Victoria and Prince Albert, Feb. 10, 1840
As an unmarried young woman, Victoria, though already Queen, was required by the social conventions of the day to live with her mother, whose close proximity she complained would "torment her for many years." Salvation came in the form of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, to whom she proposed in 1839. He became not only the Queen's companion but also an important political adviser for her in the first half of her reign.

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