The Albert Memorial

The Albert Memorial is situated in Kensington Gardens, London, England, directly to the north of the Royal Albert Hall.

It was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha who died of typhoid in 1861, and designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic revival style.

The memorial consists of an ornate pavilion containing a statue of Prince Albert facing south, with statues representing Europe, Asia, Africa and The Americas at the four corners, all surrounded by a large sculptural frieze. Steps lead up to the monument.

By the late 1990s the Memorial had fallen into a state of some decay. A thorough restoration was carried out which included cleaning, repainting and re-gilding the entire monument as well as carrying out structural repairs. In the process the cross on top of the monument, which had been put on sideways during an earlier restoration attempt, was returned to its correct position.

The centrepiece of the Memorial is a seated figure of Prince Albert. Following restoration, this is now covered in gold leaf. For eighty years the statue had been covered in black paint. Various theories had existed that it was deliberately blackened during World War I to prevent it becoming a target for Zeppelin bombing raids or domestic anti-German sentiment. However, English Heritage's research prior to the restoration suggests that the black coating predates 1914 and may have been response to atmospheric pollution that had destroyed the original gold leaf surface.