Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

1840 British royal wedding

Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

Marriage of Victoria and Albert
Painting by George Hayter, 1842

Date| 10 February 1840; 185 years ago (10 February 1840)
Venue| Chapel Royal, St James's Palace
Location| London, England
Participants| Queen Victoria
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

The wedding of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (later Prince Consort) took place on 10 February 1840 at Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, in London.

## Marriage

[edit]

Though she was queen, Victoria as an unmarried young woman, was required by social convention to live with her mother, despite their differences over the Kensington System and her mother's continued reliance on Sir John Conroy.[1] Her mother was consigned to a remote apartment in Buckingham Palace, and Victoria often refused to meet her.[2] When Victoria complained to Lord Melbourne that her mother's close proximity promised "torment for many years", Melbourne sympathised but said it could be avoided by marriage, which Victoria called a "shocking alternative".[3] She showed interest in Albert's education for the future role he would have to play as her husband, but she resisted attempts to rush her into wedlock.[4]

Victoria continued to praise Albert following his second visit in October 1839. Albert and Victoria felt mutual affection and the Queen proposed to him on 15 October 1839, just five days after he had arrived at Windsor.[5] They were married on 10 February 1840, in the Chapel Royal of St. James's Palace, London. Victoria was besotted. She spent the evening after their wedding lying down with a headache, but wrote ecstatically in her diary:

> I NEVER, NEVER spent such an evening!!! MY DEAREST DEAREST DEAR Albert ... his excessive love & affection gave me feelings of heavenly love & happiness I never could have hoped to have felt before! He clasped me in his arms, & we kissed each other again & again! His beauty, his sweetness & gentleness—really how can I ever be thankful enough to have such a Husband! ... to be called by names of tenderness, I have never yet heard used to me before—was bliss beyond belief! Oh! This was the happiest day of my life![6]

Albert became an important political adviser as well as the Queen's companion, replacing Lord Melbourne as the dominant, influential figure in the first half of her life.[7]

The wedding of Victoria and Albert remains the most recent wedding of a reigning British monarch. All monarchs since Victoria were already married when they ascended the throne, except for Edward VIII, who remained unmarried throughout his brief reign and married after his abdication.

## Wedding dress

[edit]

Main article: Wedding dress of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

The lace was designed by William Dyce, head of the then Government School of Design (later known as the Royal College of Art), and mounted on a white satin dress made by Mary Bettans.[8]

The plain, cream-coloured satin wedding dress was made from fabric woven in Spitalfields, east London, and trimmed with a deep flounce and trimmings of lace hand-made in Honiton and Beer, in Devon.[8] This demonstrated support for English industry, particularly the cottage industry for lace.[8][9] The handmade lace motifs were appliquéd onto cotton machine-made net.[10] Orange flower blossoms, a symbol of fertility, also trimmed the dress and made up Victoria's wreath, which she wore instead of a tiara over her veil. The veil, which matched the flounce of the dress, was four yards in length and 0.75 yards wide. Her jewellery consisted of diamond earrings and necklace, and a sapphire brooch given to her by Albert. The slippers she wore matched the white colour of the dress. The train of the dress, carried by her bridesmaids, measured 18 feet (5.5 m) long.

Queen Victoria described her choice of dress in her journal thus: "I wore a white satin dress, with a deep flounce of Honiton lace, an imitation of an old design. My jewels were my Turkish diamond necklace & earrings & dear Albert's beautiful sapphire brooch."[11]

## Guests

[edit]

### Bride's family

[edit]

* The  Duchess of Kent and Strathearn, the bride's mother
* Queen Adelaide, the bride's paternal aunt by marriage
* The Princess Augusta Sophia, the bride's paternal aunt
* The Duke of Sussex, the bride's paternal uncle
* The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the bride's paternal uncle and aunt
* Prince George of Cambridge, the bride's first cousin
* Princess Augusta of Cambridge, the bride's first cousin
* Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the bride's first cousin
* Princess Sophia of Gloucester, the bride's first cousin once removed

### Groom's family

[edit]

* The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the groom's father
* The Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the groom's brother[12]

### Bridesmaids

[edit]

