On December 14, 1861, Queen Victoria lost her lover, husband, and trusted consort, Prince Albert, at the relatively young age of 42. The consensus is that the immediate cause of death was typhoid fever, though there has been much speculation that he also suffered from one or more chronic conditions that had put him in poor health for a couple of years prior to his death. The fact that his death was anticipated in no way seems to have lessened the profound blow to his companion, the Queen. She wore black the rest of her extensive life and insisted that her husband's quarters be maintained as they were when he was alive. Unfortunately, her immense grief in some ways impeded her ability to continue the legacy that Prince Albert had sought to achieve in terms of the royal family being a public example of morality, since she largely withdrew into seclusion.
RECOMMENDED READING
This wonderful book by Christopher Hibbert will be useful to us all year. Hibbert is one of greatest "popular" historians, meaning that he writes books you want to read. Many of you have used his great one-volume history of the Medici as well as his excellent History of Rome, History of Florence, and History of Venice.Many of us used his excellent biography of Mussolini last year in the Modern Italy class. IN this book, Hibbert takes us all through Victorian society. We have not made it "required" but we are sure you will enjoy it if you buy it and read it.
Life in Victorian England,
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (December 31, 2016),
ISBN 1541383559
We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals,
Ballantine Books (November 30, 2009),
ISBN 0345520017