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A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. 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 regent'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 Contents 1 Titles 2 Role of the queen consort 3 Masculine equivalent 4 Joint rule 4.1 Aragon and Castile 4.2 England Scotland and Ireland 4.3 Brittany and Austria Brittany and France 5 Examples of royal consorts 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 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-Vendme 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 minorfor 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

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 Fyodorovna (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".1 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." 1dead link 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. Under presentupdate 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 titlecitation 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 Rene 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 Jos consort of Umberto II of Italy Queen Kapiolani consort of King Kalkaua of Hawaii 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 (18901898) for her underaged daughter Wilhelmina the late king's only surviving child. See List of British consorts for a more complete list of queens consort of the United Kingdom. Panapillai Amma Srimathi Lakshmi Pilla Kochamma of the Chempakaraman Arumana Ammaveedu Family of the Thampi clan and consort of Visakham Thirunal Maharajah of Travancore 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 '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 Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned consort of Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar 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 Jos consort of Umberto II of Italy is usually called Marie Jos 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. 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 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) Notes "Announcement of the marriage of HRH The Prince of Wales and Mrs Camilla Parker Bowles". The Prince of Wales.gov.uk. 10 February 2005. http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/announcementofthemarriageofhrhtheprinceofwalesand167.html. Retrieved 2011-05-02.  References Nussbaum Louis-Frdric and Kthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 10-ISBN 0-674-01753-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128