* Lady Mary Howard (1822–1897), daughter of the Duke of Norfolk, later Baroness Foley of Kidderminster;
* Lady Caroline Gordon-Lennox (1819–1890), daughter of the Duke of Richmond and Lennox, later Countess of Bessborough;
* Lady Adelaide Paget (1820–1890), daughter of the Marquess of Anglesey, later Lady Adelaide Cadogan;
* Lady Eleanora Paget (1820–1848), granddaughter of the 1st Marquess of Anglesey, later Lady Graham;
* Lady Elizabeth Howard (1816–1891), daughter of the Earl of Carlisle, later Lady Grey;
* Lady Wilhelmina Stanhope (1819-1901), daughter of the Earl Stanhope, later Duchess of Cleveland;
* Lady Sarah Villiers (1822–1853), daughter of the Earl of Jersey, later Princess Esterházy;
* Lady Elizabeth Sackville-West (1818-1897), daughter of the Earl De La Warr, later Duchess of Bedford;
* Lady Ida Hay (1821–1867), daughter of the Earl of Erroll, later Countess of Gainsborough;
* Lady Frances Cowper (1820–1880), daughter of the 5th Earl Cowper, later Viscountess Jocelyn;
* Lady Mary Grimston (1821–1879), daughter of the Earl of Verulam, later Countess of Radnor;
* Lady Jane Pleydell-Bouverie (1819–1903), sister-in-law of the above, daughter of the Earl of Radnor, later Lady Jane Ellice.[13]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Longford, p. 84; Marshall, p. 52
2. ^ Longford, p. 72; Waller, p. 353
3. ^ Woodham-Smith, p. 175
4. ^ Hibbert, pp. 103–104; Marshall, pp. 60–66; Weintraub, p. 62
5. ^ Hibbert, pp. 107–110; St Aubyn, pp. 129–132; Weintraub, pp. 77–81; Woodham-Smith, pp. 182–184, 187
6. ^ Hibbert, p. 123; Longford, p. 143; Woodham-Smith, p. 205
7. ^ St Aubyn, p. 151
8. ^ a b c Alexander, Hilary (22 April 2011). "How will The Dress measure up to history?". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
9. ^ Khalje, Susan (1997). Bridal couture: fine sewing techniques for wedding gowns and evening wear. Krause Publications Craft. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-8019-8757-1. Retrieved 30 April 2011 - via Internet Archive.
10. ^ Lace crafts quarterly. Eunice Sein. 1987. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
11. ^ Booth, Anne Louise (15 June 2024). Women in Victorian Society. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-3981-0541-6. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
12. ^ "Supplement to The London Gazette of Tuesday 11 February 1840" (PDF). 13 February 1840. (download)
13. ^ the Hon. Mrs. Armytage (19 October 2011). "Attending the Queen at Her Wedding: The Bridesmaids of Queen Victoria". The Esoteric Curiosa. Retrieved 20 September 2016.

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Hibbert, Christopher (2000) Queen Victoria: A Personal History, London: HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-638843-4
* Longford, Elizabeth (1964) Victoria R.I., London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-17001-5
* Marshall, Dorothy (1972) The Life and Times of Queen Victoria, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-83166-6 [1992 reprint]
* St Aubyn, Giles (1991) Queen Victoria: A Portrait, London: Sinclair-Stevenson, ISBN 1-85619-086-2
* Waller, Maureen (2006) Sovereign Ladies: The Six Reigning Queens of England, London: John Murray, ISBN 0-7195-6628-2
* Weintraub, Stanley (1997) Albert: Uncrowned King, London: John Murray, ISBN 0-7195-5756-9
* Woodham-Smith, Cecil (1972) Queen Victoria: Her Life and Times 1819–1861, London: Hamish Hamilton, ISBN 0-241-02200-2

## External links

[edit]

* BBC audio slideshow featuring her wedding dress

* v
* t
* e

Queen Victoria

Queen of the United Kingdom (1837–1901), Empress of India (1876–1901)

