14. After Prince Albert Died Unexpectedly, Queen Victoria Mourned Him for 40 Years
What happens when the most powerful woman in the world proposes to you? When the future Queen Victoria of England met her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, in 1836, the handsome and charismatic Albert charmed her. The feeling was mutual, and Victoria adored his company. The following year, she ascended to the British throne. As a reigning monarch, no man could ask her to marry him. At their next meeting in October 1839, Queen Victoria proposed to Albert. By the time of their marriage in February 1840, the Queen of England had fallen deeply in love with her husband.
While his wife was busy running the largest empire in the world, Albert devoted himself to the welfare of the British people. In 1861, after twenty-one years of marriage, he died of typhoid fever. The loss had a profound effect on Victoria. She remained in seclusion for three years after his death, severely damaging the monarchy’s reputation. Although she emerged from her isolation, Victoria was never the same. Wearing black for the next forty years, she grieved for Albert until her death in 1901.