The Prince Consort worked too hard and overtaxed his physical powers. He aged very prematurely. In one of his last letters to "Vicky" at Berlin he wrote:
One's feelings remain under the influence of the treadmill of never-ending business. The donkey in Carisbrooke, which you will remember, is my live counterpart. He, too, would much rather munch thistles in the Castle moat than turn round in the wheel at the Castle well, and small are the thanks that he gets for his labour.
That sounds a pathetic note of self-pity. But in truth he was worn out and said to the Queen some time before his last illness: I am sure that if I had a severe illness, I should give up at once and not fight for my life.
These letters will add to the Prince Consort's reputation for political sight, but they also explain why he never really gained the affections of Englishmen. It was because he did not seriously try to become an Englishman. He faithfully did his duty to England as became the husband of the Queen; but German he was born, and "loyal Courger and Gothaner" he remained in spirit to the end
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.