |isbn=978-4757140738}}</ref>
* [[Denmark]]: [[Knight of the Elephant]], ''10 January 1843''<ref>{{cite book|author=Jørgen Pedersen|title=Riddere af Elefantordenen, 1559–2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glw-AQAAIAAJ|year=2009|publisher=Syddansk Universitetsforlag|language=da|isbn=978-87-7674-434-2|page=470|location=Odense}}</ref>
* [[Russian Empire|Russia]]:<ref>{{cite book|author=Sergey Semenovich Levin|title=Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-called (1699–1917). Order of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine (1714–1917)|year=2003|chapter=Lists of Knights and Ladies|location=Moscow|page=25}}</ref>
** [[Order of St. Andrew|Knight of St. Andrew]], ''1 July 1843''
** [[Order of St. Alexander Nevsky|Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky]], ''1 July 1843''
** [[Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire)|Knight of the White Eagle]], ''1 July 1843''
** [[Order of St. Anna|Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class]], ''1 July 1843''
* [[July Monarchy|France]]: [[Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour]], ''5 September 1843''<ref>{{cite book| author = M. & B. Wattel | title = Les Grand' Croix de la Légion d'honneur de 1805 à nos jours. Titulaires français et étrangers |location= Paris |date = 2009 |publisher= Archives & Culture | page = 523 | isbn = 978-2-35077-135-9| ref = M. et B. Wattel|language=French}}</ref>
* [[Austrian Empire|Austria]]: [[Order of St. Stephen of Hungary|Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen]], ''1843''<ref>[http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm "A Szent István Rend tagjai"] (in Hungarian), {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222022855/http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm|date=22 December 2010}}</ref>
* [[Kingdom of Württemberg|Württemberg]]: [[Order of the Crown (Württemberg)|Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown]], ''1843''<ref name="Württemberg1858">{{cite book|author=Württemberg|title=Königlich-Württembergisches Hof- und Staats-Handbuch: 1858|chapter=Königliche Orden|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AFwAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA31|year=1858|publisher=Guttenberg|page=31|language=German|location=Stuttgart}}</ref>
* [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]]:<ref>{{citation|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogthums Baden|year=1858|chapter=Großherzogliche Orden|pages=[https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1871744 33], [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1871758 47]|language=German|location=Karlsruhe}}</ref>
** Knight of the [[House Order of Fidelity]], ''1845''
** [[Order of the Zähringer Lion|Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion]], ''1845''
* [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]]: [[Order of St. Hubert|Knight of St. Hubert]], ''1845''<ref>{{cite book|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern: 1846|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_BjBRAAAAcAAJ|year=1846|chapter=Königliche Orden|publisher=Landesamt|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_BjBRAAAAcAAJ/page/n46 9]|location=Munich|language=German}}</ref>
* [[Two Sicilies]]: [[Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit|Grand Cross of St. Ferdinand and Merit]], ''1846''<ref name="Naotaka"/>
* [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]:<ref name="Hannover1859">{{cite book|author=Staat Hannover|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1859|chapter=Königliche Orden|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_LgdTAAAAcAAJ|year=1859|publisher=Berenberg|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_LgdTAAAAcAAJ/page/n54 37], [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_LgdTAAAAcAAJ/page/n89/mode/2up 73]|language=German|location=Hannover}}</ref>
** [[Order of St. George (Hanover)|Knight of St. George]], ''1853''
** [[Royal Guelphic Order|Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order]], ''1853''
* [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]]: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion<ref name = "Handbuch"/>
* [[Sweden-Norway]]: [[Order of the Seraphim|Knight of the Seraphim]], ''12 February 1856''<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=21851|date=19 February 1856|page=624}}</ref>
* [[Ottoman Empire]]: [[Order of the Medjidie|Order of the Medjidie, 1st Class]] in Diamonds, ''1856''<ref name="Naotaka"/>
}}

=== Arms ===
[[File:Coat of Arms of Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.svg|thumb|upright|left|Coat of arms of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as granted in 1840]]

