Marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Domains

Politics

Dates

Date of occurrence 1840-02-10-1861-12

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

Resources

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From her accession in 1837, one of the main discussion points surrounding Victoria's position was when - and who - the young Queen would marry. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was an eligible choice, her cousin on her mother's side. A marriage with him, however, would also be a chance to distance herself from her mother, with whom convention demanded that Victoria still live, as an unmarried woman, even though she was also the Queen. The pair met on two occasions before they agreed to marry (Victoria having to propose, as the higher ranking party), and their wedding took place on 10 February 1840. Their life together was at times put under stress by the mismatch between Albert's aspirations and his officially subordinate position. He was never 'King', but rather 'Prince', and took…

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172 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4808, accessed 06 May 2024.]

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