In Kensington Gardens you can visit the Albert Memorial. It is located across from the Royal Albert Hall. The memorial, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her husband, Prince Albert. Scott won his knighthood for his work on the memorial. Albert died in 1861 of typhoid fever. He was only 42 and the Queen died in 1901. She mourned the loss of her husband and when I viewed the memorial, I could sense how much she loved him. It is 176 feet tall (54m) and took over a decade to construct. The cost was £120,000. In today’s world the price would be around £10,000,000. Public subscription paid for the memorial. The statue of Prince Albert has a gold leaf surface, however for eight decades the statue was covered in black paint. Some thought this was to prevent it from being bombed in World War I by a Zeppelin. Research, though, suggests that the black paint happened before 1914 due to pollution damage to the original gold leaf. Restoration efforts began in 2006. If you are in the area, it is stunning. I have observed it on a sunny and a cloudy day. The gold really pops against the blue sky.
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This is great. Fascinates me always and your photographs are amazing. I loved them all dear TBM, Thank you, with my love, nia
Thanks Nia. It is a fun one to take photos of and I live within walking distance.
They did clean this very well.
The last time I returned to Paris I was a bit shocked to see so much gold but then realized they had done some majoy cleaning efforts…
Ah Paris…I can’t wait to go. Hopefully this spring or early summer. I think they are doing some major cleaning efforts in London as well.
Great shots! Their story is so sad, there is a great Osborne house build for the Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in Isle of Wight! It’s really worth a visit 🙂
Thanks Kristina. I’ll have to check out the Osborne house! And yes their story is sad. She lived so long without him.
Nice that you made a cloudy and sunny picture. Prefer the sunny version, the gold really pops out! And the camel and elephant, they look marvellous!
I was amazed the second time I saw it on a sunny day and saw the gold. It does stick out! I loved all the sculptures around it…so much to take in and look at.
It is beautiful isn´t it (as is the Royal Albert Hall). Ah, what romance, what love!
Yes it is! And their story, while sad, is also beautiful.
Now that is what I call a tribute. You sure don’t see work like that anymore do you? In fact, I find modern architecture quite boring after I look at structures like this! Beat photos!!
Thanks! It is an impressive tribute. I don’t understand a lot of modern architecture. Maybe if I learned about it more, I would enjoy it more.
That is so beautiful!!!! I love it!!! Thanks for the great pictures ! I never knew the story about it either so thanks for the education!
I’m glad you liked it Beth Ann. It is a sad, but romantic story.
great photos! I love anything with prince and queens!
Thanks! I am finding a lot of them in England that’s for sure.
Did you watch The Young Victoria? It’s beautiful. I was amazed when I watched it that this had been such an intense love story. I reviewed it in my blog’s baby days.
I haven’t seen it. I’ll have to check out your review! Thanks!
It’s completely OTT isn’t it. So very Victorian with all the imperial references.
It does have a lot going on!
Amazing pictures. The gold on Prince Albert is stunning!
It really is. I’m glad they restored the gold…it is eye catching.
never saw the golden ALBERT before, but often heard from the Royal Albert Hall – at first via THE BEATLES …
The Beatles at Royal Albert Hall would have been amazing to see.
wonderful photos and fascinating story. Thanks!
I’m glad you enjoyed them Kate.
Gorgeous pictures!
Thanks!
Wow nice photos! I definitely prefer the sunny day version.
I was so glad that I was able to see it when it was sunny out…it makes a huge difference.
Beautiful shots!
Thanks Hook!
Oh wow, these are glorious glorious photos indeed. This husband must have done something right to deserve all these gold leaves.
🙂 He must have. It is a beautiful tribute.
Beautiful photos!
Thanks Melissa!
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That’s quite a tribute. (And an expensive one too!)
I’ve been to the Victoria and Albert museum, which I really enjoyed. There are some really unusual collections there.
I haven’t been to the museum yet but it is on my list. I was shocked by how much the memorial was…I don’t think you could spend that amount of money today but I could be wrong.
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