Upon his marriage to Queen Victoria in 1840, Prince Albert received a personal [[grant of arms]], being the [[royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom]] [[Cadency|differenced]] by a white three-point [[Label (heraldry)|label]] with a red cross in the centre, [[Quartering (heraldry)|quartered]] with his ancestral [[Coat of arms of Saxony|arms of Saxony]].<ref name="LG1840"/>{{sfn|Louda|Maclagan|1999|pp=30, 32}} They are [[blazon]]ed: "Quarterly, 1st and 4th, the Royal Arms, with overall a label of three points [[Argent]] charged on the centre with cross [[Gules]]; 2nd and 3rd, [[Barry (heraldry)|Barry]] of ten [[Or (heraldry)|Or]] and [[Sable (heraldry)|Sable]], a [[crancelin|crown of rue]] in [[Bend (heraldry)|bend]] [[Vert (heraldry)|Vert]]".{{sfn|Pinches|Pinches|1974|p=239}} The arms are unusual, being described by S. T. Aveling as a "singular example of quartering differenced arms, [which] is not in accordance with the rules of Heraldry, and is in itself an heraldic contradiction."{{sfn|Aveling|Boutell|1890|p=285}} Prior to his marriage Albert used the arms of [[Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|his father]] undifferenced, in accordance with German custom.

Albert's [[Garter stall plate]] displays his arms surmounted by a royal crown with six crests for the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; these are from left to right: 1. "A bull's head caboshed Gules armed and ringed Argent, crowned Or, the rim [[chequy]] Gules and Argent" for [[County of Mark|Mark]]. 2. "Out of a coronet Or, two buffalo horns Argent, attached to the outer edge of five branches [[fess]]wise each with three linden leaves Vert" for [[Thuringia]]. 3. "Out of a coronet Or, a pyramidal chapeau charged with the arms of Saxony ensigned by a plume of peacock feathers Proper out of a coronet also Or" for [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxony]]. 4. "A bearded man in profile couped below the shoulders clothed [[Variation of the field#Barry, Paly, Bendy|paly]] Argent and Gules, the pointed coronet similarly paly terminating in a plume of three peacock feathers" for [[Meissen]]. 5. "A demi griffin displayed Or, winged Sable, collared and langued Gules" for [[Duchy of Jülich|Jülich]]. 6. "Out of a coronet Or, a panache of peacock feathers Proper" for [[Berg (state)|Berg]].{{sfn|Pinches|Pinches|1974|pp=309–310}}
The [[supporters]] were the crowned [[The Lion and the Unicorn|lion of England and the unicorn of Scotland]] (as in the Royal Arms) charged on the shoulder with a label as in the arms. Albert's personal motto is the German {{lang|de|Treu und Fest}} (Loyal and Sure).{{sfn|Pinches|Pinches|1974|p=241}} This motto was also used by [[11th Hussars|Prince Albert's Own or the 11th Hussars]].
{{clear}}

== Issue ==
{{see also|Descendants of Queen Victoria}}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-right: 0;"
|-
! Name
! style="width: 10em;" | Birth
! style="width: 10em;" | Death
! Notes{{sfn|Weir|1996|pp=306–321}}
|-
| [[Victoria, Princess Royal]]
| 21 November 1840
| 5 August 1901
| married 1858, Crown Prince Frederick, ''later'' [[Frederick III, German Emperor]]; had issue
|-
| [[Edward VII|Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom]]
| 9 November 1841
| 6 May 1910
| married 1863, [[Alexandra of Denmark|Princess Alexandra of Denmark]]; had issue
|-
| [[Princess Alice of the United Kingdom|Princess Alice]]
| 25 April 1843
| 14 December 1878
| married 1862, Prince Louis, ''later'' [[Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine]]; had issue
|-
| [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
| 6 August 1844
| 30 July 1900
| married 1874, [[Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia]]; had issue
|-
| [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|Princess Helena]]
| 25 May 1846
| 9 June 1923
| married 1866, [[Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein]]; had issue
|-
| [[Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll|Princess Louise]]
| 18 March 1848
| 3 December 1939
| married 1871, [[John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne]], ''later'' 9th Duke of Argyll; no issue
|-
| [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]]
| 1 May 1850
| 16 January 1942
| married 1879, [[Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia]]; had issue
|-
| [[Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany]]
| 7 April 1853
| 28 March 1884
| married 1882, [[Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont]]; had issue
|-
| [[Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom|Princess Beatrice]]
| 14 April 1857
| 26 October 1944
| married 1885, [[Prince Henry of Battenberg]]; had issue
|}

Prince Albert's 42 grandchildren included four reigning monarchs: King [[George V]] of the United Kingdom; [[Wilhelm II]], German Emperor; [[Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse]]; and [[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]], and five consorts of monarchs: [[Empress Alexandra of Russia]] and Queens [[Maud of Norway]], [[Sophia of Prussia|Sophia of Greece]], [[Victoria Eugenie of Spain]], and [[Marie of Romania]]. Albert's many descendants include royalty and nobility throughout Europe.

