Home > Queen consort

In contrast the husband of a reigning queen is (usually) not called " king consort"; rather, he is popularly called " prince consort". In the British system, a male consort does not automatically receive the title of "prince" until he is so created by the sovereign.

In general the consorts of monarchs have no constitutional status or power; they have merely the title.

There are a few cases in which a married couple ruled a kingdom jointly: Ferdinand II of Aragon and his wife Isabella, in her own right Isabella I of Castile, ruled their kingdoms as one dominion. Ferdinand was also called Ferdinand V of Castile. However, the two kingdoms would not be de jure united until the monarchs' grandson Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, acceded to both thrones as Charles I of Spain.

The daughter of James II of England, Queen Mary II, married William of Orange; although Mary was the heiress to the throne, she and William chose to reign together and were made co-monarchs by Parliament, with William becoming king.

There have also been a number of cases when the queen consort of a deceased king (the Queen Dowager or Queen Mother) had served as regent while her child, the heir to the throne, was still a minor—for example, Catherine de Medici.

Besides these examples, there have been many cases of queen consorts being shrewd stateswomen and, albeit unofficially, being one of the king's major advisors. In some cases, the queen consort has been the chief power behind the throne; example Henrietta Maria.

1 Examples of queens consort

• Queen MaryQueen Mary Victoria Mary of Teck ( 26 May, 1867 24 March, 1953) was the Queen consort of George V of the United Kingdom. Queen Mary was also the Empress of India and Queen of Ireland. Prior to her accession, she was also Princess of Wales, Duchess of Corn, consort of King George V of the United KingdomGeorge V (George Frederick Ernest Albert) ( 3 June 1865- 20 January 1936) was the last British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, changing the name to the House of Windsor in 1917. As well as being King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and I
• Queen AlexandraAlexandra of Denmark ( December 1 1844 November 20 1925) was queen consort of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom 1901- 1910. Prior to that, she was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901 the longest any woman has ever held that title. In many ways, Alexan, consort of King Edward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII Albert Edward ( 9 November 1841 6 May 1910) was the first British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. As well as being the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the British dominions beyond the Sea, Edward was also
• Queen Maria JoséMarie-Jose Charlotte Sophie Amelie Henriette Gabrielle ( August 4, 1906- January 27, 2001) was born in Ostend, Belgium, the last child of Albert I. On January 30, 1930, she married Prince Umberto, who later became the King of Italy. They had four children, consort of King Umberto II of Italy
• Queen Anne MarieHer Majesty Anne-Marie Dagmar Ingrid Queen of the Hellenes was born on 30 August 1946 at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. She is the Daughter of King Frederik IX and Princess Ingrid of Sweden. She was married on 18 September 1964 in Athens to His Majesty, consort of King Constantine II of GreeceConstantine II (born June 2, 1940), was King of Greece from March 6, 1964 to December 8, 1974. His official title was King of the Hellenes . Constantine had a turbulent relationship with his prime minister, George Papandreou, a centrist. Papandreou's resi
• Queen Sofia, consort of King Juan Carlos I of Spain
• Queen Sonja, consort of King Harald V of Norway
• Queen Silvia, consort of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
• Queen Paola, consort of King Albert II of the Belgians.

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 King George V of the United Kingdom is usually called Mary of Teck
• Queen Maria José, consort of King Umberto II of Italy is usually called Marie José of Belgium
• Queen Catherine, first consort of King Henry VIII of England is called Catherine of Aragon.