<blockquote>''"...enjoyed such invariable good health... and lived so regularly all his life, that the public thought nothing of his illness until they were startled yesterday morning by the bulletin announcing a restless night and the appearance of unsatisfactory symptoms..."''<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London'']</ref></blockquote>Forty years ago — give or take — [[London]] found itself in a terrible predicament. Britain's Prince Consort, long admired and beloved, fell ill with typhoid fever. No one expected his condition to take a turn for the worse, as he had been in generally good health, but on December 15, 1861, his death was announced.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"...enjoyed such invariable good health... and lived so regularly all his life, that the public thought nothing of his illness until they were startled yesterday morning by the bulletin announcing a restless night and the appearance of unsatisfactory symptoms..." [Editor's note: This is a snippet from a [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-observer-death-of-prince-albert/15721531/ newspaper] announcing the death of Albert in 1861]''</ref>
<blockquote>''"...enjoyed such invariable good health... and lived so regularly all his life, that the public thought nothing of his illness until they were startled yesterday morning by the bulletin announcing a restless night and the appearance of unsatisfactory symptoms..."''<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London'']</ref></blockquote>Forty years ago — give or take — [[London]] found itself in a terrible predicament. Britain's Prince Consort, long admired and beloved, fell ill with typhoid fever. No one expected his condition to take a turn for the worse, as he had been in generally good health, but on December 15, 1861, his death was announced.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"...enjoyed such invariable good health... and lived so regularly all his life, that the public thought nothing of his illness until they were startled yesterday morning by the bulletin announcing a restless night and the appearance of unsatisfactory symptoms..." [Editor's note: This is a snippet from a real [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-observer-death-of-prince-albert/15721531/ newspaper] announcing the death of Albert in 1861.]''</ref>
The newly widowed Queen was consumed by grief. She intended to wear jet-black mourning dress for the rest of her days, and ordered the palace to be shuttered to keep out sunlight.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"Hushed hallways. Velvet. Black velvet. A scratch as matches flare and candles burn in the blackness. Speak softly, for my head still aches. I cannot bear the sun. Only candles. Bring them closer. I wish to see his face. Bring me the laudanum, quietly, quickly, for my head aches."''</ref> Her love for her Prince Consort was boundless enough that she would do anything to bring him back — and that love drew the attention of the [[The Masters of the Bazaar|Masters of the Bazaar]].<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#confirming_purchase Mr Pages: Theories or Manifesto for Archie, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"We performed the acquisition. I was not alone in the emporiance. My influence was greatest in the matter of selection. Mr Iron opposed me. It is antiverbiant."''</ref> They came with an offer:<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"Nobody can enter. Nobody can leave. Except for the thing on the roof. Have you witnessed its wings? Amongst the towers, perching, preening, entering and leaving when its talons tap the shuttered windowpane. Tap, tap, tap. Let me in. I have come bearing gifts. Tap, tap, tap. Let us in. We have come bearing gifts."''</ref> they would preserve the life of her beloved in exchange for everything she owned, including London.<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#confirming_purchase Mr Pages: Theories or Manifesto for Archie, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"Her consort was dying. A loss not to be contemplemitted. We preserved him. In exchange: everything else she possessed. London and all that lies in fluminate propinquity, together with the oddments of the imperial hoard."''</ref> The Masters kept their word, as London became the [[Fifth City]] to be purchased by the [[Echo Bazaar]] and transported to the [[Neath]], and the Consort lived again. The royal couple even consummated their marriage once more, resulting in the conception of the [[The Captivating Princess|Captivating Princess]].<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"Listen: this is how love sounds. Excessive love and affection. Heavenly love and happiness. Beauty, sweetness, gentleness. My dearest, dearest, dear husband! How can I ever be thankful enough? He clasps her in his arms, and they kiss each other again and again. Their daughter watches through curtains whose folds fall black and heavy from the canopy."''</ref> But the Masters could only do so much for someone who had already died, and it soon became apparent that the Consort's physical and cognitive faculties were heavily impaired.<ref name=":0">[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Pose_as_a_servant_(An_Empress%27_Grief) Pose as a servant, ''Fallen London''] ''"Steps in the throne chamber. She's left – but for a moment, perhaps to recompose herself. Your chance. You walk in. The Consort is still on his throne, a placid porcelain mask covering his features. He doesn't move, or make any sound at all. [...]"''</ref>
