A queen consort is the wife of the king, in monarchical regimes in general. She has the title of queen, but does not have the same powers as the king. In the case of the British monarchy, the queen consort does not have the political and military powers of the king.
Still, in the British monarchy, there are no king consorts, since English law prohibits this title from being given so as not to harm the line of succession to the British throne. For these cases, the term used is prince consort.
Read too: Who are the members of the British royal family?
Topics of this article
- 1 - Summary
- 2 - What is a queen consort?
- 3 - Is there a king consort?
- 4 - Who is the current Queen Consort of the United Kingdom?
Summary
Queen consort is the term used in monarchical regimes to refer to the king's wife.
A queen consort does not have the political and military powers of the king, as is the case with the British monarchy.
A queen consort cannot take the throne after the king dies.
In the British monarchy there is no term king consort. The husband of a crowned queen is known as the prince consort.
What is a queen consort?
The term queen consort is a term widely used in the British monarchy, but not only in this monarchy, being used to refer toà wife of a reigning monarch. Thus, the queen consort is the wife of the king, and although hierarchically they are in the same position, the queen consort does not have the political and military roles that the king has.
the queen consort also does not have the same powers as a queen, although popularly a queen consort may just be called a queen. Within the British monarchy, for example, the queen is the one who assumed power because she is in the line of succession to the British throne.
In the case of the queen consort, she assumes the throne by marrying a king, that is, an individual who was in the line of succession and who was crowned king. After a king dies, the queen consort cannot take the throne, since the line of succession determines that the eldest son or daughter of the king should assume the throne.
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Is there a king consort?
There is no king consort in the British monarchy., as the title is extended to women only. The monarchical culture is extremely patriarchal, and the title of king is understood as the most important title in the country. Therefore, there is a prohibition that prevents men who marry queens from assuming the title of king.
![Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Consort Phillip. In the British monarchy, there is no king consort. [2]](/f/85a399fef499388339bbbbb9fc0f9f79.jpg)
This is understood as a way to protect the royal lineage of the monarchy and prevent monarchs outside the House of Windsor from assuming power. For these cases, the British monarchy adopts the use ofthe term prince consort, as was the case for Prince Phillip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II. Therefore, the title of king is reserved only for those who were born into the British royal family and who inherited the throne through the line of succession.
Who is the current Queen Consort of the United Kingdom?
The current Queen Consort of the United Kingdom is called Camilla Parker Bowles and took the stand when Charles III was proclaimed king from the UK in September 2022. She was born into an aristocratic family in England, but joined the English royal family when she married then-Prince Charles in 2005.
She she had already had a romantic relationship with Charles in her youth and carried on an extramarital affair with him when he was married to Princess Diana, which made her quite an unpopular figure in the UK. When she married Charles in 2005, she announced that she would not use the title of Queen Consort, but accepted the title when Elizabeth II announced that she wished to have her assume the title of Queen Consort when Charles became king. On 8 September 2022, she was announced as Queen Consort of the United Kingdom.
image credits
[1] Marcin Kadziolka / Shutterstock
[2] Lorna Roberts / Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves Silva
History teacher
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Daniel Neves. "What is a queen consort?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/historia/o-que-e-uma-rainha-consorte.htm. Accessed on May 02, 2023.