Events|

* Coronation
* Honours
* Hackpen White Horse
* Wedding
* Wedding dress
* Golden Jubilee
* Honours
* Medal
* Police Medal
* Clock Tower, Weymouth
* Clock Tower, Brighton
* Bust
* Adelaide Jubilee International Exhibition
* Diamond Jubilee
* Honours
* Medal
* Jubilee Diamond
* Jubilee Tower
* Cherries jubilee
* Recessional (poem)
* Cunningham Clock Tower
* Devonshire House Ball

Reign|

* Bedchamber crisis
* Prime ministers
* Edward Oxford
* The boy Jones
* Empress of India
* John William Bean
* Victorian era
* Victorian morality
* Visits to Manchester
* Foreign visits
* Death and state funeral
* Mausoleum

Family|

* Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (husband)
* Victoria, German Empress (daughter)
* Edward VII (son)
* Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine (daughter)
* Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (son)
* Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (daughter)
* Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (daughter)
* Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (son)
* Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (son)
* Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg (daughter)
* Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (father)
* Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (mother)
* Feodora, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (half-sister)
* Carl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen (half-brother)
* Descendants
* Royal descendants

Early life|

* Kensington System
* John Conroy
* Victoire Conroy
* Louise Lehzen
* Lady Flora Hastings
* Charlotte Percy
* George Davys
* Legitimacy

Honours|

* Places
* Empire Day
* Royal Family Order
* Victoria Day
* Victoria Day (Scotland)
* Victoria Cross
* Victoria (plant)

Depictions|

| Film|

* Sixty Years a Queen (1913)
* Victoria in Dover (1936)
* Victoria the Great (1937)
* Sixty Glorious Years (1938)
* Victoria in Dover (1954)
* Mrs Brown (1997)
* The Young Victoria (2009)
* Victoria & Abdul (2017)
* The Black Prince (2017)
* Dolittle (2020)

|

Television|

* Happy and Glorious (1952)
* Victoria Regina (1961)
* The Young Victoria (1963)
* Victoria & Albert (2001)
* Looking for Victoria (2003)
* Royal Upstairs Downstairs (2011)
* Victoria (2016–2019)

Stage|

* Victoria and Merrie England (1897)
* Victoria Regina (1934)
* I and Albert (1972)

Statues and
memorials|

* List of statues
* London
* Memorial
* Statue
* Square
* Leeds
* St Helens
* Lancaster
* Bristol
* Weymouth
* Chester
* Reading
* Liverpool
* Birmingham
* Birkenhead
* Dundee
* Balmoral cairns
* Guernsey
* Isle of Man
* Valletta
* Statue
* Gate
* Winnipeg
* Montreal
* Square
* Victoria, British Columbia
* Toronto
* Regina
* Bangalore
* Hong Kong
* Ahmedabad
* Kolkata
* Visakhapatnam
* Penang
* Sydney
* Building
* Square
* Adelaide
* Brisbane
* Melbourne
* Christchurch

Portraits|

* Victoria, Duchess of Kent with Princess Victoria (1821)
* The First Council of Queen Victoria (1838)
* Queen Victoria Enthroned in the House of Lords (1838)
* The Coronation of Queen Victoria (1839)
* Queen Victoria Riding Out (1840)
* The Marriage of Queen Victoria (1842)
* Queen Victoria (1843)
* The Arrival of Queen Victoria at the Château d'Eu (1843)
* The Christening of the Prince of Wales (1845)
* The Opening of the Great Exhibition by Queen Victoria (1851–52)
* The Marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal (1860)
* The Marriage of the Prince of Wales (1863–65)

Poetry|

* "The Widow at Windsor" (1892)
* "Recessional" (1897)

Songs|

* Victoria
* Choral Songs

Stamps|

| British|

* Penny Black
* VR official
* Penny Blue
* Two penny blue
* Penny Red
* Embossed stamps
* Halfpenny Rose Red
* Three Halfpence Red
* Penny Venetian Red
* Penny Lilac
* Lilac and Green Issue
* Jubilee Issue

|

Colonial|

* Chalon head
* Canada 12d black
* Canada 2c Large Queen
* Ceylon Dull Rose
* India Inverted Head 4 annas
* Malta Halfpenny Yellow
* Mauritius "Post Office" stamps

