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His passing shattered [[The Empress|the reigning Queen]]. 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. And that included 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> They kept their word. The Consort lived again. Victoria and her resurrected Albert 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 Prince’s return was brief and cruelly twisted. Though reanimated, he became little more than a husk: mute, immobile, a living corpse in all but name.<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>
His passing shattered [[The Empress|the reigning Queen]]. 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. And that included 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> They kept their word. The Consort lived again. Victoria and her resurrected Albert 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 Prince’s return was brief and cruelly twisted. Though reanimated, he became little more than a husk: mute, immobile, a living corpse in all but name.<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>


In his youth, the Prince Consort had a gentle, rounded face framed with sideburns,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch,_furtively 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."''</ref> his eyes grey and melancholy.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cover_your_mouth Cover your mouth, ''Fallen London''] ''"It's his eyes, at first: grey ringed with black, large and sad. [...]"''</ref> He had wooed Victoria with his skill on the violin.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Consonant_Violin Consonant Violin, ''Fallen London''] ''"Said to have been played by the Consort when he first romanced the Empress at Kensington Palace."''</ref> Now he wears a serene and smiling porcelain death-mask, which hides his decayed, fish-grey visage beneath.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_Trade_in_Faces 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."''</ref> Busts of him are popular throughout London, <ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Oh,_it%27s_just_that_bloody_bust_of_the_Consort Oh, it's just that bloody bust of the Consort, ''Fallen London''] ''"These monstrous things are terribly popular in London - whether from sycophancy, misplaced patriotic duty or simply disastrous taste. You give it a pat as you pass. For luck."''</ref> though they are somewhat startling: wide, staring eyes and gaping mouths caught mid-silent scream.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/An_Alarming_Bust An Alarming Bust, ''Fallen London''] ''"A staring-eyed face looms out of the darkness! Its mouth gapes like a wound!"''</ref>
In his youth, the Prince Consort had a gentle, rounded face framed with sideburns,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch,_furtively 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."''</ref> his eyes grey and melancholy.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cover_your_mouth Cover your mouth, ''Fallen London''] ''"It's his eyes, at first: grey ringed with black, large and sad. [...]"''</ref> He had wooed Victoria with his skill on the violin.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Consonant_Violin Consonant Violin, ''Fallen London''] ''"Said to have been played by the Consort when he first romanced the Empress at Kensington Palace."''</ref> Now he wears a serene and smiling porcelain death-mask, which hides his decayed, fish-grey visage beneath.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_Trade_in_Faces 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."''</ref> The mask is meant to restore his countenance somehow, but it's evidently not working as the masks keep decaying.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Reunion 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!"''</ref> Busts of him are popular throughout London, <ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Oh,_it%27s_just_that_bloody_bust_of_the_Consort Oh, it's just that bloody bust of the Consort, ''Fallen London''] ''"These monstrous things are terribly popular in London - whether from sycophancy, misplaced patriotic duty or simply disastrous taste. You give it a pat as you pass. For luck."''</ref> though they are somewhat startling: wide, staring eyes and gaping mouths caught mid-silent scream.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/An_Alarming_Bust An Alarming Bust, ''Fallen London''] ''"A staring-eyed face looms out of the darkness! Its mouth gapes like a wound!"''</ref> The servants maintain his room like he were still actively using it.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Reunion 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."''</ref>


Within the [[The Shuttered Palace|Shuttered Palace]], music and loud noise are banned. Still, the Consort retains his love of symphonies.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Your_symphony_is_complete! 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?"''</ref> On rare occasions, boisterous performances are permitted, which sometimes coax the barest quirk of a smile to his pallid face.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/An_exuberant_cannonade 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?"''</ref> Stranger still, he continues to organize concerts and banquets,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Shuttered_Palace 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."''</ref> despite being speechless and incapable of movement.<ref name=":0" /> Years ago, he was involved in some affair with a former candidate for Imperial Artist-in-Residence.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Take_tea_with_a_Reclusive_Novelist 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."''</ref>
Within the [[The Shuttered Palace|Shuttered Palace]], music and loud noise are banned. Still, the Consort retains his love of symphonies.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Your_symphony_is_complete! 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?"''</ref> On rare occasions, boisterous performances are permitted, which sometimes coax the barest quirk of a smile to his pallid face.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/An_exuberant_cannonade 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?"''</ref> Stranger still, he continues to organize concerts and banquets,<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Shuttered_Palace 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."''</ref> despite being speechless and incapable of movement.<ref name=":0" /> Years ago, he was involved in some affair with a former candidate for Imperial Artist-in-Residence.<ref>[https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Take_tea_with_a_Reclusive_Novelist 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."''</ref>

Revision as of 17:35, 11 April 2025

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, Prince Albert, is the Empress's almost-dead husband.

