Albert Francis Augustus Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ^2,3

  General Notes:

[Europe_New.FTW] [royalfam.ged] Albert, called the Prince Consort, was the husband of Queen Victoria of Britain. The son of t he Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, he was born on Aug.26, 1819, near Coburg, Bavaria. He married t he young Victoria in 1840. As her closest advisor, Albert exercised a restraining influence o n theimpulsive queen, especially in political matters. Among the political leaders of the per iod, Albert worked well with Sir Robert Peel but quarreled frequently with Viscount Palmersto n. In the Trent Affair of 1861 the prince actually moderated the hostility of Palmerston's go vernment toward the United States. Albert was a patron of the arts and sciences and one of the organizers ofthe Great Exhibitio n of 1851. His zeal for public moralism in many waysset the tone of mid-Victorian England. Al bert's death on Dec. 14, 1861, partly the result of overwork, deeply affected Victoria, who w ent intoseclusion for several years. ==================================================================== Yet a more promising throne loomed in the near distance. King William IV of Great Britain an d his wife, Queen Adelheid Luise, were unable to procreate any children who survived infancy . Their quickly arranged marriage during the Hannoverian wife search in the late 1810s faile d to continue the dynasty. By the time William IV inherited the throne from his brother Kin g George IV in 1830, little Princess Victoria of Kent was the established heiress to the grea test throne of Europe. And when the King of Great Britain died childless in 1837, his eightee n year old niece ascended the throne as Queen Victoria. By the end of Victorias second yea r as monarch, she still remained single. London became the most delightful and promising dest ination for many young continental princes. Victoria, desperately lonely in her London palace , wanted to find a suitable consort who could keep her company and provide the country with t he next generation of princes. Leopold had waited two decades for this opportunity and quickl y stepped in with his valuable counsel and matrimonial expertise. Among his several nephews , there was one in particular which Leopold had in mind as Victorias future husband, Princ e Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Duke Ernst I and Duchess Louise had a very unhappy marriage. T he heiress of Gotha had arrived at Coburg in 1817 to find a husband who was not much interest ed in her. Duke Ernst paid more attention to the aggrandizement of his little duchy than to t he youthful girl he had married. Within two years of their wedding the couple had two princes , Ernst and Albert. Once having fulfilled her main role to secure the succession, Ernst pai d very little attention to Luise. In her loneliness, the young duchess sought companionship a mong the courtiers of her husbands little court. By the mid-1820s the marriage had collapse d, the ducal couple divorced and Luise fallen in love with a young German aristocrat. Left i n Coburg were the two little princes who never again saw much of their mother. Prince Ernst o f Saxe-Coburg-Gotha would succeed his father on the ducal throne; Prince Albert needed to fin d a future. Leopold I and Queen Louise-Marie were tremendously fond of the two princes. Erns t and Albert spent long periods at their uncles court in Brussels. While Ernst developed int o a licentious young man, Albert remained unspoiled, studious and conscientious of his futur e possibilities. In 1839 the brothers traveled to London to pay their respects to their roya l cousin. Although initially apprehensive about Albert as a husband, Victoria quickly surrend ered to his mild manner and good looks. There engagement was announced with great delight i n 1839. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Queen Victoria of Great Britain were married i n London on 24 January 1840. No longer were the Coburgs considered a small, forgotten princel y house from the depths of the Thuringian woods. In one decade, the Coburgs had attained th e thrones of three European countries.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Record Change, 26 Aug 2003. ^2,3

Albert married Queen of England Victoria Hanover, daughter of Edward Augustus Of Hanover and Princess Of Saxe-Coburg Victoria Mary Louisa, on 10 Feb 1840 in London, London, England ².^,3 (Queen of England Victoria Hanover was born on 24 May 1819 in London, London, England,^2,3 died on 22 Jan 1901 in Isle of Wight, England ^2,3 and was buried in Windsor, Berkshire, England ^2,3.)