The newly widowed Queen was consumed by grief. She intended to wear jet-black mourning dress for the rest of her days, and ordered the palace to be shuttered to keep out sunlight.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"Hushed hallways. Velvet. Black velvet. A scratch as matches flare and candles burn in the blackness. Speak softly, for my head still aches. I cannot bear the sun. Only candles. Bring them closer. I wish to see his face. Bring me the laudanum, quietly, quickly, for my head aches."''</ref> Her love for her Prince Consort was boundless enough that she would do anything to bring him back — and that love drew the attention of the [[The Masters of the Bazaar|Masters of the Bazaar]].<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#confirming_purchase Mr Pages: Theories or Manifesto for Archie, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"We performed the acquisition. I was not alone in the emporiance. My influence was greatest in the matter of selection. Mr Iron opposed me. It is antiverbiant."''</ref> They came with an offer:<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"Nobody can enter. Nobody can leave. Except for the thing on the roof. Have you witnessed its wings? Amongst the towers, perching, preening, entering and leaving when its talons tap the shuttered windowpane. Tap, tap, tap. Let me in. I have come bearing gifts. Tap, tap, tap. Let us in. We have come bearing gifts."''</ref> they would preserve the life of her beloved in exchange for everything she owned, including London.<ref>[https://maskoftherose.miraheze.org/wiki/Mr_Pages#confirming_purchase Mr Pages: Theories or Manifesto for Archie, ''Mask of the Rose''] ''"Her consort was dying. A loss not to be contemplemitted. We preserved him. In exchange: everything else she possessed. London and all that lies in fluminate propinquity, together with the oddments of the imperial hoard."''</ref> The Masters kept their word, as London became the [[Fifth City]] to be purchased by the [[Echo Bazaar]] and transported to the [[Neath]], and the Consort lived again. The royal couple even consummated their marriage once more, resulting in the conception of the [[The Captivating Princess|Captivating Princess]].<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/My_Kingdom_for_a_Pig My Kingdom for a Pig, ''Fallen London''] ''"Listen: this is how love sounds. Excessive love and affection. Heavenly love and happiness. Beauty, sweetness, gentleness. My dearest, dearest, dear husband! How can I ever be thankful enough? He clasps her in his arms, and they kiss each other again and again. Their daughter watches through curtains whose folds fall black and heavy from the canopy."''</ref> But the Masters could only do so much for someone who had already died, and it soon became apparent that the Consort's physical and cognitive faculties were heavily impaired.<ref name=":0">[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Pose_as_a_servant_(An_Empress%27_Grief) Pose as a servant, ''Fallen London''] ''"Steps in the throne chamber. She's left – but for a moment, perhaps to recompose herself. Your chance. You walk in. The Consort is still on his throne, a placid porcelain mask covering his features. He doesn't move, or make any sound at all. [...]"''</ref>
Latest revision as of 19:59, 11 April 2025
"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously."
Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include midgame or minor Fate-locked content. Proceed with caution.
You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.
"The Traitor Empress' consort became dangerously ill just before the Fall. Typhoid, apparently. It seems he's quite recovered and lives happily to this day. The air down here must have been good for his health."[1]
The Consort, alias Prince Albert, is the Empress's not-exactly-dead husband.
"...enjoyed such invariable good health... and lived so regularly all his life, that the public thought nothing of his illness until they were startled yesterday morning by the bulletin announcing a restless night and the appearance of unsatisfactory symptoms..."[2]
Forty years ago — give or take — London found itself in a terrible predicament. Britain's Prince Consort, long admired and beloved, fell ill with typhoid fever. No one expected his condition to take a turn for the worse, as he had been in generally good health, but on December 15, 1861, his death was announced.[3]
The newly widowed Queen was consumed by grief. She intended to wear jet-black mourning dress for the rest of her days, and ordered the palace to be shuttered to keep out sunlight.[4] Her love for her Prince Consort was boundless enough that she would do anything to bring him back — and that love drew the attention of the Masters of the Bazaar.[5] They came with an offer:[6] they would preserve the life of her beloved in exchange for everything she owned, including London.[7] The Masters kept their word, as London became the Fifth City to be purchased by the Echo Bazaar and transported to the Neath, and the Consort lived again. The royal couple even consummated their marriage once more, resulting in the conception of the Captivating Princess.[8] But the Masters could only do so much for someone who had already died, and it soon became apparent that the Consort's physical and cognitive faculties were heavily impaired.[9]