[[File:Franz Xaver Winterhalter Family of Queen Victoria.jpg|thumb|center|upright=1.75|Victoria and Albert's family in 1846 by [[Franz Xaver Winterhalter]]. ''Left to right'': [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Alfred]] ([[unbreeched]] at two years); [[Edward VII|the Prince of Wales]]; [[Queen Victoria|the Queen]]; Prince Albert; and Princesses [[Princess Alice of the United Kingdom|Alice]], [[Princess Helena of the United Kingdom|Helena]] and [[Victoria, Princess Royal|Victoria]]]]

== Ancestry ==
{{Ahnentafel|collapsed=yes|align=center|ref=<ref name="ad">Huberty, M., Giraud, A., Magdelaine, F. & B. (1976–1994). ''L'Allemagne Dynastique, Vols I-VII''. Le Perreux, France: Alain Giraud</ref>
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
| 1 = 1. '''Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha'''
| 2 = 2. [[Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
| 3 = 3. [[Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
| 4 = 4. [[Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]]
| 5 = 5. [[Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf]]
| 6 = 6. [[Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
| 7 = 7. [[Duchess Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]]
| 8 = 8. [[Ernest Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]]
| 9 = 9. [[Princess Sophie Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]]
| 10 = 10. [[Heinrich XXIV, Count Reuss of Ebersdorf]]
| 11 = 11. [[Countess Karoline Ernestine of Erbach-Schönberg]]
| 12 = 12. [[Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
| 13 = 13. [[Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen]]
| 14 = 14. [[Frederick Francis I]], Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
| 15 = 15. [[Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1756–1808)|Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]]
}}

