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==Role==
==Role==
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2020}}
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2020}}
In general, the consorts of monarchs have no power {{Lang|la|per se}}, even when their position is [[constitution]]ally or [[statute|statutorily]] recognized. However, often the queen consort of a deceased king (the [[dowager queen]] or [[queen mother]]) has served as [[regent]] if her child, the successor to the throne, was still a minor—for example:
In general, the consorts of monarchs have no power {{Lang|la|per se}}, even when their position is [[constitution]]ally or [[statute|statutorily]] recognized. Queen Consorts often held an informal sort of power that was dependent on many different variables including how that particular Court's policies and practices as well as how it recognized the status of that role. They may have served roles as transfers of culture. Due to their unique position of being reared in one culture and more often than not, then being promised to marriage in another land and culture, Queen Consorts may have served as a cultural bridge between nations. Based on journals, diaries and accounts, some Queen Consorts exchanged and introduced new forms of art, music, religion and fashion.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Watanabe- O'Kelly |first1=Helen |title=Cultural Transfer & The Eighteenth Cenutry Queen Consort |journal=German History |date=2016 |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=279-292 |doi=10.1093/gerhis/ghw002 |accessdate=18 October 2020}}</ref> This is all based on indivdual women and their experiences. If the Court and King were in favor of the Queen Consort she could gain power over time with influence and the birth of an heir. Often the queen consort of a deceased king (the [[dowager queen]] or [[queen mother]]) has served as [[regent]] if her child, the successor to the throne, was still a minor—for example:


* [[Anne of Kiev]], wife of [[Henry I of France]]
* [[Anne of Kiev]], wife of [[Henry I of France]]

Revision as of 16:41, 28 October 2020

Part of a series on
Imperial, royal, noble,
gentry and chivalric ranks in Europe

A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, or an empress consort in the case of an emperor. A queen consort usually shares her spouse's social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles, but historically, she does not share the regent's political and military powers.

In contrast, a queen regnant is a queen in her own right with all the powers of a monarch, who (usually) has become queen by inheriting the throne upon the death of the previous monarch.

Titles

The title of prince consort for the husband of a reigning queen is rare. Examples are Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, in Scotland; Antoine of Bourbon-Vendôme in Navarre; Francis, Duke of Cádiz, in Spain; and Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in Portugal. Another example includes Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, whom in the event of marrying Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and her insistance that he be given a title of his status, became Albert, Prince Consort. [1]

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 practiced in the past (such as Morocco and Thailand), or is practiced today (such as the Zulu nation and the various Yoruba polities), the number of wives of the king varies. In Morocco, 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, the king and queen must both be of royal descent. The king's other consorts are accorded royal titles that confer status.

Other cultures maintain different traditions on queenly status. A Zulu chieftain designates one of his wives as "Great Wife", which would be the equivalent to queen consort. Conversely, in Yorubaland, all of a chief's consorts are essentially of equal rank. Although one of their number, usually the one who has been married to the chief for the longest time, may be given a chieftaincy of her own to highlight her relatively higher status when compared to the other wives; she does not share her husband's ritual power as a chieftain. When a woman is to be vested with an authority similar to that of the chief, she is usually a lady courtier in his service who is not married to him, but who is expected to lead his female subjects on his behalf.

Role

In general, the consorts of monarchs have no power per se, even when their position is constitutionally or statutorily recognized. Queen Consorts often held an informal sort of power that was dependent on many different variables including how that particular Court's policies and practices as well as how it recognized the status of that role. They may have served roles as transfers of culture. Due to their unique position of being reared in one culture and more often than not, then being promised to marriage in another land and culture, Queen Consorts may have served as a cultural bridge between nations. Based on journals, diaries and accounts, some Queen Consorts exchanged and introduced new forms of art, music, religion and fashion.[2] This is all based on indivdual women and their experiences. If the Court and King were in favor of the Queen Consort she could gain power over time with influence and the birth of an heir. Often the queen consort of a deceased king (the dowager queen or queen mother) has served as regent if 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, 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 Charles IV of Spain.

Examples of queens and empresses consort

Anne of Bohemia and Hungary, consort of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Queen Catherine (1550–1612), consort of King Eric XIV of Sweden
Queen Sophia Magdalene wearing the crown of the Queen of Sweden.

Past queens consort:

Past empresses consort:

Current queens consort:

Current empress consort:

Current queens consort in federal monarchies

Because queens consort lack an ordinal with which to distinguish between them, many historical texts and encyclopedias refer to deceased consorts by their premarital (or maiden) name or title, not by their marital royal title (examples: Queen Mary, consort of George V, is usually called Mary of Teck, and Queen Maria José, consort of Umberto II of Italy, is usually called Marie José of Belgium).

See also

References

  1. ^ Chancellor, Frank B. (1931). Prince Consort. New York: The Dial Press. pp. 215–218. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ^ Watanabe- O'Kelly, Helen (2016). "Cultural Transfer & The Eighteenth Cenutry Queen Consort". German History. 34 (2): 279–292. doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghw002. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ "Marie-Antoinette | Facts, Biography, & French Revolution". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  4. ^ Phillips, Lawrence Barnett (1871). The Dictionary of Biographical Reference: Containing One Hundred Thousand Names, Together with a Classed Index of the Biographical Literature of Europe and America. S. Low, Son, & Marston. p. 900.
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