VISITORS to Tenby will see a statue of the late Prince Albert – husband of one of the UK’s longest reigning monarchs, Queen Victoria.
But why is there a statue to the prince on Castle Hill in Tenby? Here we take a look.
The statue of Prince Albert was erected in Tenby in 1865. The statue was erected following the 1861 death of the prince, consort to Queen Victoria and is one of three statues in the UK, alongside one in Edinburgh and Dublin.
Prince Albert was a popular royal to many at the time – and led to the famous period of mourning for the rest of wife Queen Victoria’s reign following his death from typhoid fever.
On December 21, 1861, the Kendal Mercury wrote about the effect of the prince’s death on the nation, saying: “The death of Prince Albert has startled the country as much by its suddenness, as by the sadness of the loss, and is felt to be a national calamity.”
The paper continued: “Prince Albert was eminently adapted for his place, and England was as happy in having him for the Royal Consort, as the Queen was blessed in having such a husband. He knew what were his duties, and he fulfilled them to the very letter.” The article also stated how his ability to understand the ‘temper’ of Englishmen and his integration into the many British customs gained him popularity across the land.
Then Tenby mayor, George White, made the proposal to have the 2.7m tall Sicilian marble statue of Prince Albert in his military uniform with the mantle and collar of the Order of the Garter and holding a field-marshal’s baton as he was anxious that Tenby should take the lead in Wales according to Coflein.
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The statue was designed by John Evans Thomas and the first stone was laid on December 14, 1864, the third anniversary of the Prince Consort’s death according to the Birmingham Post which said: “Though an enormous crowd assembled, we are told the solemn nature of the anniversary was not forgotten amidst the rejoicings attendant upon the inaugurations of a good work. By special request a dead silence prevailed throughout the vast throng during the whole of proceedings.”
On Friday, July 28, 1865, the Dublin Evening Mail wrote that the inauguration of the statue was due to take place on Wednesday, August 2, with it stated that Prince Arthur would be in attendance as his mother’s representative. It was said that the prince would arrive the previous night and at midday ‘a procession of the nobility, gentry, clergy, and people present will be formed, to escort the prince from the Gatehouse Hotel to Castle Hill, where the statue is erected.
“An address will be presented to his royal highness after the ceremony of inauguration is over, and luncheon will be given at the Gatehouse Assembly Rooms to the prince, Lords Lieutenant, Sheriffs, members of Parliament, and Mayors of Wales.”
In an article in the Sussex Advertiser on August 12, 1865, the statue was unveiled the previous Wednesday in the presence of Prince Arthur, who attended as Queen Victoria’s representative.
The article states that the marble statue was ‘mounted on a massive granite pedestal. It is placed on Castle Hill at Tenby, in a commanding position.’
The pedestal of the statue has four tablets of white marble with arms of the Prince Consort, the princes of Wales, the monogram of Victoria and Albert supported by a Welsh dragon and an inscription “Albert Dda, Priod Ein Gorhoffus Frenhines Victoria Albert the Good Consort of our Beloved Queen Victoria.”
There is also an inscription with the dates of the foundation and unveiling and an inscription with the birth and death dates of Prince Albert.
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