Queen consort

Royal, noble and chivalric ranks

Emperor & Empress consort Empress & Emperor consort

Empress dowager or Empress mother

King & Queen consort or Princess consort Queen & King consort or Prince consort

Queen dowager or Queen mother Princess dowager or Princess mother

Grand Duke & Grand Duchess Grand Prince & Grand Princess

Viceroy & Vicereine

Archduke & Archduchess Infante & Infanta

Duke & Duchess Prince & Princess

Marquess & Marchioness Marquis & Marquise Margrave & Margravine

Count & Countess Earl & Countess

Viscount & Viscountess

Baron & Baroness Freiherr & Freifrau

Baronet & Baronetess Hereditary Knight, Ritter

Knight & Dame

Nobile, Edler von

A queen consort (also empress consort) is the wife of a reigning king (or emperor). A queen consort usually shares her husband’s rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king’s monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant’s political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort. A queen regnant is a queen in her own right with all the powers of a monarch, usually becoming queen by inheriting the throne on the death of the previous monarch; they have been far fewer in number.

Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother

Titles

The wife of a reigning king is called a queen consort. The husband of a reigning queen is usually not called “king consort”, although it was more common in Europe’s past for husbands of queens regnant to become reigning kings (e.g., Philip II of Spain in England, Antoine of Bourbon-Vendôme in Navarre, Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in Portugal, etc.). He is normally called a prince or prince consort, as with the husbands of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II, and with prince consort Henrik of Denmark.

Where some title other than that of king is held by the sovereign, his wife is referred to by the feminine equivalent, such as princess consort or empress consort.

In monarchies where polygamy has been (such as Morocco, Thailand) or is still practiced (such as the Zulu nation) the number of wives of the king varies. In Morocco, the present king Mohammed VI has broken with tradition and given his wife, Lalla Salma, the title of princess. Prior to the reign of King Mohammed VI, the Moroccan monarchy had no such title. In Thailand (like virtually every other monarchy) the queen and king must be of royal blood. The king's other consorts are accorded royal titles that confer status. Other cultures maintain different traditions on queenly status. A Zulu chief designated one of his wives "Great Wife", who would be the equivalent to queen consort.

Role of the queen consort

In general, the consorts of monarchs have no power per se, even when their position is constitutionally or statutorily recognized. However, often the queen consort of a deceased king (the queen dowager or queen mother) has served as regent while her child, the successor to the throne, was still a minor — for example:

• Anne of Kiev, wife of Henry I of France
• Marie de Medici, mother of Louis XIII of France
• Mary of Guise, mother of Mary, Queen of Scots
• Maria Christina of Austria, mother of Alfonso XIII of Spain
• Helen of Greece, mother of King Michael of Romania
• Marie Antoinette, mother of Louis XVII of France (disputed)
• Munjeong, mother of King Myeongjong of Korea
• Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, mother of Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
• Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi and mother of Damodar Rao

Besides these examples, there have been many cases of queens consort being shrewd or ambitious stateswomen and, usually (but not always) unofficially, being among the king's most trusted advisors. In some cases, the queen consort has been the chief power behind her husband's throne; e.g. Maria Luisa of Parma, wife of Carlos IV of Spain, and Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse), wife and Empress Consort of Nicholas II of Russia.

Masculine equivalent

The wife of a king is always a queen, and is usually so called. However, the husband of a queen regnant is not termed "king".

Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, was called "Prince Consort".

However, after the engagement of Charles, Prince of Wales to Camilla Parker-Bowles was announced on 10 February 2005 the official website of the British Monarch and the online FAQ of the Prince of Wales stated, "It is intended that The Duchess of Cornwall will use the title HRH The Princess Consort when The Prince of Wales accedes to The Throne." Whether that remains the case when the Prince of Wales does become king will depend upon public opinion at that time. When asked in an interview by Brian Williams, whether his wife would become queen when he becomes king, the Prince hesitantly replied, "That's, well ... We'll see won't we? That could be." [1]

Unlike the historic monarchies of Europe, the modern British monarchy is a purely statutory institution in which only the monarch him or herself has a formal constitutional role. Such dignities as may be afforded the spouse of the sovereign are matters of custom, not law, although a Statute from the reign of Edward III (1327–1377), makes it high treason to encompass the rape or murder of the king's wife. Under present legislation, the wife of a future British king will legally become queen (consort) upon his accession, regardless of the title by which she might actually be known in public, just as the Duchess of Cornwall is currently actually the Princess of Wales, by virtue of being married to the Prince of Wales, although she does not use the title^{[citation needed]}.

Joint rule

There are a few cases in which a married couple has ruled a kingdom jointly.

Aragon and Castile

Ferdinand II of Aragon and his wife Isabella I of Castile, a queen in her own right, held separate kingdoms. In Castile, Isabella was Queen, and Ferdinand, Consort. In Aragon, Ferdinand was king, and Isabella, Consort. Nevertheless, they ruled their kingdoms during Isabella's lifetime as though it were one dominion. As Ferdinand was not King Regnant of Castile, he did not inherit the Kingdom of Castile upon Isabella's death. Their daughter Juana or Joanna of Castile inherited the throne. Many historians have called into question Juana's subsequent imprisonment by her father for purported insanity, suggesting that it was a move by Ferdinand to acquire dominion over Castile. However, the two kingdoms would not be legally united until the monarchs' grandson Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, acceded to both thrones as Charles I of Spain.

