Laura Gildersleeve Blog Post 2

https://www.kenthouseknightsbridge.org/about-us/events-in-
knightsbridge/events-in-knightsbridge-albert-memorial/

           Because I live across from Hyde Park, I have walked by and visited the Albert Memorial many times. The impression I had of the Albert Memorial before the class on ‘Imperial London’ was the same impression I had all those times I walked by and visited the memorial in the past; I felt the memorial was very ornate and grandiose, but I perceived no deeper representation besides the immense love Queen Victoria had for Prince Albert. After reading the assignment for the week, London 1900: Imperial Metropolis, by Jonathan Scheer, I understood a deeper representation present in the memorial. According to Scheer, “It was impossible, in turn-of-the-century London, to avoid the imperial subtext … Indeed, even the environs of the [Victoria and Albert] museum, containing the Albert Memorial, the Royal Albert Hall, and the Imperial Institute, celebrated empire” (93-94). This reading and the presentation in class gave me context to the memorial that I did not previously have, which was necessary for me to see the memorial as more than just an ornate and grandiose expression of Queen Victoria’s love while on the field trip.
            As the class walked around the memorial, we studied the various features that embodied the celebration of empire, like the four corners representing Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. Yet, the celebration of empire that I found most telling was the catalogue for the Great Exhibition of 1851 laying subtly in Albert’s hand. This catalogue is symbolically important because it represents both the lasting achievement of Prince Albert and the imperialism celebrated through the exhibits present at the Great Exhibition. Overall, the reading, presentation, and up-close examination of the memorial offered me a greater understanding of the memorial's celebration of empire that is indicative of the importance of empire both to past and present London.
Works Cited

Jonathan Scheer, Selections, London 1900: Imperial Metropolis, 2001

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 29, 2019 at 6:47 AM

    Hi Laura!
    Thanks for your insightful post. I also live across from Hyde Park so I have seen quite a bit of the Albert Memorial as well. I have always thought it was quite pretty but a little too over the top but I never considered deeper meaning beyond a display of love from Queen Victoria to Albert until this class. Now it relates to many things I am learning about London. I thought it was interesting when I found out that the memorial had to be covered during the Blitz so it would not be noticeable to the Germans.

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  2. AnonymousMarch 31, 2019 at 2:40 PM

    I like you, have lived across from Hyde Park, and I have sometimes found the Albert memorial rather tacky. I have gotten so used to it that sometimes I do not even notice it from time to time. One of the interesting things I found about it was that Queen Victoria was about as powerful as any person could be at the time, and yet, she decided to dedicate so many things to her late husband Prince Albert. I think it is a somewhat feel good story that someone in such a prominent position with so much power was able to have that kind of relationship. It makes a person who looked looked incredibly austere and distant in photographs seem significantly more relatable. Whenever I see Victoria stone cold stare, I feel somewhat reassured knowing that she was not an entirely robotic leader of the an Empire.

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