Albert, Prince Consort cousins, brothers King Pedro V of Portugal and Prince Ferdinand, died of typhoid fever within 5 days of each other in early November. On top of this news, Albert was informed that gossip was spreading in gentlemen's clubs and the foreign press that the Prince of Wales was still involved with Nellie Clifden. Albert and Victoria were horrified by their son's indiscretion, and feared blackmail, scandal or pregnancy. Although Albert was ill and at a low ebb, he travelled to Cambridge to see the Prince of Wales on 25 November to discuss his son's indiscreet affair. In his final weeks
Prince consort the "king" holds a higher position in the British social hierarchy. Thus, more power is attributed to him. In cases where the hereditary monarch is female, such as Queen Victoria, who ascended to the throne in 1837, power is attributed to the queen, for she holds the highest position in the absence of a king. Clarence House has announced that if Charles, Prince of Wales, becomes monarch of the United Kingdom, his second wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will have the title of "Princess Consort" rather than "Queen". The imperial Chinese title of "fuma" (), and its Manchu equivalent "e'fu"