Long before he became Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert was growing up in Coburg with his older brother, Ernest. The boys were just fourteen months apart and spent much of their childhood together. Ernest was born on the 21st of June 1818, followed by Albert on the 26th of August 1819.
Their father was Duke Ernest I, and the family spent time at several residences, including Schloss Rosenau, which was a country house surrounded by beautiful gardens and woodland. Ernest, as the eldest son, was expected to inherit from his father, but Albert's future was less clear.
As we discovered in our previous Victorian post, their parents' marriage broke down, and their mother, Louise, “left” in 1824. The brothers remained with their father, and their grandmothers continued to be an affectionate part in their lives.
In 1823, Johann Christoph Florschütz became their tutor, and he would remain an important figure throughout their childhood. The boys even shared rooms with him in the upper part of Rosenau. Their education included history, geography, languages, music and drawing, but Florschütz also believed that they should spend plenty of time outdoors.
The brothers had their own little garden at Rosenau, complete with flowerbeds, a birdhouse and a summerhouse. They helped look after the plants and even built a miniature fort in the grounds. Both developed an interest in natural history, collecting specimens such as butterflies, shells and stones.
They were close but had very different personalities. Ernest was outgoing and Albert was thoughtful and increasingly serious about his studies. But Albert had a mischievous side too, he enjoyed practical jokes and imitating people to make others laugh.
In May 1836, both brothers travelled to England and met their cousin, Princess Victoria. She enjoyed their company, and Albert particularly impressed her with his appearance, intelligence and conversation. Four years later, he became her husband.
Ernest remained in Germany and inherited his father's duchy in 1844. Albert, meanwhile, began a completely different life beside Britain's queen.
When Albert returned to Rosenau with Victoria in 1845, he showed her the rooms where he and Ernest had spent their childhood with their tutor. It was a chance to revisit the home and memories of the years before his life had changed so dramatically.
Image info:
Princes Ernest and Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, artist unknown, c. 1820s. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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