Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861)

Husband of British Queen Victoria from 1840. A patron of the arts, science, and industry, Albert was the second son of the Duke of Saxe Coburg‐Gotha and first cousin to Queen Victoria, whose chief adviser he became. He planned the Great Exhibition of 1851, the profits from which were used to buy the sites in London of all the South Kensington museums and colleges and the Royal Albert Hall, built in 1871. He died of typhoid. The Queen never fully recovered from his premature death, and remained in mourning for him for the rest of her life.

Albert also popularized the Christmas tree in England. He was regarded by the British people with groundless suspicion because of his German connections.

The Albert Memorial 1872, designed by Gilbert Scott, in Kensington Gardens, London, is a typical example of Victorian decorative art.