England, Scotland and Ireland

The joint reign of William III and Mary II of England resulted from a unique change by the Parliament of England to the law of succession. When Mary, the Protestant daughter and heiress presumptive of James II, was displaced in the order of succession by the birth of a son to his Catholic queen consort, Protestant fears were provoked.

Mary's husband, William of Orange, Stadtholder of the Protestant Dutch Republic and also a descendant of James I, was invited by the leaders of Parliament to ascend the throne of his deposed father-in-law. After James II fled the country, Parliament offered the crown to William and Mary jointly.

The couple remained childless, and William ruled alone after Mary's death in 1694. The future Queen Anne's claims had been deferred by Parliament until his death.

Brittany and Austria, Brittany and France

Anne of Brittany remained duchess sovereign of Brittany during her first marriage with Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and her third marriage with Louis XII of France (while during her second marriage with Charles VIII of France she was more of a prisoner of her husband). Having devoted her life to the independence of her duchy, she bequeathed Brittany to her younger daughter Renée when her elder daughter was betrothed to the future Francis I of France. However her will was not respected.

Examples of royal consorts

Anne of Bohemia and Hungary, consort of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor

Past queens consort:

• Queen Marie Antoinette, consort to Louis XVI of France
• Queen Mary, consort of George V
• Queen Alexandra, consort of Edward VII
• Queen Elizabeth, consort of George VI
• Queen Fabiola, consort of Baudouin I of the Belgians
• Empress Carlota, consort of Maximilian I of Mexico
• Queen Marie José, consort of Umberto II of Italy
• Queen Kapiolani, consort of King Kalākaua of Hawaiʻi
• Queen Soraya Tarzi, consort of King Amanullah Khan of Afghanistan
• Tsaritsa Ioanna, consort of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria
• Queen Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlou, consort of Reza Shah Pahlavi of Persia
• Empress Farah Pahlavi, consort of Mohammad Reza Shah of Iran
• Queen Regent Saovabha Bongsri, consort of Chulalongkorn of Siam
• Panapillai Amma (queen consort) Srimathi Lakshmi Pilla Kochamma Chempakaraman Arumana Ammaveedu, wife of Visakham Thirunal Maharajah of Travancore.
• Queen Catherine, first Queen consort of Henry VIII of England, she was also regent when he was in a war in France.
• Queen Hortense, consort of Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland.
• Queen Wilhelmine, consort of William I of the Netherlands.
• Queen Anna Pavlovna, consort of William II of the Netherlands.
• Queen Sophie, first consort of William III of the Netherlands.
• Queen Emma, second consort of William III of the Netherlands. When William died on 23 November 1890, Emma became regent (1890–1898) for her underaged daughter, Wilhelmina, the late king's only surviving child.
• Queen Ratna, second consort of Mahendra of Nepal

See List of British consorts for a more complete list of queens consort of the United Kingdom.

Present queens consort:

• Queen 'Masenate, consort of Letsie III of Lesotho
• Empress Michiko, consort of Akihito of Japan
• Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, consort of Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar
• Queen Jetsun Pema, consort of Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck of Bhutan
• Queen Paola, consort of Albert II of the Belgians
• Queen Rania, consort of Abdullah II of Jordan
• Queen Silvia, consort of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
• Queen Sirikit, consort of Rama IX of Thailand
• Queen Sofia, consort of Juan Carlos I of Spain
• Queen Sonja, consort of Harald V of Norway
• Queen Sylvia, consort of Muwenda Mutebi II of Buganda. Her official title is Nnabagereka of Buganda
• Queen Queen Komal of Nepal, consort of Gyanendra of Nepal

Because queens consort lack an ordinal with which to distinguish between them, many historical texts and encyclopedias refer to deceased consorts by their pre-marital or maiden name or title, not by their marital royal title.

Thus:

• Queen Mary, consort of George V, is usually called Mary of Teck
• Queen Maria José, consort of Umberto II of Italy, is usually called Marie José of Belgium
• Queen Philippa, consort of John I of Portugal, is usually called Philippa of Lancaster
• Queen Catherine, first consort of Henry VIII, is called Catherine of Aragon
• Queen Anne, second consort of Henry VIII, is called Anne Boleyn
• Queen Catherine, consort of Charles II, is called Catherine of Braganza.
• Queen Jane, third consort of [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII, is called Jane Seymour
• Queen Anne, fourth consort of Henry VIII is called Anne of Cleves.
• Queen Katherine, fifth consort of Henry VIII is called Katherine Howard.
• Queen Kateryn, sixth consort of Henry VIII is called Kateryn Parr.
• Queen Elizabeth, consort of Henry VII is called Elizabeth of York.

See also

• List of Bohemian consorts
• List of British consorts
• List of royal consorts of Canada
• List of Danish consorts
• List of Dutch consorts
• List of Queens and Empresses of France
• List of Georgian consorts
• List of Hawaiian royal consorts
• List of Holy Roman Empresses
• List of Hungarian consorts
• List of Norwegian consorts
• List of Portuguese queens
• List of Spanish consorts
• List of Swedish consorts
• List of queens regnant
• King consort
• Royal Noble Consort (Korea)

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 10-ISBN 0-674-01753-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128