Albert Hall Opens
Kensington, London The 29th of March 1871 AD
At the opening ceremony for the Royal Albert Hall Queen Victoria was so grief stricken at the memory of her husband who had died 10 years previously that she was unable to speak: Edward Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII , who had given the preamble, had to take over the duty on her behalf as she took in the majestic building designed by two Royal Engineers officers.
The Albert Hall on Kensington Gore remains a great London landmark, and over the years has been the venue of major concerts; sporting events such as boxing matches; circuses and car shows. In most minds it is now associated with the Last Night of the Proms, or perhaps the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance. The Last Night of the Proms has been held in the Albert Hall since 1941, though it was not best-loved by musicians because of the appalling acoustics – in particular a famous echo – from which it suffered from the day it opened until 1969 when devices were installed to solve the nearly century-old problem.
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