British royal documents including Queen Victoria's heart-wrenching, handwritten account of her husband Prince Albert's death have been put online, offering a firsthand account of her overwhelming grief.
Victoria reigned from 1837 until her death in 1901. She and German-born Albert had nine children before he died of typhoid in 1861 at 42.
She writes that as he passed away she "kissed his dear heavenly forehead and called out in a bitter and agonizing cry: 'Oh! My dear Darling!' then dropped on my knees in mute, distracted despair, unable to utter a word or shed a tear!" For the rest of her reign, she wore black.
Images of Victoria's leather-bound notebook and its handwritten pages have been uploaded as part of thousands of documents and photos on the website albert.rct.uk that went online Friday to mark this week's 200th anniversary of Albert's birth.
Project manager Helen Trompeteler said Victoria's account of Albert's death has been available to scholars before, but is being made public in full for the first time. "It's a testament to the remarkable partnership that they had," she said.
The three-year Prince Albert Digitization Project should be finished by the end of next year.
The documents and photos also highlight Albert's role in Victorian society, his patronage of the arts and sciences and his outspoken opposition to slavery. "He was certainly the most prominent member of the royal family to speak on the issue of the abolition of slavery," Trompeteler said.
Andrew has more to say about Epstein
Britain's Prince Andrew said Saturday that "at no stage" during his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein did he "see, witness or suspect" the behavior that led to Epstein's arrest and conviction. In 2008, Epstein was convicted on — and served jail time for — two charges of felony prostitution. Earlier this month, the disgraced American financier was found dead in a New York jail cell where he had been awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. In a statement, Andrew said he wanted to "clarify the facts to avoid further speculation" following the intense interest in his association with Epstein. Buckingham Palace has released several statements denying that Andrew did anything wrong, but this latest one is the most detailed yet.
