Albert, Prince Consort
In 1861, Albert caught a fever, whilst travelling to Cambridge to see his son. The fever was typhoid, a disease which was common in the 19th century. Like cholera, it was a disease of water contaminated by faecal bacteria. He died at Windsor Castle, on the 14 December 1861. Queen Victoria was very upset, and she spent the next forty years of her reign in mourning her dead husband. She avoided public appearances and rarely set foot in London in the following years. Her contribution to government was little in that long period after the death of her husband. It was during that long period when Germany and the United States transformed their countries so that, in the 20th century, Britain was no longer the leading country of the world, but just one of several leading countries. In the 19th century the monarch was an important part of government, and most countries still had monarchs.