Coming to PBS this Sunday, June 14:
PRINCE ALBERT: A VICTORIAN HERO REVEALED
Director:
Marion Milne
World Premiere:
Channel 4 UK broadcast (August 2019)
About:
A reconsideration of the importance and influence of Prince Albert on Victorian Britain.
In 1840, Albert left his homeland of Germany to marry his cousin, Victoria, the Queen of England. Viewed as an outsider by both the public and Parliament, and not given any direct responsibilities or power, he struggled to find his place. Arguing that Albert played a pivotal role that may have been obscured by history, Professor Saul David uses rare access to a trove of private documents to state his case in this conventional but informative biography. Though Albert was warned to stay out of public affairs, he soon developed a keen interest in social causes, turning public opinion to his side, culminating in his oversight of The Great Exhibition of 1851. Behind the scenes, his influence extended to advising Victoria on matters of governance, and to pushing forward a policy of the education of the masses as a means to fend off potential populist unrest that cost other European monarchies their power. While Marion Milne’s doc is limited by its short running time, it succeeds in presenting an intriguing glimpse of Albert’s accomplishments and lasting legacy.
