In this companion biography to the acclaimed Victoria,A. N. Wilson offers a deeply textured and ambitious portrait of Prince Albertpublished to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the royal consortΓÇÖs birth. For more than six decadesQueen Victoria ruled a great Empire at the height of its power. Beside her for more than twenty of those years was the love of her lifeher trusted husband and father of their nine childrenPrince Albert. But while Victoria is seen as the embodiment of her timeits valuesand its paradoxesit was Prince AlbertA. N. Wilson expertly argueswho was at the vanguard of Victorian BritainΓÇÖs transformation as a vibrant and extraordinary center of politicaltechnologicalscientificand intellectual advancement. Far more than just the product of his ageAlbert was one of its influencers and architects. A composerengineersoldierpoliticianlinguistand bibliophilePrince Albertmore than any other royalwas truly a ΓÇ£genius.ΓÇ¥ It is impossible to understand nineteenth century England without knowing the story of this gifted visionary leaderWilson contends. Albert lived only forty-two years. Yet in that timehe fathered the royal dynasties of GermanyRussiaSpainand Bulgaria. Through VictoriaAlbert and her German advisers pioneered the idea of the modern constitutional monarchy. In this sweeping biographyWilson demonstrates that there was hardly any aspect of British national life which Albert did not touch. When he was made Chancellor of the University of Cambridge in his late twentiesit was considered as purely an honorific role. But within monthsAlbert proposed an extensive reorganization of university life in Britain that would eventually be adoptedmaking it possible to study sciencelanguagesand modern history at British universitiesΓÇöa revolution in education that has changed the world. Drawn from the Royal archivesincluding Prince AlbertΓÇÖs voluminous correspondencethis brilliant and ambitious book offers fascinating never-before-known details about the man and his time. A superb match of biographer and subjectPrince Albertat lastgives this important historical figure the reverence and recognition that is long overdue.