Royal Albert Hall Royal Commission bought Gore House and its grounds (on which the Hall now stands) on the advice of the Prince. Progress on the scheme was slow and in 1861 Prince Albert died, without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite. The proposal was approved and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. Once the remaining funds had been raised, in April 1867 Queen Victoria signed the Royal Charter of the Corporation of the Hall of Arts and Sciences which was to operate
Live at the Royal Albert Hall (Show of Hands album) by now built up a considerable fanbase through their mailing list. But despite the escalating fan base, they still could not command any London gigs. Knightley, Beer and manager O’Farrell took the gamble of hiring London's famous Royal Albert Hall for a performance on the evening of 24 March 1996, in attempt to gather all of the duo's fans, and to raise the duo's profile. The duo hired the hall "to the amusement of the media and the cynicism of sceptics" and was considered a huge gamble. Nonetheless, the performance sold out in advance. Selling out the hall was "unprecedented