Albert Prince Of Saxe Coburg And Gotha - Halifax, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 42.881 W 001° 51.643
30U E 575187 N 5952379
This statue shows Prince Albert, the Consort of Queen Victoria riding his favourite horse, Nimrod.
Waymark Code: WMTWJ7
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/14/2017
Views: 0
The statue
"The fine equestrian statue which stands in Albert Park (or Sparrow Park as it was
formerly known) is of Prince Albert on Nimrod, one of his favourite horses. It is the
work of Thomas Thorneycroft and was provided by public subscription following
Prince Albert's death in 1861. Cast in Bronze and on an Aberdeen granite pedestal,
it originally stood at the junction of Horton Street and Ward's End but was moved in
1901 as it was becoming an obstruction to the increasing flow of traffic. It was
removed to Heath Park, as it was then known, and nearly two years later the
Improvement Committee decided to change the park's name officially to Albert Park.
The unusual stance of the statue has given rise to much controversy over the years. "
Extracted from a Calderdale Council document, this
link will download it as a PDF document.
The unusual stance of the horse mentioned above is because it is depicted in the riding style known as ambling, a slow pace with the legs moving in lateral pairs and usually having a four-beat rhythm. This style of riding is not well known and many people thought that the sculptor Thorneycroft had sculpted the legs incorrectly.
An inscription on the plinth is as follows.
ALBERT
PRINCE CONSORT
BORN AUGUST 26 1819
DIED DECEMBER 14 1861
Prince Albert
"Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel; later The Prince Consort; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the husband of Queen Victoria.
He was born in the Saxon duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld to a family connected to many of Europe's ruling monarchs. At the age of 20 he married his first cousin, Queen Victoria, with whom he would ultimately have nine children. At first, Albert felt constrained by his position as consort, which did not confer any power or duties upon him. Over time he adopted many public causes, such as educational reform and a worldwide abolition of slavery, and took on the responsibilities of running the Queen's household, estates and office. He was heavily involved with the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Albert aided in the development of Britain's constitutional monarchy by persuading his wife to show less partisanship in her dealings with Parliament—although he actively disagreed with the interventionist foreign policy pursued during Lord Palmerston's tenure as Foreign Secretary.
He died at the relatively young age of 42, plunging the Queen into a deep mourning that lasted for the rest of her life."
Extracted from
Wikipedia