A consolation and pleasure

Prince Albert took a close interest in architecture and oversaw a series of major building projects. Michael Hall considers his claims to be thought of as an architect

- Michael Hall

QUEEN VICTORIA’S marriage in 1840 to her 20-year-old cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha posed an immediate problem: what was the purpose of her new husband, other than providing an heir to the throne? There was no job description for a prince consort—even that title was, grudgingly, not granted to him by his adopted country until 1857. ‘In my home life I am very happy and contented,’ he wrote to a friend back in Germany, ‘but the difficulty in filling my place with the proper dignity is that I am only the husband, and not the master in the house.’

That was soon to change. The Queen’s frequent pregnancies— nine over the first 17 years of her marriage—meant that the Prince was able quickly to manoeuvre himself into a position of control over their domestic affairs. One issue soon became pressing: the need for larger and better accommodation for the growing Royal Family. Albert took the lead in the acquisition, design, decoration and furnishing of two new houses, at Osborne and Balmoral, the layout of their gardens and the creation of estate buildings. Despite the fact that he never made an architectural drawing, the Prince’s involvement in these projects was so close that he deserves to be described as their architect. Although the buildings for which he was responsible were modest by the standards of the palaces commissioned by European royal dynasties in the 19th century, their status as the favourite homes of the monarch of the world’s most powerful nation gave them great influence.