Who was Queen Victoria’s husband, whom she married in 1840?

Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840.

Victoria and Albert married on 10 February 1840 at St James’s Palace in London. Albert was her first cousin, the son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Victoria proposed to him because, as queen, she could not be formally proposed to by another person in the usual way.

Their marriage produced nine children, many of whom married into European royal families. This network helped earn Victoria the later nickname “the grandmother of Europe,” although that phrase describes her descendants rather than a formal title. Albert also became an important adviser and supported major cultural and educational projects.

Albert died in 1861 at age 42, leaving Victoria deeply affected. She wore mourning clothes for the rest of her life and commissioned memorials to him. The couple’s marriage should not be confused with Victoria’s relationship to her son Edward, who succeeded her as king.