In life, the Prince Consort had a rounded face framed by sideburns,[10] and grey and melancholy eyes.[11] He was a talented amateur musician, and legend has it that he charmed the Queen by playing the violin for her when they first courted each other.[12] In his current state of not-quite-death, he wears a porcelain death mask with a serene smile on its face, which hides his decayed, discolored flesh[13] - but the masks are apparently also prone to decay, which is strange for porcelain.[14] Busts of the Consort are popular throughout London,[15] though they have grown rather unnerving, with staring eyes and gaping mouths.[16]
The Shuttered Palace bans music and loud noise, but the Consort still loves to watch symphonic performances.[17] As such, these are permitted on rare occasions, and the music might even coax his pallid face into the barest hint of a smile.[18] The Palace states that the Consort continues to organize concerts and banquets himself,[19] but this may be for the sake of appearances since he is unable to speak or move.[9] Along the same lines, the Shuttered Palace's servants maintain his room as if he was still actively using it.[20] That said, a former candidate for Imperial Artist-in-Residence claims to have had some sort of dispute with the Consort years ago that is implied to have ruined her chances.[21]
A stoker sings a patriotic anthem: "She laid him in the stone's grey grip, My love no more is he; O Albion, I've no consort but thee."[22]
In the Sunless Skies timeline, the Consort is "alive,"[23] but New London still laments his "death" and a day is dedicated to mourning his passing.[24] Entombed in the Most Serene Mausoleum, he lies on a bed of velvet cushions atop a white marble altar, and is kept company by a doppelganger of Queen Victoria.[25][26] Visitors throng to the tomb to see the pale face of the Prince Consort;[27] further payment is required to get a better, or private, view.[28] He remains in a state of half-consciousness,[26] and while he can still turn his head and move his limbs with effort,[29][30] he can only communicate by coughing[31] or groaning. Only the real Victoria can elicit a coherent word from him.[32]
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born in 1819 at Schloss Rosenau, a castle near the northern border of the kingdom (now German state) of Bavaria. He was the second son of Duke Ernest I of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, whose respective inherited properties were combined to create the new family title.
In 1840, Albert married Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, who was his first cousin, and became the Prince Consort (though this title was only officially granted to him in 1857). The lack of formal definition of Albert's role as Consort led to initial public skepticism, but over time he became a trusted advisor to Queen Victoria, who assisted her with state matters and administrative duties. In this role, he championed educational reform and the abolition of slavery, and played a pivotal role in organizing the Great Exhibition of 1851, which spurred the establishment of institutions like the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The royal couple had nine children, many of whom married into other European royal families, earning Victoria the nickname "Grandmother of Europe." Albert was a devoted father who was deeply involved in his children's education and upbringing.
In December 1861, at the age of 42, Prince Albert passed away in the Blue Room of Windsor Castle after a three-week-long illness. While modern historians have proposed a variety of alternative diagnoses, the officially stated cause of his death was typhoid fever. In the weeks leading up to his death, Albert reportedly told Victoria that should he become severely ill, he would accept his fate and not fight for his life.[33]
Albert's death had a profound impact on Queen Victoria and the British monarchy as a whole; it was perceived as a national calamity, and the grieving Queen Victoria withdrew from public appearances and social functions. She would only wear black mourning attire for the remaining 40 years of her life, and maintained Albert's rooms as if he were still alive, right down to the smallest of details like delivering hot water for his morning shave. In memory of her beloved Prince Consort, Queen Victoria commissioned several monuments, including the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, where both she and Albert are interred.
↑My Kingdom for a Pig, Fallen London"...enjoyed such invariable good health... and lived so regularly all his life, that the public thought nothing of his illness until they were startled yesterday morning by the bulletin announcing a restless night and the appearance of unsatisfactory symptoms..." [Editor's note: This is a snippet from a real newspaper announcing the death of Albert in 1861.]
↑My Kingdom for a Pig, Fallen London"Hushed hallways. Velvet. Black velvet. A scratch as matches flare and candles burn in the blackness. Speak softly, for my head still aches. I cannot bear the sun. Only candles. Bring them closer. I wish to see his face. Bring me the laudanum, quietly, quickly, for my head aches."
↑My Kingdom for a Pig, Fallen London"Nobody can enter. Nobody can leave. Except for the thing on the roof. Have you witnessed its wings? Amongst the towers, perching, preening, entering and leaving when its talons tap the shuttered windowpane. Tap, tap, tap. Let me in. I have come bearing gifts. Tap, tap, tap. Let us in. We have come bearing gifts."
↑Mr Pages: Theories or Manifesto for Archie, Mask of the Rose"Her consort was dying. A loss not to be contemplemitted. We preserved him. In exchange: everything else she possessed. London and all that lies in fluminate propinquity, together with the oddments of the imperial hoard."
