One of Britain’s Most Beloved Royal Couples Wed on This Day in 1840
Queen Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert popularized white wedding dresses. Later, her mourning of his passing cemented the image of a grieving widow in black
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When Queen Victoria married Prince Albert on February 10, 1840, she became the main character in one of the United Kingdom’s favorite love stories. She also helped create a wedding tradition that still influences brides nearly 200 years later.
Victoria and Albert’s love story started when the first cousins’ uncle introduced them in 1836. They were enchanted with each other at first sight. Upon meeting Albert, Victoria wrote in her diary, “He is extremely handsome; his hair is about the same color as mine; his eyes are large and blue, and he has a beautiful nose and a very sweet mouth with fine teeth.”
Victoria and Albert’s love story was far from common. At the time of their meeting, Victoria was the heir to the British crown. The following year, she ascended to the throne at age 18. She initially resisted marriage, but in 1839, she allowed her uncle to arrange a visit from Albert. Historians recount that Victoria and Albert had a real spark between them—an anomaly in an age of dynastic marriages.
When the couple met again in person, that spark rekindled quickly. Less than a week after Albert arrived to visit Victoria at Windsor Castle, the queen proposed. Albert accepted. “Oh how I adore and love him, I cannot say!” she wrote.
Fueled by love and enthusiasm for their marriage, Victoria went into the wedding determined to show her commitment to traditional femininity despite her power as a queen. She opted not to wear furs or any other royal jewels during the ceremony and promised to “obey” Albert in her vows.
The queen also set the standard for all royal weddings to this day—and for millions of other brides.
The reigning fashion of the day required Victoria to wear a richly colored gown, one she could have repurposed at a later event. Instead, Victoria opted to wear a white dress, solidifying white as the de facto color for brides. In a nod to her kingdom, she chose cream satin fabric from Spitalfields, London’s silk capital, and handmade Honiton lace for the gown. The light-colored fabric was intended to draw attention to the detailing in her lace pattern, which she destroyed after her dress was made to avoid copycats. Other detailing included embroidered orange blossoms and an 18-foot-long train that took 12 bridesmaids to carry.
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Victoria and Albert were wed in the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace, exchanging their “I dos” at 1 p.m. in front of 300 people. A carriage ride and public procession followed, and festivities afterward included a feast.
Their marriage itself attracted support—and envy—from the queen’s subjects. Many saw Victoria and Albert as ideal examples of family life, with Victoria bearing nine children during their marriage. Though Victoria was the U.K.’s ruler, Albert played an increasingly powerful role in the monarchy. By 1845, one diarist wrote that their shared responsibilities meant they were “one person.”
Perhaps the most enduring symbol of the couple’s love was not the royal wedding, but rather Victoria’s later mourning of her husband. After Albert’s untimely death in 1861 at age 42, the queen made her grief public by wearing black for the rest of her life. Her commitment of “’til death do us part” had started 21 years prior, and she saw it through until her own death in 1901 at age 81.
