Lendle

It seems almost incredible now to read of the Divinity that did hedge a Prince Consort one hundred years ago, particularly when we compare Albert’s life and role with that of Prince Philip.

Indeed, it is difficult to guess which of the two would be more averse to the other’s speeches.

It may also occur to the reader that, whereas Prince Philip has acted as a modernising and almost dashing influence on the Queen, Albert appears to have been a staid and restraining one on Victoria.

For it must be remembered that Queen Elizabeth had been Heiress Apparent for far longer than Victoria, who was, when she married, a gay young girl by the standards of her age.

Although it is fairly certain that Albert and Prince Philip would have disliked each other on sight, they have both been guided by the highest sense of duty.

It is this sense of duty, in spite of considerable hostility and dislike of the ‘foreign ways’, that make Albert’s life of such interest. If he had accomplished nothing else, his influence on the dealings with the United States of America, just before his death, would ensure him an important place in British History.

In Albert, Prince Consort, Hector Bolitho explores the life and personality of Prince Albert, from his birth in Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, his marriage and restraining influence on Queen Victoria and his early death from typhoid.

Praise for Hector Bolitho