Notes:

[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.

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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.

Albert married Queen of England Victoria Hanover on 10 Feb 1840 in London, England, Great Britain. Victoria (daughter of Duke of Kent Edward Augustus Hanover and Victoria Mary Louisa) was born on 24 May 1819 in Kensington, London, England; was christened on 24 Jun 1819 in Kensington Palace, Kensington, Middlesex, England; died on 22 Jan 1901 in Osborne House, Isle of Wight, England; was buried in Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore, Berkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
Chapel Royal, St. James Palace

1. Princess Royal Victoria Adelaide Mary was born on 21 Nov 1840 in Buckingham, London, England, Great Britain; was christened on 10 Feb 1841 in Throne Room, Buckingham Palac, England; died on 5 Aug 1901 in Friedrichshof, Near, Kronberg, Taunus; was buried in Friedenskirche, Potsdam, Germany.
2. King of England Albert Edward Wettin Windsor, VII was born on 9 Nov 1841 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; was christened on 25 Jan 1842 in Windsor, Berkshire, England; died on 6 May 1910 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; was buried on 20 May 1910 in Windsor, Berkshire, England.
3. Princess of Saxe-Coburg Alice Maud Mary was born on 25 Apr 1843 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; died on 14 Dec 1878 in Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany.
4. Prince Alfred Ernest Albert was born on 6 Aug 1844 in Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England; died on 30 Jul 1900 in Schloss Rosenau, Near Coburg, Coburg, Bayern, Germany.
5. Princess Helena Augusta Victoria Of Saxe-Coburg was born on 25 May 1846 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; died on 09 Jun 1923 in Schomberg House, Pall Mall, London, England.
6. Princess Of Saxe-Coburg Louise Caroline Alberta was born on 18 Mar 1848 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; died on 03 Dec 1939 in Kensington, London, England; was buried in Frogmore, England.
7. Prince Arthur William Patrick Of Saxe-Coburg was born on 1 May 1850 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; died on 16 Jan 1942 in Bagshot Park, Surrey, England.
8. Prince Leopold George Duncan Of Saxe-Coburg was born on 07 Apr 1853 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; died on 28 Mar 1884 in Cannes, France; was buried in 1884 in Windsor, Berkshire, England.
9. Princess Beatrice Mary Victoria was born on 14 Apr 1857 in Buckingham Palace, London, Middlesex, England; died on 26 Oct 1944 in Bantridge Park, Balcombe, Sussex, England.

Ernest married Louise of Saxe-Coburg- AltenburgGotha, Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, Thuringia. Louise (daughter of Augustus Of Saxe-Gotha and Countess Augusta Carolina Reuss-Ebersdorf) was born in 1800 in Thuringia; died in 1831 in Paris, ÃŽle-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Francis married Countess Augusta Carolina Reuss-Ebersdorf in 1777 in Ebersdorf, Reuss-Jhungere-Linie, Thuringia. Augusta (daughter of Count Henry of Reuss-Ebersdorf, XXIV and Countess of Erbach Schonberg Karoline Ernestine) was born on 09 Jan 1757 in Saxe-Coburg, Germany; died on 16 Nov 1831 in Coburg, Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, Thuringia; was buried on 20 Nov 1831 in Herz. Hofgarten, Coburg, Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, Thuringia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Augustus + Countess Augusta Carolina Reuss-Ebersdorf. Augusta (daughter of Count Henry of Reuss-Ebersdorf, XXIV and Countess of Erbach Schonberg Karoline Ernestine) was born on 09 Jan 1757 in Saxe-Coburg, Germany; died on 16 Nov 1831 in Coburg, Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, Thuringia; was buried on 20 Nov 1831 in Herz. Hofgarten, Coburg, Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, Thuringia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ernst married Princess Sofie Antonie Brunswick-Wolfenbhuttel in 1749 in Wolfenbhuttel, Braunschweig, Germany. Sofie (daughter of Ferdinand Albrecht Brunswick Wolfenbuttel, II and Antoinette Amalie Brunswick-Wolfenbhuttel) was born on 23 Jan 1724 in Wolfenbhuttel, Braunschweig, Germany; died on 17 May 1802 in Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Thuringia; was buried in St. Moritzkirche, Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Thuringia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Henry married Countess of Erbach Schonberg Karoline Ernestine on 28 Jun 1754 in Thurnau, O-Frnk, Bavaria. Schonberg (daughter of George Augustus and Ferdinanda) was born on 20 Aug 1727 in Gedern, Oberhessen, Hesse-Darmstadt; died on 22 Apr 1796 in Ebersdorf, R-J-L, Thuringia; was buried on 28 Apr 1796 in Ebersdorf, R-J-L, Thuringia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]