Albert, Prince Consort

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel;[1] 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was consort of the British monarch as the husband of Queen Victoria from their marriage on 10 February 1840 until his death in 1861.

Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Prince Consort
Photograph by J. J. E. Mayall, May 1860
Consort of the British monarch
Tenure	10 February 1840 – 14 December 1861
Born	Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1819-08-26)26 August 1819 Schloss Rosenau, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, German Confederation
Died	14 December 1861(1861-12-14) (aged 42) Windsor Castle, England, United Kingdom
Burial	23 December 1861 Royal Vault, St George's Chapel; 18 December 1862 Frogmore Mausoleum
Spouse	Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom ​ ​ (m. 1840)​
Issue	Victoria, German Empress Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom 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
Names Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel
House	Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (until 1826) Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (from 1826)
Father	Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Mother	Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Signature

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 his cousin Victoria; they 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 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 Parliament—although he actively disagreed with the interventionist foreign policy pursued during Lord Palmerston's tenure as Foreign Secretary. Albert died in 1861 at age 42, devastating Victoria so much that she entered into a deep state of mourning and wore black for the rest of her life. On 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.