Lane's Prince Albert

Origin and History

Lane's Prince Albert is one of the definitive English cooking apples. It was discovered by Thomas Squire of Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire in the 1840s, and named by him after Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. The parentage is suspected to include Dumelow’s seedling owing to various similarities. Prince Albert was subsequently taken on by local nurseryman John Lane and rapidly became popular in gardens. The fruit bruises too easily to make it a good commercial variety.

Fruit

The apples are described as ‘handsome and conical’, even and regular in outline, with broad ribs around the crown. The skin is smooth and shiny, changing from grass-green to pale yellow as the fruit ripens. Where exposed to the sun it is pale red and marked with broken streaks of bright crimson.

Picking, Storing and Using

Like most English cookers, Lane’s Prince Albert has a juicy, acidic flavour and keeps well from October - when it is best picked - through to March. The apples are not as large as some English culinary varieties but still a decent size.

Our gardener Nikki rates Lane's Prince Albert as the very best variety for apple crumble.

Growth, Flowering and Pollination

Lane’s Prince Albert is an easy tree to grow, having good disease resistance and tolerating a wide range of situations. The Victorian pomologist Dr Hogg rated it 'a marvellous bearer, and rarely fails to produce a crop' . Annie Elizabeth, Barnack Beauty and Ellison's Orange are among many good pollinators.