Albert and Victoria - Softcover

'The book's strength lies in combining these varied facets of British, German and international history into a narrative that is at once entertaining and authoritative. Whether dealing with the political manoeuvrings of Bismarck's early years in power or with Anglo-Russo-German dynastic machinations, it remains throughout accessible in its style and perceptive in its analysis' Dr Anthony Grenville, AJR, September 2006, Volume 9--Sanford Lakoff

When Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha married his cousin, the young Queen Victoria, in 1840, it was not only a match whose fertility and personal devotion provided a model for the queen's subjects; it was also a triumph of dynastic politics. It drew the couple deeply into European politics, where their personal and family relationships with many of the rulers often had repercussions at home. Despite the death of Albert in 1861, the marriage of Victoria's children into Europe's royal houses continued the dynastic theme. It was a tragedy for Germany and Europe that Vicky, Victoria's eldest daughter, and her husband, the heir to the German throne were unable to master Bismarck. "Albert and Victoria" is a portrait of a marriage. It also traces Albert to his unhappy family roots in Coburg and shows how important his attitudes, most of them shared by Victoria, were in their joint dynastic enterprise.