Everything about Queen Consort totally explained
A
queen consort is the title given to the wife of a reigning
king. Queens consort usually share their husbands'
rank (in
salic or semi-salic law monarchies) and hold the feminine equivalent of their husbands' monarchical
titles. Most of the time, however, they've no real power.
Titulature
The wife of a reigning king is called a queen . 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 regnant to take the title of King (for example
Francisco de Asis of Bourbon-Cadiz in Spain,
Philip II of Spain in England,
Antoine of Bourbon-Vendôme in Navarre and King Consort Ferdinand of Portugal). Rather, he's normally called a "prince"; the husband of
Queen Victoria was given the title of
Prince Consort.
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 has been practiced (such as
Morocco,
Thailand) or is still practiced (such as the Zulu nation) 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, although the present king
Mohammed VI has broken with tradition and given his wife
Lalla Salma the title of princess. 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.
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:
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; for example
Maria Luisa of Parma, wife of
Carlos IV of Spain, and
Alexandra Fyodorovna (Alix of Hesse), wife and Empress Consort of
Nicholas II of Russia.
A potential exception to the rule of referring to the wife of the monarch as queen consort may be
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, wife of
Charles, Prince of Wales. When their 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 and not that of Queen. Subsequent British ministerial comment during Parliamentary discussion confirmed, however, that she'd necessarily retain the few legal prerogatives reserved for, and the legal title of, a British queen consort. In the other
Realms such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand, there's no constitutional position as queen consort. It is merely a courtesy title.
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 wouldn't be legally united until the monarchs' grandson
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, acceded to both thrones as Charles I of Spain.
The joint reign of William III and Mary II of England resulted from a unique and
extra-legal change by the
Parliament of England to the law of succession. When
Mary Stuart,
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 legitimately provoked. Mary's husband,
William of Orange, Stadtholder of the protestant Netherlands 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, 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 in 1694. The future
Queen Anne's claims had been deferred by Parliament until his death.
Examples of royal consorts
Past queens consort:
Queen Mary, consort of George V
Queen Alexandra, consort of Edward VII
Queen Elizabeth, consort of George VI
Queen Marie José, consort of Umberto II of Italy
Queen Kapiolani, consort of King Kalākaua of Hawaii
Queen Soraya Tarzi, consort of King Amanullah Khan of Afghanistan
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.
See Royal Consorts of the United Kingdom and its predecessor realms for a more complete list of queens consort of the United Kingdom.
Present queens consort:
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 Komal, consort of Gyanendra of Nepal
Queen 'Masenate, consort of Letsie III of Lesotho
Empress Michiko, consort of Akihito of Japan
Queen Sylvia, consort of Muwenda Mutebi II of Buganda . Her official title is Nnabagereka of Buganda
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 Catherine, consort of Charles II, is called Catherine of Braganza.
In Portugal, however, male consorts could add an ordinal with which they were distinguished from other monarchs, as soon as their wife would bear a royal heir:
Peter III, consort King of Maria I, Queen of Portugal
Ferdinand II, second husband and consort King of Maria II, Queen of Portugal (Auguste of Beauharnais, Queen Maria's first husband, was only consort Prince, because he died before he could bear a royal heir).Further Information
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