Which little royal woman became the ‘Widow of Windsor’ on this day – plunging the entire British nation into the deepest mourning?
Even as Prince Albert’s illness reached its worst, Victoria remained hopeful, telling one of his doctors, “My husband will not die, because that would be my death.”
But in December 1861 he died, an event that plunged not only the royal family but also the nation itself into deep mourning.
The death of the Prince Consort at the age of just 42 did much to create the fashion for jet jewelery from Whitby. Black crepe manufacturers had never had it so good.
But he clung to life, attended by his doctors and his third child, Alice, who served as her father’s nursemaid during his illness.
When he finally died on the evening of the 14th, he was surrounded by five of his nine children
His body was temporarily placed in the Royal Vault, St George’s Chapel and on 18 December 1862 he was buried in the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore.
It was believed that the cause of his death was a virulent attack of typhoid fever. However, this was never verified by doctors, as Victoria refused to perform an autopsy on her husband. This has been debated among modern experts, who have cited Crohn’s disease and cancer as possible causes of death.
But regardless of the source, Albert’s death had a powerful impact on the country.
Following the news of his death, shops closed their doors and theater performances were canceled in honor of the death of the royal family.
Christmas, just over a week after his death, was a somber occasion across Britain. His sudden death tragically left his adoring wife in lifelong mourning.
The grief over the loss of her husband came to define the rest of her reign as Britain’s longest-serving monarch at the time.
Victoria wore only black for the remainder of her reign, which lasted almost 64 years, and became known as the ‘Widow of Windsor’.
She fell into a deep depression, refusing to perform public duties and prompting people to wonder what she did to earn the Crown’s annual salary.
Although she never neglected her official correspondence and continued to grant audiences to ministers and official visitors, Victoria was reluctant to reintegrate into public life.
Victoria wore black for the remainder of her reign, which lasted almost 64 years. She became known as the ‘Widow of Windsor’
His body was temporarily placed in the Royal Vault, St George’s Chapel and on 18 December 1862 he was buried in the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore.
Albert married Queen Victoria in 1840 and gained enormous influence within his family, the monarchy and the government
By the late 1860s there were calls for the Queen to abdicate and leave the throne open to her eldest son, Bertie, the future King Edward VII.
However, she gradually regained public favor, especially when Bertie was struck by a serious illness on the tenth anniversary of Albert’s death.
After Bertie’s apparent miraculous recovery a few weeks later, Victoria was urged to hold a public thanksgiving service, which became her first official state ceremonial appearance in a decade.
Since his marriage to Queen Victoria in 1840, he had become the pillar of his wife and family and a respected and imaginative advisor to the government.
He played an active role within the monarchy in his adopted country, including smoothing ruffled feathers over British neutrality in the American Civil War.
Furthermore, before Victoria’s accession to the throne, her family house, the Hanoverians, was unpopular with the general public and the reputation of the royal family was far from favorable.
But as a married couple, Victoria and Albert rehabilitated the royal image, making themselves and their children both approachable and recognizable to the common people.
After Princess Victoria became queen in 1837, they met again in October 1839 and their engagement was announced on November 23 that year. The wedding took place on 10 February 1840 in the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace.
Born Prince Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel, he spent his childhood at Schloss Rosenau, his family’s country home near Coburg, and at the ducal palaces in Coburg and Gotha.
His uncle Prince Leopold, who later became King of the Belgians in 1831, hoped that the prince would marry his cousin, Princess Victoria, heir presumptive to the British throne.
Young Victoria first met Albert in 1836, when she was 17. Shortly afterwards she wrote to Leopold, thanking him ‘for the prospect of great happiness that you have contributed to me in the person of dear Albert.’
Albert, born Prince Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel, spent his childhood at Schloss Rosenau, his family’s country home near Coburg, and at the ducal palaces in Coburg and Gotha.
The wedding between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert took place on February 10, 1840 in the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace
In 1840, Prince Albert was appointed Knight of the Garter and State Councilor, and in 1857 he was officially given the formal title of Prince Consort.
He was given full access to the Cabinet and other state papers, and from 1841 he attended audiences held by the Queen with her ministers.
When not working, family life was of great importance to Albert and he greatly enjoyed the company of his nine children.
When Victoria died in January 1901 at the age of 81, one of Albert’s dressing gowns was placed next to her in her coffin, along with a plaster cast of his hand. She was also buried in her bridal veil.