Guerrilla-style history buffs have taken action to restore an historic Prince Albert monument in Perth.
Wording on the 153-year-old statue has eroded in recent years, leaving no indication of who the piece commemorates.
Now, in an apparent effort to restore the Prince Consort’s identity, a mystery member of the public has attached a numberplate-style sign to the plinth.
The wooden nameplate — simply bearing the name Albert in capital letters — has been fitted onto the statue using wire.
It was put up in a seemingly covert operation over the last few days.
The statue, on the edge of North Inch, was unveiled by Queen Victoria in 1864, three years after her husband’s death.
It depicts Albert wearing the robes of the Order of the Thistle and holding the plans of the Crystal Palace in London, one of his greatest achievements.
The Queen and Prince Albert had an overnight stop at the nearby Royal George Hotel in September 1848.
Manager Eddie Anderson said: “It’s good that someone has taken action and restored this nameplate.
“I’m hoping that this will make the council sit up and take notice. They need to do work to properly restore the statue and make the most of it.
“There’s so much history in and around Perth and it is monuments like this that we really need to be highlighting.”
The story goes that Victoria and Albert made an unannounced stop in Perth, en route from Balmoral to London.
Officials in Perth only had a short time to spruce up the — then unfinished — train station and roll out the red carpet.
Once in Perth, attempts were made to arrange a room for the Royal couple at Scone Palace, home of the Earl of Mansfield, where they had stayed six years earlier.
However, the Earl was out of town and a room for the night had to be found elsewhere.
The George hotel, as it was known at the time, was contacted and given one hour’s notice to prepare their finest room.
A wealthy guest from England willingly gave up his rooms for the royal entourage.
Dawn Fuge, whose shop Precious Sparkle overlooks the monument, said: “I hadn’t seen anyone working on the statue.
“It looks like it was done by someone with a good sense of humour. I’m glad to hear it hasn’t been defaced and the nameplate can easily be removed.”
Last year, vandals targeted a statue of Sir Walter Scott at Perth’s South Inch and removed his canine companion.
The dog has been recovered by council officers and will be replaced.