Love, Eternal

"...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, had fallen ill with typhoid fever. No one had 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]

His passing shattered the reigning Queen. 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. And that included London.[7] They kept their word. The Consort lived again. Victoria and her resurrected Albert even consummated their marriage once more, resulting in the conception of the Captivating Princess.[8] But the Prince’s return was brief and cruelly twisted. Though reanimated, he became little more than a husk: mute, immobile, a living corpse in all but name.[9]

In his youth, the Prince Consort had a gentle, rounded face framed with sideburns,[10] his eyes grey and melancholy.[11] He had wooed Victoria with his skill on the violin.[12] Now he wears a serene and smiling porcelain death-mask, which hides his decayed, fish-grey visage beneath.[13] The mask is meant to restore his countenance somehow, but it's evidently not working as the masks keep decaying.[14] Busts of him are popular throughout London, [15] though they are somewhat startling: wide, staring eyes and gaping mouths caught mid-silent scream.[16] The servants maintain his room like he were still actively using it.[17]

Within the Shuttered Palace, music and loud noise are banned. Still, the Consort retains his love of symphonies.[18] On rare occasions, boisterous performances are permitted, which sometimes coax the barest quirk of a smile to his pallid face.[19] Stranger still, he continues to organize concerts and banquets,[20] despite being speechless and incapable of movement.[9] Years ago, he was involved in some affair with a former candidate for Imperial Artist-in-Residence.[21]

The Most Serene Mausoleum

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 Sunless Skies, 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. Accompanying him is a doppelganger of Queen Victoria.[25] Many visitors come to the tomb to see the pale face of the Prince Consort; payment is required to get a better, or private, view.[26] He's in a state of half-consciousness, and can only communicate by coughing[27] or groaning. Only Victoria herself can elicit a coherent word from him.[28] However, he can still move his limbs.[29][30]

Historical Inspiration

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (full name Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel) was born on August 26, 1819, at Schloss Rosenau near Coburg, in the German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He was the second son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. In 1840, he married his first cousin, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, becoming the Prince Consort—a title officially granted to him in 1857.

Initially, Albert's role as consort was undefined, leading to some public skepticism. However, he gradually became a trusted advisor to Queen Victoria, assisting with state matters and administrative duties. He championed various public causes, including educational reform and the abolition of slavery. Albert played a pivotal role in organizing the Great Exhibition of 1851, which showcased industrial advancements and led to the establishment of institutions like the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Albert and Victoria had nine children, many of whom married into other European royal families, earning Victoria the nickname "Grandmother of Europe." Albert was deeply involved in his children's education and upbringing.

At 10:50 p.m. on Saturday, December 14, 1861, Prince Albert, the Prince Consort of Queen Victoria, passed away in the Blue Room at Windsor Castle. He was 42 years old and had been unwell for approximately three weeks. The official cause of death listed on his certificate was "typhoid fever: duration 21 days." However, modern historians have proposed alternative diagnoses, including Crohn’s disease, renal failure, or abdominal cancer. In the weeks leading up to his death, Albert reportedly said to his wife: “I do not cling to life. You do; but I set no store by it. I am sure if I had a severe illness I should give up at once. I should not struggle for life. I have no tenacity of life.”

Albert's death had a profound impact on Queen Victoria and the British monarchy. Historian Helen Rappaport described the effect as "enormous," noting that it was perceived as a national calamity, with Britain effectively losing its king. Queen Victoria entered a deep state of mourning, withdrawing from public life and refusing to appear at social functions. She wore black mourning attire for the remaining 40 years of her life and maintained Albert's rooms as if he were still alive, a practice that included daily rituals such as delivering hot water for his morning shave. In memory of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria commissioned several monuments, including the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, where both are interred.

References

  1. ↑ Sidebar Snippets: What happened to the Traitor Empress' consort?, Fallen London
  2. ↑ My Kingdom for a Pig, Fallen London
  3. ↑ 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 newspaper announcing the death of Albert in 1861]
  4. ↑ 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."
  5. ↑ 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."
  6. ↑ 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."
  7. ↑ 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."
  8. ↑ 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. ↑ 9.0 9.1 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. [...]"
  10. ↑ 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."
  11. ↑ Cover your mouth, Fallen London "It's his eyes, at first: grey ringed with black, large and sad. [...]"
  12. ↑ Consonant Violin, Fallen London "Said to have been played by the Consort when he first romanced the Empress at Kensington Palace."
  13. ↑ 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."
  14. ↑ 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!"
  15. ↑ Oh, it's just that bloody bust of the Consort, Fallen London "These monstrous things are terribly popular in London - whether from sycophancy, misplaced patriotic duty or simply disastrous taste. You give it a pat as you pass. For luck."
  16. ↑ An Alarming Bust, Fallen London "A staring-eyed face looms out of the darkness! Its mouth gapes like a wound!"
  17. ↑ 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."
  18. ↑ 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?"
  19. ↑ 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?"
  20. ↑ 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."
  21. ↑ 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."
  22. ↑ The Most Serene Mausoleum, Sunless Skies
  23. ↑ 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."
  24. ↑ 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."
  25. ↑ 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."
  26. ↑ The Prince Consort's Tomb, Sunless Skies
  27. ↑ 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."
  28. ↑ 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.""
  29. ↑ Speak to the Prince Consort about the False Victoria, Sunless Skies "A long exhalation, full of dust and effort. The Prince Consort turns to gaze upon the False Victoria. "We don't know if he can tell the difference between his wife and us. We are not sure it matters. I..." The next words spill as though from a cut throat. "We do not care. We love him. We must.""
  30. ↑ 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."
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