a 175-foot-high (53 m) memorial to Prince Albert (1819-1861), husband of
Victoria (1819-1901), Queen of Great Britain (1837-1901). Located in a large
public park, called
Hyde Park, in the center of
London,
England, the memorial was designed by
English architect
George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878), and was unveiled in 1876. It consists of a bronze statue of Prince Albert, three
times life-size, seated on a pedestal at the top of a
flight of twenty-four steps. Below the statue stand 175 larger than
life figures representing the arts, sciences and
Christian and
moral values. Above the statue is an ornate canopy topped by a large
cross. The canopy is supported by
red and
gray granite pillars. The memorial is considered one of the greatest sculptural achievements of the
Victorian era.