↑My Kingdom for a Pig, Fallen London"Listen: this is how love sounds. Excessive love and affection. Heavenly love and happiness. Beauty, sweetness, gentleness. My dearest, dearest, dear husband! How can I ever be thankful enough? He clasps her in his arms, and they kiss each other again and again. Their daughter watches through curtains whose folds fall black and heavy from the canopy."
↑ 9.09.1Pose as a servant, Fallen London"Steps in the throne chamber. She's left – but for a moment, perhaps to recompose herself. Your chance. You walk in. The Consort is still on his throne, a placid porcelain mask covering his features. He doesn't move, or make any sound at all. [...]"
↑Watch, furtively, Fallen London"The man who stepped out of the fog squirms out of her embrace. His face is delicate and rounded, ringed with sideburns; his skin would look perfectly youthful if the blood wasn't draining from it in horror."
↑Consonant Violin, Fallen London"Said to have been played by the Consort when he first romanced the Empress at Kensington Palace."
↑A Trade in Faces, Fallen London"[...] The Consort leans forward. He wears a death-mask of perfect porcelain, serene and smiling. [...] The face beneath is a rotten grey, the colour of dead fish on a beach. When he sips, tea dribbles through his beard. She dabs it away with the lace of her sleeve. "Wait," she tells him, "ein Kuss." Tenderly, she kisses his ragged lips, then slides his mask back down."
↑Reunion, Fallen London"They keep putting masks on grandfather! Grandmother thinks it will restore him. But there's nothing behind the mask. They rot on top of each other. His face is a grave! There's no future here!"
↑Your symphony is complete!, Fallen London"Music is usually banned from the Shuttered Palace. However, the Consort is old-fashioned and likes the occasional symphony, so the Empress is prepared to make an exception. But what manner of music will there be?"
↑An exuberant cannonade, Fallen London"And you begin. The windows explode immediately. Dust and glass rain down, shaken from the ceiling by your cannon. The Empress' knuckles are bone white as she clutches her gilded chair. […] glorious. […] Was that a smile on the pale, lost face of the Consort?"
↑The Shuttered Palace, Fallen London"The Traitor Empress hasn't left the palace in thirty years. Her consort still arranges concerts and banquets in the darkly glittering rooms and dripping gardens. You may be invited. But go carefully. She dislikes sudden movements."
↑Reunion, Fallen London"As the gaslights are heightened, several chamberlains enter and begin to arrange a desk near the great window. When the Prince enquires what is happening, you are informed that this is the hour when the Consort would engage in correspondence. Pens are arranged, inkwells filled. Then the chamberlains leave. No one enters the room. An hour later, they return to clear away the desk."
↑Take tea with a Reclusive Novelist, Fallen London"She was the finest writer of her decade. Her advice on prose is impossibly valuable. Perhaps one day she'll relent and tell you what happened between her and the Consort, all those years ago."
↑Heart of Empire, Sunless Skies"He lies in the centre of the structure, mounted on a marble altar, caught in a beam of light, resting on velvet cushions. While the ravages of his illness are quite obvious, he's so well preserved that you could almost think him alive. At which point he coughs. The Prince Consort lives. It is not a life any would wish for, but it is life."
↑Airs of London, Sunless Skies"Banners haunt the streets in black and gold. Imperial carriages trawl down the sloping heights of the city. Crowds have gathered along the streets, dropping pale flowers before the approaching vehicles. A stranger in the crowd informs you that today the city mourns the Prince-Consort."
↑Inside the Tomb, Sunless Skies"Given the nature of the tomb, it is not unpleasantly appointed. The Prince Consort lolls on a bed of velvet cushions, bejewelled and foul against the white marble of his altar. Beside him, an expressionless woman of startlingly familiar countenance: this is either Queen Victoria herself or a remarkable doppelganger."
↑Join the reverent crowds at the Prince Consort's Tomb, Sunless Skies"A few sovereigns will buy you a few minutes at the sepulchre. [...] Crowds of visitors in mourning jostle for a better position. [...] You are afforded a brief glimpse of the Prince's haunted marble face, before you are ushered away."
↑Make a swift escape, Sunless Skies"As you leave, the Prince Consort gropes for False Victoria's hand. She lets out a sigh, soft and small and sad."
↑Heart of Empire, Sunless Skies"A long pause is broken only by a parchment-dry cough as the Prince Regent stirs. The Princess bounces, taking it as a yes."
↑Talk with the Prince Consort, Sunless Skies"A sibilant noise worms from the Prince Consort, a sound that could be a word or a release of bacterial gases. "He is a poor conversationalist," supplies the False Victoria without judgement. "Once in a while, She can excite an actual word from him, but that is all.""
