Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were first cousins and born just three months apart in 1819.
Their shared enthusiasm for art and music endured throughout the twenty-two years of their marriage and they demonstrated their love through the works of art and jewellery they gave each other for birthdays, Christmases and anniversaries. Victoria and Albert understood and appreciated sculpture more than any of their predecessors since Charles I. They furnished and extended Buckingham Palace, made significant changes to Windsor Castle and commissioned two other royal residences, Balmoral and Osborne – the single most important example of their shared taste. Theirs was a partnership of patronage by a monarch and her consort which is unique in the history of the British monarchy.