Prince Albert (1819-1861), The Royal Consort Collection

Prince Albert (full name Prince Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel) was the younger son of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (later Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) and Duchess Louise of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg. His uncle, Prince Leopold, who became King of the Belgians in 1831, hoped that the Prince would marry his cousin, Princess Victoria, heir presumptive to the British throne, and he arranged the cousins' first meeting, on 18 May 1836 in England. After Princess Victoria became Queen in 1837, the cousins met again in October 1839 and their engagement was announced on 23 November that year. The marriage took place on 10 February 1840 in the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace. In 1840 Prince Albert was made a Knight of the Garter and created a Privy Counsellor, and in 1857 he was officially given the formal title of Prince Consort.