Queen of Hearts

It is tradition that women may propose to their man during the February of a Leap Year. In actual fact, Queen Victoria propose to Prince Albert and they were married on 10 February 1840, which was a Leap Year. They had 9 children, 40 grand-children and 37 great-grandchildren. When Prince Albert died in 1861 at the young age of 42 Queen Victoria mourned his death for almost a decade and for the rest of her life she wore black. She rarely made public appearances and was consequently dubbed the "Widow of Windsor". Queen Victoria commissioned The Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens near the Royal Albert Hall, in his memory.