Queen consort
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A queen consort is the wife and consort of a reigning king.
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[edit] Titulature
The wife of a reigning king is called a queen consort. By contrast, 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 regent to take the title of king (e.g. Francisco de Asis of Bourbon-Cadiz in Spain, Philip II of Spain in England, and Antoine of Bourbon-Vendôme in Navarre). Rather, he is normally called a "prince", and is referred to as a prince consort. Queens consort share their husbands' rank (in monogamous monarchies) and hold the feminine equivalent of their husbands' monarchical titles. Where some title other than that of king is held by the sovereign, his wife is referred to by the feminine equivalent, such as empress consort or princess consort. In monarchies where polygamy is practiced, such as Morocco, Thailand and KwaZulu-Natal, none or only some of the wives of the King may bear the title of queen. In Morocco, no king's wife enjoys a queenly title. In Thailand, traditionally a wife of the King only became Queen if she was of royal birth herself (a practice also common in Europe until well into the 20th century), and there are several gradations of the queenly title to which a consort can be elevated. Among the Zulus, although all of the King's wives are accorded the title Queen and the style of Royal Highness, only the "Great Wife" is considered the Queen Consort.
[edit] Role of the queen consort
In general, however, 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, Marie de' Medici, mother of Louis XIII of France, Mary of Guise, mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, or, more recently, Maria Christina of Austria mother of Alfonso XIII of Spain and Helen of Greece, mother of King Michael of Romania.
Besides these examples, there have been many cases of queens consort being shrewd or ambitious stateswomen and, albeit unofficially, being among the king's major 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 Fyodorovna (Alix of Hesse), wife of Nicholas II of Russia.
A potential exception to the norm of referring to the wife of the monarch as the queen consort may be Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. When their forthcoming wedding was announced, it was declared that, in the event of Charles's ascent to the British throne, Camilla would assume the title of Princess Consort rather than Queen. Subsequent ministerial comment during Parliamentary discussion confirmed, however, that she would necessarily retain the few legal prerogatives reserved for a British queen—including, legally, the title of queen itself.
[edit] Joint rule
There are a few cases in which a married couple has ruled a kingdom jointly. Ferdinand II of Aragon and his wife Isabella, a queen 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 joint reign of William and Mary of England resulted from a unique and extra-legal change by the Parliament of England in the law of succession. When Mary Stuart, Protestant daughter and heiress presumptive of James II of England, was displaced in the order of succession by the birth of a son to his Catholic queen consort, Protestant fears were aroused. Mary's husband, William of Orange, leader of Europe's continental Protestants, was invited by the Protestant leaders of Parliament to invade England and seize its crown from his father-in-law. After King James fled the country, Parliament offered the crown to William and Mary jointly, as neither the Whigs nor the Tories would accept Mary's ascension alone. The couple remained childless, and William ruled alone after Mary's death, the future Queen Anne's claims having been deferred by Parliament until his death.
[edit] Examples of queens consort
Past Queens Consort:
- Queen Mary, consort of King George V of the United Kingdom
- Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom
- Queen Elizabeth, consort of King George VI of the United Kingdom
- Queen Marie José, consort of King Umberto II of Italy
- Queen Kapiolani, consort of King Kalākaua of Hawaii
- Tsaritsa Ioanna, consort of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria
- Queen Fawzia, consort of Mohammad Reza Shah of Persia
- Panapillai Amma (Queen Consort) Srimathi Lakshmi Pilla Kochamma Chempakaraman Arumana Ammaveedu, wife of Visakham Thirunal Maharajah of Travancore.
Click here for a more complete list of Queens consort of the United kingdom.
Present Queens Consort:
- Queen Paola, consort of King Albert II of the Belgians
- Queen Rania, consort of King Abdullah II of Jordan
- Queen Silvia, consort of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
- Queen Sirikit, consort of King Bhumibol of Thailand
- Queen Sofia, consort of King Juan Carlos I of Spain
- Queen Sonja, consort of King Harald V of Norway
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.
[edit] Fictional Queen Consorts
- Queen Cersei of Westeros, later Queen Regent from 'A Song of Ice and Fire' by George R.R. Martin
- Queen Margaery of Westeros, thrice married and twice widowed, from 'A Song of Ice and Fire' by George R.R. Martin
- Queen Magda of the Kingdom of the Isles, formerly Princess Magda of Roldem, Queen Consort to King Lyam, from Riftwar Saga and other subsequent series, written by Raymond E. Feist
