Read it through once

The breadth of view shown by the late Prince Consort was one of his greatest and most marked qualities. He seemed to have the faculty of seeing further into the future than most men and of preparing his own mind for developments which were yet hidden from the view of contemporary statesmen. Hence his famous Exhibition of 1851 and the realization of the fact that to encourage trade and commerce some knowledge of the world's products and resources was not only desirable but necessary. Hence the early perception, which he shared with the Queen, of the coming importance of the Colonies and of the necessity of bringing the Crown into touch with those over-sea democracies which were growing up to nationhood in such neglected fashion and with such little practical concern in the Motherland. Hence the dislike of the Queen and himself--because she had the statesman's understanding as well as her husband--to the Manchester school, and their opposition to the line of thought which said that Colonies were useless except for commerce and not much good for that. Hence the Queen's long-after regard for Lord Beaconsfield and her appreciation of his stirring and romantic Imperialism.