Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria and a pioneering prince in his own right, was born in the same year as his wife, on 26 August 1819. This year, for the 200th anniversary of her birth, we have celebrated Queen Victoria and the progress and achievements that came during her reign. But it is impossible to think of Victoria without Albert, such was his support and influence throughout their happy marriage. In history, they are inseparable and so the time has come to mark the 200th anniversary of Prince Albert’s birth, exactly as we did for Queen Victoria.

On 26 August 2019, 200 years from the day of Prince Albert’s birth, we will strike 650 special editions of The Sovereign 2019 – the perfect companion to The Sovereign we struck for Queen Victoria in May. Each coin will feature a privy mark inspired by Victoria and Albert’s dual cypher which was created just for this event – their initials forever entwined in an everlasting tribute.