A superfluous son in a tiny German principality, Albert had few choices of vocation. Plucked from obscurity, he would sire the succession in the most powerful empire on earth, and the mark he made on Britain was greater than that of most monarchs. Never English but a hero of Victorian Britain, never King but the most accomplished of monarchs, Albert lives in this book as the unexpected, astonishing figure he was. First edition, 1997, signed by author to Wendy Trewin. Hardback, top back corner slightly bumped, tops of pages dusty, otherwise very good condition.