Prince Albert, Consort of Queen Victoria, died in 1861 of typhoid fever at the age of 42. The Queen, a widow of the same age and terribly distraught, commissioned Sir Gilbert Scott to design his memorial in 1872. It was completed in 1876.

The Royal Albert Hall was the brainchild of Prince Albert himself, who proposed its construction following the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851. The plans for it developed slowly until after his death. The Hall was slated to be built along with the Memorial, and the foundation was laid in 1867 when Queen Victoria signed the Royal Charter under which it was to operate.