== See also ==
* {{anl|John Brown (servant)|John Brown}}
* {{anl|List of coupled cousins}}
* {{anl|Royal Albert Memorial Museum}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book
  | last = Abecasis-Phillips
  | first = John
  | editor-last = Davis
  | editor-first = John
  | year = 2004
  | title = Prinz Albert – Ein Wettiner in Großbritannien / Prince Albert – A Wettin in Great Britain
  | chapter = Prince Albert and the Church – Royal versus Papal Supremacy in the Hampden Controversy
  | pages = 95–110
  | location = Munich
  | publisher = de Gruyter
  | isbn = 978-3-598-21422-6
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Ames
  | first = Winslow
  | year = 1968
  | title = Prince Albert and Victorian Taste
  | location = London
  | publisher = Chapman and Hall
  | url = https://archive.org/details/princealbertvict0000ames
  | url-access = registration
  }}
* {{cite journal| doi = 10.1093/gerhis/ghn047| last = Armstrong| first = Neil <!--An academic at the University of Gloucester, not the astronaut-->| year = 2008| title = England and German Christmas Festlichkeit, c. 1800–1914| journal = German History| volume = 26| issue = 4| pages = 486–503 }}
* {{cite book
  | last1 = Aveling
  | first1 = S. T.
  | last2 = Boutell
  | first2 = Charles
  | author2-link = Charles Boutell
  | year = 1890
  | title = Heraldry, Ancient and Modern: Including Boutell's Heraldry
  | edition = 2nd
  | location = London and New York
  | publisher = Frederick Warne & Co
  | url = https://archive.org/stream/heraldryancient00avelgoog#page/n311/mode/2up
  }}
* {{cite journal
  | last = Cust
  | first = Lionel
  | year = 1907
  | author-link = Lionel Cust
  | title = The Royal Collection of Pictures
  | journal = The Cornhill Magazine |series=New Series
  | volume = XXII
  | pages = 162–170
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last1 = Darby
  | first1 = Elizabeth
  | last2 = Smith
  | first2 = Nicola
  | year = 1983
  | title = The Cult of the Prince Consort
  | location = New Haven and London
  | publisher = Yale University Press
  | isbn = 978-0-300-03015-0
  | url = https://archive.org/details/cultofprinceco00darb
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Finestone
  | first = Jeffrey
  | year = 1981
  | title = The Last Courts of Europe
  | location = London
  | publisher = The Vendome Press
  | isbn = 978-0-86565-015-2
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Fulford
  | first = Roger
  | author-link = Roger Fulford
  | year = 1949
  | title = The Prince Consort
  | location = London
  | publisher = Macmillan Publishers
  | url = https://archive.org/details/princeconsort0000fulf
  | url-access = registration
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Hobhouse
  | first = Hermione
  | year = 1983
  | title = Prince Albert: His Life and Work
  | location = London
  | publisher = Hamish Hamilton
  | isbn = 978-0-241-11142-0
  | url = https://archive.org/details/princealberthisl0000hobh
  }}
* {{cite book
  | editor-last = Jagow
  | editor-first = Kurt
  | year = 1938
  | title = The Letters of the Prince Consort, 1831–61
  | location = London
  | publisher = John Murray
  | url = https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.174741
  }}
* {{cite news
  | last = Jurgensen
  | first = John
  | title = Victorian Romance: When the dour queen was young and in love
  | newspaper=The Wall Street Journal
  | date = 4 December 2009
| url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704107104574572273134498780
  | access-date = 20 August 2011
}}
* {{cite news
  | last = Knight
  | first = Chris
  | title = A Duchess, a reader and a man named Alistair
  | newspaper = [[National Post]]
  | date = 17 December 2009
| url = https://nationalpost.com/news/a-duchess-a-reader-and-a-man-named-alistair
  | access-date = 20 August 2011
}}
* {{cite book
  | last1 = Louda
  | first1 = Jiří
  | last2 = Maclagan
  | first2 = Michael
  | author-link2 = Michael Maclagan
  | year = 1999
  | orig-year = 1981
  | title = Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe
  | edition = 2nd
  | location = London
  | publisher = Little, Brown
  | isbn = 978-0-316-84820-6
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Martin
  | first = Theodore
  | year = 1874–1880
  | author-link = Theodore Martin
  | title = The Life of H. R. H. the Prince Consort
  | series = 5 volumes, authorised by Queen Victoria
  }}
* {{cite book
  | editor-last = Montgomery-Massingberd
  | editor-first = Hugh
  | year = 1977
  | editor-link = Hugh Massingberd
  | title = Burke's Royal Families of the World
  | edition = 1st
  | location = London
  | publisher = Burke's Peerage
  | isbn = 978-0-85011-023-4
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Murphy
  | first = James
  | year = 2001
  | title = Abject Loyalty: Nationalism and Monarchy in Ireland During the Reign of Queen Victoria
  | location = Washington DC
  | publisher = Catholic University of America Press
  | isbn = 978-0-8132-1076-6
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last1 = Pinches
  | first1 = John Harvey
  | author-link = John Pinches
  | last2 = Pinches
  | first2 = Rosemary
  | year = 1974
  | title = Heraldry Today: The Royal Heraldry of England
  | location = Slough, Buckinghamshire
  | publisher = Hollen Street Press
  | isbn = 978-0-900455-25-4
  }}
* {{cite book | last = Rhodes James | first = Robert | year = 1983 | title = Albert, Prince Consort: A Biography | publisher = Knopf | location = New York | isbn = 0-394-40763-6 | url = https://archive.org/details/princealbertbiog00jame}}
* {{cite book
  | last = Stewart
  | first = Jules
  | year = 2012
  | title = Albert: A Life
  | location = London; New York
  | publisher = I.B. Tauris
  | oclc = 760284773
  | isbn = 978-1-84885-977-7
  | url-access = registration
  | url = https://archive.org/details/albertlife0000stew
  }}
* {{cite book
  | author-link = Stanley Weintraub
  | last = Weintraub
  | first = Stanley
  | year = 1997
  | title = Albert: Uncrowned King
  | location = London
  | publisher = John Murray
  | isbn = 978-0-7195-5756-9
  | url = https://archive.org/details/albertuncrownedk0000wein
  }}
* {{cite encyclopedia| doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/274| last = Weintraub| first = Stanley| author-link = Stanley Weintraub| date = 2004| title = Albert [Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha] (1819–1861)| encyclopedia = [[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]| publisher = Oxford University Press| edition = online, January 2008| url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/274| access-date = 4 August 2009| url-access = subscription}} {{subscription required}}
* {{cite book
  | last = Weir
  | first = Alison
  | year = 1996
  | author-link = Alison Weir (historian)
  | title = Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy
  | edition = Revised
  | location = London
  | publisher = Random House
  | isbn = 978-0-7126-7448-5
  }}

==Further reading==
* Eyck, Frank. ''The Prince Consort: A Political Biography'' (Chatto, 1959), a scholarly study [https://archive.org/details/tomyfatherteache0000unse online].
* Haspel, Paul. "England's Unsung Hero of the American Civil War" ''North & South: The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society'' (July 2007), 10#2 pp 48–52; how Prince Albert aided the peaceful resolution of the 'Trent' affair in 1861. 
* Hough, Richard. ''Victoria & Albert: Their Love & Their Tragedies'' (1996)
* Lalumia, Christine. "Scrooge and Albert." ''History Today'' (2001) 51#12 pp.&nbsp;23–29.
* LeMay, G. H. L. "Prince Albert and the British Constitution." ''History Today'' (1953) 3#6 pp.&nbsp;411–416.
* Rappaport, Helen. ''Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert and the Death that Changed the Monarchy'' (Random House, 2011).
* [[Joanna Richardson|Richardson, Joanna]]. ''Victoria and Albert: A Study of a Marriage'' (J. M. Dent, 1977).
* Walton, Oliver. "Distant patron: Prince Albert and the Development of the Coburg-Gotha Economy." ''Acta Oeconomica Pragensia'' 2008.1 (2008): 117–130. [http://aop.vse.cz/pdfs/aop/2008/01/11.pdf online]

