Having lost his mother at an early age, he remained close to his 
          only brother. Educated at Brussels and Bonn, he remained devoted to 
          the provincial life of his early years. His political mentor, Baron 
          Stockmar, remained with him when he went to England, though it remains 
          doubtful whether Albert realised the opportunism underlying the 
          ostensibly high principals of this mentor. 
              He was a willing party when his cousin, Queen Victoria, proposed 
          the marriage which took place in 1840. In 1842 he was made Consort and 
          in 1857 Prince Consort. Ministerial distrust and public misgiving 
          obstructed his interference in politics, even though his council was 
          invariably found to be temperate and often far-sighted. Encouraging 
          the arts and promoting both social and industrial reforms, it was 
          mainly due to him that the Great Exhibition of 1851 took place. 
 

Source: Leo van de Pas