- List of British consorts
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- See also: List of British monarchs.
- For the royal consorts of the predecessor realms of Scotland, England and Ireland, see List of Scottish consorts, List of English consorts and List of Irish consorts.
A royal consort is the spouse of a ruling King or Queen. Consorts of monarchs in the United Kingdom and its predecessors have no constitutional status or power but many had significant influence over their spouse.[citation needed]
Since the foundation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, it and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland has had nine royal consorts. Queens between 1727 and 1814 were also Electress of Hanover, as their husbands all held the title of Elector of Hanover. Between 1814 and 1837, queens held the title as Queen of Hanover, as their husbands were Kings of Hanover. The personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837 on the accession of Queen Victoria because the succession laws (Salic Law) in Hanover prevented a female inheriting the title if there was any surviving male heir (in the United Kingdom, a male takes precedence over only his own sisters). In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Hanover was annexed by Prussia and became the Province of Hanover.
All female consorts have had the right to be and have been styled as queens consort. However, of the two British male consorts to have existed since 1707, neither was considered king consort:
- Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, husband of Queen Victoria, did not take an English peerage title but was granted the title of Prince Consort as a distinct title, in 1857, the only male consort in either the United Kingdom or its predecessor realms to have officially held the title.
- Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, husband of Elizabeth II, already raised to the peerage as Duke of Edinburgh in 1947, was made a Prince of the United Kingdom in 1957. He is not styled as Prince Consort.
Not all wives of monarchs have become consorts, as they may have died, been divorced, had their marriage declared invalid prior to their husbands' ascending the throne, or married after abdication. Such cases include:
- Sophia Dorothea of Celle, wife of George I of Great Britain (as heir to the electorate of Hanover), married 22 November 1682, divorced 28 December 1694, died 13 November 1726.
- Maria Anne Fitzherbert, wife of George IV of the United Kingdom (as Prince of Wales), married 1785, marriage declared null, died 1837.
- Wallis Warfield Simpson, wife of Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (as Duke of Windsor), married 3 June 1937, died 24 April 1986.
An unusual case was that of Caroline of Brunswick, who had separated from her husband George IV prior to his accession, and although his consort in law, had no position at court and was forcibly barred from attending George IV's coronation and being crowned.
Since 1707, only George I of Great Britain and Edward VIII of the United Kingdom have reigned unmarried.
If Charles, Prince of Wales, ascends the throne, his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will automatically take on the title and style pertaining to the queen consort unless legislation is passed to the contrary. It has been stated, however, that it is intended that she should be styled not as a queen consort, but as 'Princess Consort'.[1]
Contents
Consorts of the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1801) and the United Kingdom (1801-Present)
House of Stuart
Picture Arms Name Parents Birth Marriage Became Consort Coronation Ceased to be Consort Death Spouse Prince George of Denmark Father, Frederick III of Denmark
Mother, Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg2 April 1653 28 July 1683 1 May 1707
Creation of the Kingdom of Great BritainNot crowned 28 October 1708 Anne House of Hanover
Picture Arms Name Parents Birth Marriage Became Consort Coronation Ceased to be Consort Death Spouse Margravine Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach Father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Mother, Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach1 March 1683 22 August 1705 11 June 1727
Husband's accession11 October 1727 20 November 1737 George II Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Father, Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg
Mother, Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen19 May 1744 8 September 1761 22 September 1761 17 November 1818 George III Duchess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Father, Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Mother, Princess Augusta of Great Britain17 May 1768 8 April 1795 29 January 1820
Husband's accessionNot crowned 7 August 1821 George IV Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen Father, George I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Mother, Princess Louise Eleanore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg13 August 1792 13 July 1818 26 June 1830
Husband's accession8 September 1831 20 June 1837
Husband's death2 December 1849 William IV Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Father, Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Mother, Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg26 August 1819 10 February 1840 Not crowned 14 December 1861 Victoria House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; renamed House of Windsor
Picture Arms Name Parents Birth Marriage Became Consort Coronation Ceased to be Consort Death Spouse Princess Alexandra of Denmark Father, Christian IX of Denmark
Mother, Louise of Hesse-Kassel1 December 1844 10 March 1863 22 January 1901
Husband's accession9 August 1902 6 May 1910
Husband's death20 November 1925 Edward VII Princess Mary of Teck Father, Francis, Duke of Teck
Mother, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge26 May 1867 6 July 1893 6 May 1910
Husband's accession22 June 1911 20 January 1936
Husband's death24 March 1953 George V The Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Father, Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Mother, Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne4 August 1900 26 April 1923 11 December 1936
Husband's accession12 May 1937 6 February 1952
Husband's death30 March 2002 George VI Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark Father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg10 June 1921 20 November 1947 6 February 1952
Wife's accessionNot crowned Incumbent Elizabeth II References
- ^ "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/announcement_of_the_marriage_of_hrh_the_prince_of_wales_and__167.html. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
External links
British royal titles Inactive titles Categories:- British royal consorts
- House of Windsor
- House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Lists of queens
- Lists of British people
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