Albert Memorial is ‘considered offensive’, says Royal Parks

Kensington monument was built to honour Queen Victoria’s late husband in 1872



Prince Albert’s memorial is “considered offensive” because it reflects a “Victorian view of the world that differs from mainstream views held today”, custodians say.

The 176ft Albert Memorial opposite the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gardens, west London, was built to honour Queen Victoria’s late husband in 1872, when the British Empire stretched across the globe.

It includes a golden sculpture of the Prince Consort himself, along with four groups of large statues representing the people and animals of four continents.

Asia is depicted as a woman on an elephant, America as a native American, and Africa as a woman riding a camel. The African sculpture also includes a white European woman reading a book to a black African tribesman.

The Royal Parks website now says that the Albert Memorial’s “representation of certain continents draws on racial stereotypes that are now considered offensive”.

It tells how Victorian guidebooks about the memorial “describe how this ‘uncivilised’ man hunches over his bow. This pose was intended to represent him ‘rising up from barbarism’, thanks to his Western teacher. At his feet lie broken chains, which allude to Britain’s role in the abolition of slavery”.

It adds that “descriptions of the states that represent Asia and America also reflect this Victorian view of European supremacy”.

The website states: “Though the Empire has traditionally been celebrated as a symbol of British supremacy, many today consider this view as problematic because colonialism often relied on the oppression and exploitation of people, resources and cultures.”

The Royal Parks said that it added the information about the statue late last year as part of an attempt to “regularly review and update information about our landscape and heritage features, across all our parks to enhance visitor experience”.

It follows a nationwide clamour at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests during the lockdown in 2020 to address public monuments considered by some to be controversial.

Time to grow up!

Bl**dy blue-rinsed, yellow-bellied, lilly-livered do-gooders are always getting upset on someone else's behalf.