In March 1840, within a month of his marriage to Queen Victoria, Prince Albert was appointed to the Order of the Bath. Admission to the Orders of the Thistle, St Patrick, and St Michael and St George was to follow in 1842. The Queen considered that the Prince’s insignia should be appropriate to his position as consort, richly decorated with precious stones.

Prince Albert is wearing this badge in the portrait by Partridge which he gave the Queen as a birthday present in May 1841. While the badge and star are unmarked and no bills survive, it is likely that they were newly made, as the Queen appears not to have inherited any embellished insignia; George III and George IV’s pieces were broken up or sold between 1830 and 1837.

Prince Albert was appointed Grand Master of the Order of the Bath in 1844, following the death of the Duke of Sussex the previous year, and throughout his period as Grand Master was active in rearranging the affairs of the Order. He redrafted the statutes, in particular enhancing the ceremonial of the Order and its investitures. The Prince determined that these should take place regularly, with the Sovereign of the Order (the Queen) sitting on the throne, wearing the Order’s mantle and insignia, attended by the Officers of the Order and as many Knights Grand Cross, in their mantles, as could be conveniently assembled.

Text adapted from Victoria & Albert: Art & Love, London, 2010