Thomas Moore email: TMooreSr@me.com Telephone: 801.791.9918
June 14, 2013
June 11, 2013
June 6, 2013
BUCKINGHAM PALACE: PRINCE ALBERT THE PRINCE CONSORT’S PRIVATE ROOMS CA 1860 — STILL IN TACT IN 1910
These are spectacular photographs of Prince Albert’s rooms in Buckingham Palace still together in 1910. The rooms are as the Prince left them after his death. Queen Victoria touched nothing. Incredible series. Wonderful
I love all the clutter: books, miniatures, painting, lighting, chintz, porcelain. You expect the Prince to walk in any minute.
Thomas Moore email: TMooreSr@me.com Telephone: 801.791.9918
February 6, 2013
December 2, 2012
QUEEN VICTORIA AND THE PRINCE CONSORT: THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ENGAGEMENT OF VICTORIA PRINCESS ROYAL TO FREDERICK CROWN PRINCE OF GERMANY
These are some of the most important pictures I have ever seen of Prince Albert’s young and growing family. Prince Albert had great hopes that the marriage of the Princess Royal to the future German Kaiser would bring peace in Europe by spreading the Prince’s democratic and liberal philosophies. Of course, we all know how it all backfired. But these images taken at Balmoral are beautiful and certainly hopeful. The Crown Prince and the Prince are always with their walking sticks as I am–just habit. Queen Victoria always felt that Prince Albert had a superior mind when compared to herself. I think we can feel that in these images.
Thomas Moore email: TMooreSr@me.com Telephone: 801.791.9918
October 8, 2012
September 23, 2012
THE COMPETITION DESIGNS FOR THE ALBERT MEMORIAL IN KENSINGTON GARDENS — FABULOUS INFORMATION!
The greatest British architects of the last half of the 19th century competed for the ALBERT MEMORIAL. Look at these designs. Very interesting.
Thomas Moore email: TMooreSr@me.com Telephone: 801.791.9918
THE ALBERT MEMORIAL: A MONUMENT BUILT IN KENSINGTON GARDENS BY A GRIEVING WIDOW
Queen Victoria’s consort Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-and Gotha died in 1861 at 41 years of age and after twenty years of marriage to the Queen. Victoria was besotted by the Prince Consort; he was the center of her entire world. When he died, the lights went out for the Queen, and she went into deep mourning for nearly the rest of her life–40 long years. She named memorials, statues, docks, streets, and events after Prince Albert which remain to this day as reminders of the great contribution to commerce, architecture, music, engineering, art, taste, porcelain and china, all the decorative arts, government, history, education, health, family life, on and on. He was adored by his children and honored by the Empire. The Prince prevented the Queen from making numerous political mistakes; had he lived many of the difficulties created by an aggressive empire would have been avoided. I have known this monument to Prince Albert all my life, and I have admired the over-the-top design which seemed to be adequate to express the Queen’s intensive feeling of loneliness. When I want to understand the British Empire and the Industrial Revolution, I come to THE ALBERT MEMORIAL. In so many ways, this great monument symbolizes the growth of the world that soon became English-speaking. Gothic? Of course. It was the architecture that Albert liked most: the Palace of Westminster and so many other Victorian church, domestic, and government buildings. Prince Albert expanded the minds of the British world–from an insular nation to a global trading empire. His influence was immeasurable. The kingdom which almost rejected the Prince mourned, but the Queen never recovered. What a story. What a memorial. Fabulous! When you are in London, you truly must wander through Kensington Gardens, around the Albert Memorial Hall, and admire this beautiful monument.
Asia
Africa
America
Europe
Agriculture
Commerce
Engineering
Manufacturing
Thomas Moore email: TMooreSr@me.com Telephone: 801.791.9918
January 1, 2012
PRINCE ALBERT HAUNTS OUR TOP FLOOR STAIRCASE
I have just written an article about Prince Albert, the Prince Consort. I thought I would add an image of Prince Albert which was an engraving done at the time of the GREAT EXHIBITION. It was the companion to the large engraving of Queen Victoria that we all know so well. This image belonged to my grandfather and hung over his desk in his library; it once belonged to my great grandfather in England. It is now, unfortunately, to be found hanging over our top floor staircase, only because there is “no more room in the inn.” I thought my readers might like to see the image.
Thomas Moore email: TMooreSr@me.com Telephone: 801.791.9918
PRINCE ALBERT THE PRINCE CONSORT: Schloss Rosenau at COBURG
Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg and Gotha became Queen Victoria’s consort in 1840. The Prince’s impact on almost every aspect of British life is immeasurable. We have talked about Gothic architecture, literature, music, jewelry, art, medieval painting, fresco, industry, education, agriculture, politics, THE GREAT EXHIBITION, Buckingham Palace, The American Civil War, morals, family life, Christmas, SCOTLAND, BALMORAL, on and on. I have asked myself several time: WHAT WOULD HAVE 19TH CENTURY ENGLAND BEEN LIKE IF PRINCE ALBERT HAD LIVED 40 or 50 ADDITIONAL YEARS? I have written several time that Queen Victoria’s greatest contribution to 19th century England was PRINCE ALBERT, her Consort. At the end of William IV’s reign, Georgian architecture had run its course. Court life had become corrupt and without national leadership. The Hanoverian Kings had vanished, and the public were not sad to see them gone. When Queen Victoria became Queen, she was almost unknown to the general public as her mother had decided that she was going to keep the young future Queen away from the corruption of the Hanoverian Kings and their court. When Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, her first cousin, everything began to change. It was like lighting a candle in a very dark room. To understand who the Prince was, one has to take a trip to Coburg in Bavaria where Prince Albert grew up. The Coburg court was as corrupt as was the English court, but Prince Albert had been watched over and guided from a very early age by his Uncle Leopold, King of the Belgians, for a very special future: consort of the English Queen. ALBERT was a willing pupil who caught the vision of what might happen to him and philosophically prepared himself for his great future. He was born at Schloss Rosenau near Coburg where he developed a love of country life and poetic settings. Gothic architecture, German music, and “gothic” medieval art surrounded him. Today, when we visit Osborne House, Prince Albert’s great house on the Isle of Wight, the Rosenau influence is unmistakable. When I walked around Osborne House to the front terrace with views over the Solent, the terrace was almost an exact image of the terrace at Rosenau. Queen Victoria loved the artistic leadership of the Prince Consort, and after his death, she returned to Coburg six times to connect with the world where her beloved Albert had grown up. Let’s take a few minutes on this New Years Day and wander around Rosenau at Coburg in search of Prince Albert.
In Schloss Rosenau, there is a very interesting portrait of Queen Victoria which the young Queen had given to Prince Albert before their marriage. This beautiful portrait of the young Queen is exquisite and remains on the walls of the Schloss where it has always hung. One can certainly discern her Hanoverian family’s features.
Prince Albert and his father:
And now the schloss:
And the terrace — just like Osborne House:
And the “Gothic” interior of the Schloss:
Walking about Coburg is wonderful experience; you can hear Schubert’s music in your heart and ears It is an idyllic world that shaped the mind of one of the greatest leaders in British history. One has to ask the question WHAT IF HE HAD LIVED 40 MORE YEARS? He was a “renaissance” man with a passion for the world around him. Unfortunate his son Edward VII had no connection with his highly talented father. There are a lot of TOO BADS in this story. Right? A lot to think about here, on this New Years Day.
Thomas Moore email: TMooreSr@me.com Telephone: 801.791.9918