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [https://www.royal.uk/prince-albert Prince Albert] at the official website of the [[British monarchy]]
* [https://www.rct.uk/collection/people/prince-albert-prince-consort-1819-61#/type/subject Prince Albert] at the official website of the [[Royal Collection Trust]]
* {{NPG name|name=Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=51301 |name=Albert, Prince Consort}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Albert (prince consort)|display=Albert (Francis Charles Augustus Albert Emmanuel)|volume=1|pages=495–496}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/albert_prince.shtml Prince Albert (1819–1861)], BBC History<!-- Not [[BBC History Magazine]] -->
* [https://archives.parliament.uk/collections/getrecord/GB61_OPA UK Parliamentary Archives, Oaths of Prince Albert, Duke of Saxe, Prince of Saxe Coburg and Gotha] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418010636/https://archives.parliament.uk/collections/getrecord/GB61_OPA |date=18 April 2021 }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]|26 August|1819|14 December|1861|[[House of Wettin]]}}
{{s-roy|uk}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-vac | last = [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen]] | as = queen consort }}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Prince consort of the United Kingdom]]<br/>{{Small|(created "[[Prince Consort]]" 1857)}} | years = 1840–1861 }}
{{s-vac | next = [[Alexandra of Denmark]] | as = queen consort }}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Philip Philpot]]}}
{{s-ttl | title = Colonel of the [[11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars]] | years = 1840–1842 }}
{{s-aft | after = [[Arthur Benjamin Clifton|Sir Arthur Benjamin Clifton]] }}
{{s-bef | before = [[George Ludlow, 3rd Earl Ludlow]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = Colonel of the [[Scots Fusilier Guards]] | years = 1842–1852 }}
{{s-aft | rows = 2 | after = [[Prince George, Duke of Cambridge]] }}
{{s-bef | rows = 2 | before = [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = Colonel of the [[Grenadier Guards]] | years = 1852–1861 }}
|-
{{s-ttl | title = Colonel-in-Chief of the [[Rifle Brigade]] | years = 1852–1861 }}
{{s-aft | after = [[John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton]]}}
{{s-court}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Francis Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Lord Warden of the Stannaries]] | years = 1842–1861 }}
{{s-aft | after = [[Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne]] }}
{{s-aca}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Chancellor of the University of Cambridge]] | years = 1847–1861 }}
{{s-aft | after = [[William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire]] }}
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Great Masters of the Order of the Bath|Great Master of the Order of the Bath]] | years = 1847–1861<br/>{{Small|Acting 1843–1847}} }}
{{s-vac | next = [[Edward VII|Edward, Prince of Wales]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Albert, Prince Consort}}
{{British consort}}
{{Princes of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld}}
{{Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}}
{{British princes}}
{{Chancellors of the University of Cambridge}}
{{Grand Masters of the Order of the Bath}}
{{Authority control}}
{{featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince}}
[[Category:Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha| ]]
[[Category:1819 births]]
[[Category:1861 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Coburg]]
[[Category:House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
[[Category:British princes]]
[[Category:19th-century British people]]
[[Category:11th Hussars officers]]
[[Category:British field marshals]]
[[Category:British royal consorts]]
[[Category:German Protestants]]
[[Category:British Protestants]]
[[Category:Chancellors of the University of Cambridge]]
[[Category:Emigrants from the German Confederation to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Grenadier Guards officers]]
[[Category:Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Zoological Society of London]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Presidents of the British Science Association]]
[[Category:Queen Victoria]]
[[Category:Scots Guards officers]]
[[Category:University of Bonn alumni]]
[[Category:Royal reburials]]
[[Category:Sons of dukes]]
[[Category:Heirs presumptive]]
<!-- Honours -->
[[Category:Knights of the Garter]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Great Masters of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Knights of the Thistle]]
[[Category:Knights of St Patrick]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Knights Companion of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary]]
[[Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain]]
[[Category:Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Bailiffs Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Aviz|3]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal)|3]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint James of the Sword|3]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Tower and Sword]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion]]
[[Category:Members of Trinity House]]