I agree with all the above, and would just add that Albert's attitudes towards his eldest son seemed particularly significant in setting the tone of the relationship with both parents which Victoria carried with her into her widowhood. Although Bertie's intellectual abilities compared poorly with his elder sister Vicky's, it was really Albert who really felt the deep exasperation and frustration with his son's failure to meet that standard, since Victoria, in her letters to Vicky, clearly indicated she was not in favour of over-educating children. It is also open to question whether Victoria would have found the news of her son's first sexual encounter a matter of quite such hysteria as Albert did. It was Albert who really wrote Bertie off as dim and frivolous and there was perhaps some unconscious jealousy there - once the Prince of Wales was old enough for his own establishment, Albert would never be able to exercise sovereign authority over his son, except via his wife. At any rate, Albert's views seemed to validate Victoria's desire to keep a tight grip on political power though not of course the social and representative duties which she disliked.
