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, and is crowned and anointed, but historically, she does not formally share the regnant's political and military powers, unless on occasion acting as regent.
In contrast, a queen regnant is a female monarch who rules in her own right, and usually becomes queen by inheriting the throne upon the death of the previous monarch.
A queen dowager is the widow of a king, and a queen mother is a former queen who is the mother of the current monarch.
Titles
When a title other than 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.
While the wife of a king is usually titled as the queen, there is much less consistency for the husband of a reigning queen.
The title of king consort is rare.
Examples are Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, in Scotland and Francis, Duke of Cádiz, in Spain.
Antoine of Bourbon-Vendôme in Navarre and Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in Portugal gained the title king, not king consort, and were co-rulers with their reigning queen wives because of the practice of Jure uxoris.
The title of prince consort for the husband of a reigning queen is more common.
An example is Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who, upon marrying Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and because of her insistence that he be given a title of his status, became Albert, Prince Consort.
Role
In general, the consorts of monarchs have no power , even when their position is constitutionally or statutorily recognized.
Queen consorts often held an informal sort of power that was dependent on what opportunities were afforded to her.
Should she produce a healthy heir, have an amiable personality, ambition and piety then chances were higher for her to gain this informal type of power.
They may have served roles as transfers of culture.
Due to their unique position of being reared in one culture and then, when very young, promised into marriage in another land and culture, queens consort may have served as a cultural bridge between nations.
Based on journals, diaries and accounts, some queens consort exchanged and introduced new forms of art, music, religion and fashion.
This is all based on the individual women, their experiences.
If the court, and even more so, the king were in favor of the queen consort she could gain power over time with cultural and social influence and with 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
Munjeong, mother of King Myeongjong of Korea
Mary of Guise, mother of Mary, Queen of Scots
Catherine of Austria, grandmother of Sebastian of Portugal
Marie de Medici, mother of Louis XIII of France
Kösem Sultan, mother of Sultan Murad IV of the Ottoman Empire
Luisa de Guzmán, mother of Afonso VI of Portugal
Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi and mother of Damodar Rao
Maria Christina of Austria, mother of Alfonso XIII of Spain
Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, mother of Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Anna Khanum, mother of Abbas II of Persia
Helen of Greece, mother of King Michael of Romania
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
Past queens consort:
Queen Jang, consort to Sukjong of Joseon.
Demoted back in 1694 to the rank of hui-bin, Royal Noble Consort Joseon rank 1
Queen Marie Antoinette, consort to Louis XVI of France
Queen Charlotte was George III's consort for 57 years, 70 days, between 1761 and 1818, making her Britain's longest-tenured queen consort.
Queen Mary, consort of George V
Queen Elizabeth, consort of George VI
Queen Fabiola, consort of Baudouin I of the Belgians
Queen Paola, consort of Albert II of Belgium
Queen Anne Marie, consort of Constantine II of Greece
Queen Geraldine, consort of Zog I of Albania
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 Regent Saovabha Phongsri, 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, was also regent when he was in a war in France.
Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho, consort of Tāufa'āhau Tupou IV, Tu'i of Tonga.
Queen Hortense, consort of Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland
Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi, consort of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran
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 (1890–1898) for her underaged daughter, Wilhelmina, the late king's only surviving child.
Queen Ratna, second consort of Mahendra of Nepal
Queen Sirikit, consort of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand
Queen Ruth, consort (or Mohumagadi) of Seretse Khama, King of the Bamangwato Tswanas of Botswana
Queen Mantfombi, principal consort (or Inkosikazi Enkhulu) of Goodwill Zwelithini of Zululand, South Africa.
She was also simultaneously a princess of eSwatini.
Past empresses consort:
Empress Auguste Viktoria consort of Wilhelm II
Empress Theodora, consort of Justinian I, East Roman Emperor
Empress Mariam-uz-Zamani, consort of Akbar the Great, the third Mughal Emperor.
Empress Hürrem Sultan, consort of Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Her imperial title was Haseki Sultan
Empress Nurbanu Sultan, consort of Selim II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Her imperial title was Haseki Sultan
Empress Safiye Sultan, consort of Murad III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Her imperial title was Haseki Sultan
Empress Kösem Sultan, consort of Ahmed I, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Her imperial title was Haseki Sultan
Empress Müşfika Kadın , consort of Abdul Hamid II.
Her imperial title was Kadınefendi.
Empress Saliha Naciye Hanım , consort of Abdul Hamid II.
Her imperial title was Hanımefendi.
Empress Nur Jahan, consort of Jahangir, Mughal Emperor
Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, consort of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Titular Empress Carlota Joaquina of Spain, consort of John VI of Portugal, Titular Emperor of Brazil
Empress Maria Leopoldina, consort of Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil
Empress Xiao Zhen Xian, consort of Xianfeng, Qing Emperor
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, consort of Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia
Empress Durdhara, consort Chandragupta Maurya, first Mauryan emperor
Empress Shubhadrangi, consort of Bindusara, Mauryan emperor
Empress Asandhimitra, principal consort (or Agramahishi) of Ashoka, third Mauryan emperor
Empress Devi, first consort of Ashoka
Empress Karuvaki, consort of Ashoka
Empress Padmavati, consort of Ashoka
Empress Tishyaraksha, consort of Ashoka
Empress Michiko, consort of Emperor Akihito of Japan
Current queens consort:
Queen Azizah, consort of Abdullah of Pahang of Malaysia
Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho, consort of Tupou VI of Tonga
Queen 'Masenate, consort of Letsie III of Lesotho
Queen Jetsun Pema, consort of Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck of Bhutan
Queen Saleha, consort of Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam
Queen Máxima, consort of Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
Queen Mathilde, consort of Philippe of Belgium
Queen Rania, consort of Abdullah II of Jordan
Queen Silvia, consort of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
Queen Suthida, consort of Vajiralongkorn of Thailand
Queen Letizia, consort of Felipe VI of Spain
Queen Sonja, consort of Harald V of Norway
Current empress consort:
Empress Masako, consort of Emperor Naruhito of Japan
Current queens consort in federal monarchies
Queen Zarith Sofiah, consort of Ibrahim Ismail of Johor
Queen Norashikin, consort of Sharafuddin of Selangor
Queen Zara Salim, consort of Nazrin Shah of Perak
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
Consort crown
Prince consort
Princess consort
Haseki Sultan
Sultana
Royal Noble Consort (Korea)
List of Bohemian consorts
List of Burmese consorts
List of British consorts
List of Bulgarian consorts
List of royal consorts of Canada
List of Danish consorts
List of Dutch consorts
List of Queens and Empresses of France
List of Georgian consorts
List of Hawaiian royal consorts
List of Hungarian consorts
List of Norwegian consorts
List of Pre-colonial Filipino Consorts
List of Portuguese queens
List of Spanish consorts
List of Swedish consorts
List of Tongan consorts
References
*  Consort Category:Royal titles -
