List of British royal consorts
A royal consort is the spouse of a reigning king or queen. Consorts of
History
Since the
Not all wives of monarchs have become consorts, as they may have died, been divorced before their husbands' acceding to the throne, or married after abdication. Such cases include
Only George I and Edward VIII were unmarried throughout their reigns.[8]
Since 1937, the sovereign's consort and the first four individuals in the
Style
The wife of the reigning king is styled as "Her Majesty The Queen" during her husband's reign and "Her Majesty Queen [first name]" upon her husband's death. She is referred to as "Her Majesty" and addressed as "Your Majesty". Since her coronation in 2023, the current royal consort, Camilla, has also been styled as "Her Majesty The Queen" per tradition. She was initially styled as "Her Majesty The Queen Consort" to distinguish her from her then recently deceased mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, who as a queen regnant was also styled as "Her Majesty The Queen".[10][11]
Male consorts
The husband of a reigning queen does not share the regal title and style of his wife, and the three husbands who have served as consort have held various titles.
- Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne, never received an official style as the consort, his princely title being Danish, but was raised to the peerage of England as the Duke of Cumberland in 1689, several years before his wife's accession in 1702.
- Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, husband of Queen Victoria, did not take a British peerage title but was granted the title of Prince Consort as a distinct title in 1857, the only male consort of the United Kingdom or its predecessor realms to have held the title. Victoria wished to style him as King Consort, but the government would not allow it.
- prince of the United Kingdomin 1957.
Coronation
Queens consort participate in the coronation ceremony, undertaking many of the same ceremonies as the monarch. Queens traditionally wear elaborate robes and walk in the procession under a canopy. They have also been anointed with holy oil and been crowned. Traditionally, male consorts are not crowned or anointed during the coronation ceremony.[12]
An unusual case was
Regalia
The earliest surviving consort's crown is that created in 1685 for Mary of Modena. In the early-20th century, new crowns were created for each queen consort in turn. However, Queen Camilla did not have a new crown created for her coronation in 2023 and she was crowned using the 1911 Crown of Queen Mary.[14]
The
The
List of consorts
Picture | Name | Arms | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Grave site | Tenure | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
George of Denmark and Norway | 2 April 1653 Son of |
28 July 1683 | 1 May 1707 Creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain; became consort to the monarch of England and Scotland upon spouse's accession 8 March 1702 |
Not crowned | 28 October 1708 55 years, 209 days |
Westminster Abbey | 1 year, 180 days | Anne | |||
Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach | 1 March 1683 Daughter of Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach
|
22 August 1705 | 11 June 1727 Spouse's accession |
11 October 1727 | 20 November 1737 54 years, 172 days |
10 years, 162 days | George II | ||||
Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | 19 May 1744 Daughter of Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen
|
8 September 1761 Marriage to the monarch |
22 September 1761 | 17 November 1818 74 years, 126 days |
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | 57 years, 70 days | George III | ||||
Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | 17 May 1768 Daughter of |
8 April 1795 | 29 January 1820 Spouse's accession |
Not crowned | 7 August 1821 53 years, 72 days |
Brunswick Cathedral | 1 year, 190 days | George IV | |||
Adelaide Amelia Louise Theresa Caroline of Saxe-Meiningen | 13 August 1792 Daughter of |
13 July 1818 | 26 June 1830 Spouse's accession |
8 September 1831 | 20 June 1837 Spouse's death |
2 December 1849 56 years, 311 days |
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | 6 years, 359 days | William IV | ||
Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 26 August 1819 Son of Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
|
10 February 1840 Marriage to the monarch |
Not crowned | 14 December 1861 42 years, 110 days |
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, then Frogmore Royal Mausoleum | 21 years, 307 days | Victoria | ||||
Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia of Denmark | 1 December 1844 Daughter of Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel |
10 March 1863 | 22 January 1901 Spouse's accession |
9 August 1902 | 6 May 1910 Spouse's death |
20 November 1925 80 years, 354 days |
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | 9 years, 104 days | Edward VII | ||
Victoria Mary Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes of Teck | 26 May 1867 Daughter of Francis, Duke of Teck and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge |
6 July 1893 | 6 May 1910 Spouse's accession |
22 June 1911 | 20 January 1936 Spouse's death |
24 March 1953 85 years, 302 days |
25 years, 259 days | George V | |||
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon | 4 August 1900 Daughter of Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck
|
26 April 1923 | 11 December 1936 Spouse's accession |
12 May 1937 | 6 February 1952 Spouse's death |
30 March 2002 101 years, 238 days |
15 years, 57 days | George VI | |||
Philip of Greece and Denmark | 10 June 1921 Son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg |
20 November 1947 | 6 February 1952 Spouse's accession |
Not crowned | 9 April 2021 99 years, 303 days |
69 years, 62 days | Elizabeth II | ||||
Camilla Rosemary Shand | 17 July 1947 Daughter of Rosalind Cubitt
|
9 April 2005 | 8 September 2022 Spouse's accession |
6 May 2023 | Incumbent Age: 76 years, 274 days |
Living | 1 year, 222 days | Charles III |
Timeline
References
- )
- ^ "Camilla, the new Queen Consort". BBC News. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ "Monarch award, Consort category". Merry Christmas. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ Kirsty.Oram (30 December 2015). "The Hanoverians". The Royal Family. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Marie, Queen of Hanover. She was the wife of King George V of..." Getty Images. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ Emma.Goodey (17 March 2016). "Succession". The Royal Family. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Kingdom of Hannover". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Why was Edward VIII still unmarried at 42 years old? At that time wasn't it customary for royal parents to arrange an engagement or urge ..." Quora. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Counsellors of State". The Royal Family. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ "The Queen". The Royal Family. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ "Is Camilla now Queen Camilla?". Constitution Unit. 9 August 2018.
- ^ "What is a queen consort?". Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- ^ "Why Was Queen Caroline Barred From Her Husband's Coronation?". TheCollector. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ a b c "The Coronation Regalia". The Royal Family. 9 April 2023.