Place Name
Unlike the Princes Road in Kew and the Princes Road in Richmond, the name of this street, which was laid out on the east side of The Square and completed by 1840, can be attributed to an individual. In this case Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (August 26, 1819 – December 14, 1861). For in the same year that street was named, originally as Princes Place, the German royal became Prince Consort to Queen Victoria. The pair, who were first cousins, wed on February 10 1840. Soon after he became “an informal but powerful member of government”. He was insistent on developing the Crown’s influence as an impartial force in domestic affairs and repeatedly clashed with the gung-ho Lord Palmerston over foreign policy. He developed a reputation for supporting public causes, such as educational reform and the abolition of slavery worldwide, and was entrusted with running the Queen’s household, office and estates. He was heavily involved with the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Despite all this he never managed to shake off public disapproval. His death was thought to have been from typhoid fever but today it is believed he may have been suffering from a chronic disease, such as Crohn’s disease, renal failure, or abdominal cancer. This was one of many roads across London that were named after him.
