This is not a usual biography, but an examination of the death
of Albert, the Prince Consort, and Queen Victoria's reaction to
it. As Helen Rappaport points out, biographies often neglect to
examine the death of Albert, choosing to look at Victoria's life
before or after her becoming a widow. Yet, her extreme reaction
to the loss of her husband changed, and undermined, the
monarchy. This book seeks to understand why Victoria reacted as
she did and the effect of her intense mourning on her family and
the nation. The book begins with a joyful Christmas, 1860, with
the family having an almost childish delight in present giving
and Christmas trees and merry making; little knowing that the
following December would lead to the loss of Prince Albert.
Victoria was a woman who needed love and attention - her early
life dominated by her mother, she later relied on other male
figures, such as the Prime Minister, before finding ecstatic
love in her marriage to Albert and later leaning on her Scottish
servant John Brown.