London - Next Wednesday Prince Albert will be restored to London, as good as gold for the first time since 1915. The monument, paid for mainly by public subscription as a national memorial to Queen Victoria's consort, has been restored at a cost of £11.2 million, from the railings to the jewelled golden orb nearly 200 feet higher.
The 10-year restoration project, which involved dismantling the monument, and recording, cleaning, repairing and replacing thousands of separate pieces of marble, granite, iron, bronze, glass and semiprecious stones, involved hundreds of craftsmen from all over Britain, and mosaic experts from the cathedral of San Marco in Venice.