Royal Albert Hall

2021.05.29

The TV drama “Victoria” produced by British ITV portrayed the young Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria embodies the British Empire and is a legendary king of all time.

The greater her presence in her, the more likely it is that the presence of her her husband, the so-called “prince consort,” will be hazy. However, what is depicted in this drama is that a girl who suddenly becomes her queen grows into a great king by encountering her wise “prince consort”.

That “prince consort” is Prince Albert, who has made a name for himself in this hall. She got married in 1840. Prince Albert was the Queen’s maternal cousin and son of the Principality of Saxe-Coburg-Gota.

After the marriage, he led the young queen to realize royal reform, and promoted the neutralization of the royal power and the political reform in line with it. As a result, Britain has changed to a style in which the prime minister is elected by parliament and has established a constitutional monarchy.

This huge circular hall was the brainchild of Prince Albert. It was planned as the “Central Hall of Arts and Sciences” facing Kensington Gardens, which connects to Hyde Park. It was designed by Francis Fowke, an Irish architect and engineer, and Henry Scott, who worked on the 1851 Great Exhibition in London.

The circular hall has a characteristic dome with a steel frame and a glass wall. The dome was made by Scott, and the skeleton alone weighed 338 tons, and the glass pasted was 279 tons, making it the largest and heaviest roofed building in Britain at the time. The ceiling is 41 meters high. A pipe organ is also installed behind the stage, and the capacity is 8,000, which is one of the largest in London.

However, Prince Albert died of typhoid fever at the young age of 42 without seeing the opening in 1871. It is well known that the Queen was in deep sorrow. The good friendship between Queen and her husband, who had four boys and five girls, and the Queen was in mourning for the next 10 years, and in Black outfit for 39 years until her demise.

It is also a hall filled with feelings for the Queen’s late husband. The busts of the Queen and Prince Albert are arranged in the hall, and the railing of the stairs is decorated with the official acronym “A”. The Queen also erected a golden monument to Prince Albert in Hyde Park, opposite the hall.

This hall is known as the venue for the BBC Promenade Concert, the world’s largest classical music festival, which has become a summer tradition in London. It was used as a venue after the destruction of the Queens Hall, which had been used until then, during the German air raid on London during World War II.

Although “Proms” continued during the war. The hall was prominent from the air, but was not damaged by subsequent air raids. There is even a story that the German army dared to leave it as a mark at the time of the air raid. Since the front of the stage can be used as an arena, it is famous for being a sanctuary where regulars called “Promers” occupy during the period Festival.

The hall has undergone renovation and modernization work several times in the past, such as installing a soundboard on the ceiling.

It is convenient as a multi-purpose from opera to concerts and sports events such as boxing and tennis. The Miss World World Championships have been held for 20 years since 1969, with Muhammad Ali standing in the ring in 1971 and 1979. In 1991, there was a Japanese Sumo performance in England. On March 29, 2021, the hall celebrated its 150th anniversary.