Royal Albert Hall
Photo: Panos Asproulis, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.
Royal Albert Hall at night
Photo: Oxyman, GNU Free Documentation License.
View outside Royal Albert Hall
Photo: Panos Asproulis, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.
The Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences is an arts venue in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England. It was dedicated in memory of Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert, who died of typhoid in 1861. The queen opened it on 29 March, 1871.
The Royal Albert Hall is one of the UK's most beloved and distinctive buildings. Since its opening, some of the world's leading artists of practically every genre have appeared there. This includes concerts, rock and pop, ballet and opera, tennis, award ceremonies, everything under the sun. For that reason, the Royal Albert Hall is often called the "Nation's Village Hall".
The Hall was originally supposed to have been called The Central Hall of Arts and Sciences. Queen Victoria changed the name in memory of the Prince Consort. It forms the practical part of a national memorial to Prince Albert - the ornamental part is Albert Memorial directly to the north in Kensington Gardens, now separated from the Hall by busy Kensington Gore.
The Royal Albert Hall houses the largest pipe organ in the UK.
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