Albert (prince consort)

Albert (prince consort), full name Albert Francis Charles Augustus Emmanuel of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1819-1861), prince consort to Queen Victoria of England. He was born near Coburg, Germany, a younger son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1840 he married Victoria, who had been queen for three years, and he soon became her most trusted adviser. In this role he exerted enormous influence on policies and events, in international as well as national matters. He was an active and effective patron of the arts and sciences, organizing such enterprises as the epochal Great Exhibition of 1851 at the Crystal Palace, to stimulate the growth of British commerce, industry, and national pride. Although regarded by many Britons as a meddling foreigner, Albert succeeded in strengthening the monarchy and in encouraging social progress. Overburdened with work, he succumbed to typhoid fever at the age of 42.