Meet Albert …

This is Albert.

Yes, that Albert. Prince Albert of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria fame, now more famous for their museum than anything else.

OK, I admit they may be quite important but I had a useless history teacher at school and the museum’s what comes up top of the list if you type “Victoria and Albert” into Google. If you really want to see how times change, try typing “Prince Albert” into google and see what comes up first.

So, what’s Prince Albert doing on my blog?

The Prince Albert in the picture stands above the entrance to the Victoria and Albert Museum. My parents have been visiting to see some of The Proms concerts, so while they were here we went to visit the V&A.

I’ve been several times before but was pleasantly surprised to discover a fascinating room that I’ve not been in before - The Plaster Cast Room.

Everything in the Plaster Cast Room is a fake. Maybe that sounds like cheating but it means the museum has exact copies of sculptures and architecture from all around the world in one room. There is a replica of the Trajan’s Column split into two parts dominating the room. The original column is in Rome, now weathered to the point where the copy is far more detailed than the original.

In the opposite room (sadly closed while we were there) is a life sized copy of Michelangelo’s David.

The cast room contains rows of knights laid to rest taken from crypts in Westminster Abbey. These, and the huge column pieces give the room a spooky, surreal ambience. Well worth the visit!