Albert Memorial, London
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The Albert Memorial is a monument in Kensington Gardens, London, directly north of the Royal Albert Hall. It was commissioned by the grieving Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha who died of typhoid in 1861.
Albert Memorial was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic revival style. It opened in 1872. The statue of Albert was ceremonially "seated" in 1875. It faces south under an ornate canopy and surrounded by sculptural Frieze of Parnassus depicting 169 individuals.
By the late 1990s the Memorial had fallen into disrepair, requiring a restoration effort to clean, repaint and re-gild it. During the restoration, the cross at the top of the monument was returned to its correct position.
Following restoration, the figure of Prince Albert is now covered in gold leaf. It had been covered in black paint for the past eighty eyars. Various theories were floated as to the reason. One held that it was deliberately blackened during World War I to prevent it from becoming a target for bombing raids. However, research conducted by6 English Heritage suggested that it was simply black from air pollution that destroyed the original gold leaf. Further restoration work on the Albert Memorial commenced in the summer of 2006. Until it is completed, there is no public access within the surrounding fence.
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