Related|

* Osborne House
* Queen Victoria's journals
* John Brown
* Abdul Karim
* Pets
* Dash
* Diamond Crown
* Victoriana
* Victoria sponge

* ← William IV
* Edward VII →

* v
* t
* e

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Events|

* Wedding
* 1847 University of Cambridge Chancellor election
* Prince Albert v Strange
* Great Exhibition
* Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851
* Visits to Manchester

Family|

* Queen Victoria (wife)
* Victoria, German Empress (daughter)
* Edward VII (son)
* Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine (daughter)
* Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (son)
* Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (daughter)
* Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (daughter)
* Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (son)
* Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (son)
* Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg (daughter)
* Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (father)
* Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (mother)
* Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (brother)
* Descendants
* Royal descendants

Eponyms|

* Albert helmet
* Albert shako
* Albert Lock
* Lake Albert
* Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
* Prince Albert's Model Cottage
* Prince Consort Essay
* Prince Consort's Library
* Royal Albert Hall
* Victoria & Albert Pavilions, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
* Saxegothaea
* Museums
* Victoria and Albert Museum
* Royal Albert Memorial Museum
* Regiments
* 11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars
* Prince Albert's Light Infantry
* Prince Albert's Own Leicestershire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry
* The Prince Consort's Own Rifle Brigade

Depictions|

| Film|

* Sixty Years a Queen (1913)
* Victoria in Dover (1936)
* Victoria the Great (1937)
* Sixty Glorious Years (1938)
* Victoria in Dover (1954)
* The Young Victoria (2009)

|

Television|

* Happy and Glorious (1952)
* Victoria Regina (1961)
* The Young Victoria (1963)
* Victoria & Albert (2001)
* Looking for Victoria (2003)
* Victoria (2016–2019)

Stage|

* Victoria Regina (1934)
* I and Albert (1972)

Statues and
memorials|

* Albert Memorial
* Albert Clock, Barnstaple
* Albert Memorial Clock, Belfast
* Memorial to the Great Exhibition
* Prince Albert Memorial, Swanage
* Albert Medal (Royal Society of Arts)
* Statues
* North Inch
* Balmoral

Portraits|

* The Marriage of Queen Victoria (1842)
* The Christening of the Prince of Wales (1845)
* The Opening of the Great Exhibition by Queen Victoria (1851–52)
* The Marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal (1860)

Related|

* Osborne House
* Royal Family Order
* Mausoleum

* v
* t
* e

British royal weddings since 1840

19th century|

* Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (1840)
* Princess Augusta and Hereditary Grand Duke Frederick William (1843)
* Princess Victoria and Prince Frederick (1858)
* Princess Alice and Prince Louis (1862)
* Prince Albert Edward and Princess Alexandra (1863)
* Princess Mary Adelaide and Prince Francis (1866)
* Princess Helena and Prince Christian (1866)
* Princess Louise and John Campbell (1871)
* Prince Arthur and Princess Louise Margaret (1879)
* Princess Frederica and Alphons von Pawel-Rammingen (1880)
* Prince Leopold and Princess Helen (1882)
* Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry (1885)
* Princess Louise and Alexander Duff (1889)
* Prince George and Princess Victoria Mary (1893)
* Princess Maud and Prince Carl (1896)

20th century|

* Princess Alice and Prince Alexander (1904)
* Princess Margaret and Prince Gustaf Adolf (1905)
* Prince Arthur and Princess Alexandra (1913)
* Princess Patricia and Alexander Ramsay (1919)
* Princess Mary and Henry Lascelles (1922)
* Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1923)
* Princess Maud and Charles Carnegie (1923)
* Prince George and Princess Marina (1934)
* Prince Henry and Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott (1935)
* Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten (1947)
* Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones (1960)
* Prince Edward and Katharine Worsley (1961)
* Princess Alexandra and Angus Ogilvy (1963)
* Prince Richard and Birgitte van Deurs (1972)
* Princess Anne and Mark Phillips (1973)
* Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer (1981)
* Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson (1986)
* Princess Anne and Timothy Laurence (1992)
* Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones (1999)

21st century|

* Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles (2005)
* Prince William and Catherine Middleton (2011)
* Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (2018)
* Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank (2018)
* Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (2020)

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