If ever a woman loved a man, here is proof positive. Queen Victoria commissioned this vast Victorian memorial lest she forget her beloved Prince Consort, Albert. Prince Albert died of typhoid fever in 1861, and both the queen and the country were devastated by his death. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the Albert Memorial features a 14-foot gilded bronze statue of Prince Albert atop four flights of granite steps, and is protected by a 175-foot high neo-Gothic spire. Around the base is a frieze with 169 named portraits of famous artists, poets and painters. This impressive creation took 20 years to build and cost £120,000, a massive amount of money in 1876. Standing just opposite Albert Hall, the memorial’s marble, granite and gilding now glisten and gleam, thanks to a major restoration project undertaken by English Heritage, at a cost of £1million.