37-681: The Druk Gyaltsuen ( lit. 'Dragon Queen') is the queen consort of the Kingdom of Bhutan . In the Dzongkha language, Bhutan is known as Drukyul which translates as "The Land of the Thunder Dragon". Thus, while Queens of Bhutan are known as Druk Gyaltsuen ("Dragon Queen"), the Bhutanese people call themselves the Drukpa , meaning "Dragon people". The current queen consort of Bhutan
74-409: A principality or ( grand ) duchy ; an empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns suo jure over an empire . A queen regnant possesses all the powers, such as they may be , of the monarchy, whereas a queen consort or queen regent shares her spouse's or child's rank and titles but does not share the sovereignty of her spouse or child. The husband of a queen regnant traditionally does not share
111-452: A different culture, they have served as a cultural bridge between nations. Based on their journals, diaries, and other autobiographical or historical accounts, some exchanged and introduced new forms of art, music, religion, and fashion. However, the consorts of monarchs have no official political power per se , even when their position is constitutionally or statutorily recognized. They often held an informal sort of power dependent on
148-489: A single queen regnant, Athaliah , though the Hebrew Bible regards her negatively as a usurper. The much later Hasmonean Queen Salome Alexandra (Shlom Tzion) was highly popular. Accession of a queen regnant occurs as a nation's order of succession permits. Methods of succession to kingdoms, tribal chiefships, and such include nomination (the reigning monarch or a council names an heir), primogeniture (in which
185-512: Is Jetsun Pema Wangchuck , the 5th Druk Gyaltsuen . She wears the hand-sewn silk Phoenix Crown, which is the official crown worn by the Queens of Bhutan. She also has a carved jade gold Tiara. Queen Ashi Jetsun Pema Wangchuck is the youngest consort in the world, as of 2017. Queen consort Philosophers Works A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king , and usually shares her spouse's social rank and status. She holds
222-400: Is a widowed queen consort, and a queen mother is a queen dowager who is the mother of the current monarch. When a title other than king is held by the sovereign, his wife can be referred to by the feminine equivalent, such as princess consort or empress consort. In monarchies where polygamy has been practised in the past (such as Morocco and Thailand ), or is practised today (such as
259-470: Is different from the title ōhi (王妃, "king's consort") which means only a queen consort. The term jotei (女帝, "female emperor") or josei tennō (女性天皇, "female heavenly emperor") has been used for empresses regnant of Japan because the title kōgō (皇后, "emperor's consort") means only an empress consort. Although the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan is currently barred to women following
296-424: Is married to a reigning king; or a queen regent , who is the guardian of a child monarch and rules pro tempore in the child's stead or instead of her husband who is absent from the realm, be it de jure in sharing power or de facto in ruling alone. A queen regnant is sometimes called a woman king . A princess , duchess , or grand duchess regnant is a female monarch who reigns suo jure over
333-468: Is more complex in Yorubaland . All of a chief's consorts are essentially of equal rank. Although one wife, usually the one married to the chief for the longest time, may be given a chieftaincy of her own to highlight her relatively higher status 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
370-703: 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 also gained the title. In Portugal, because of the practice of jure uxoris , both King Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha and his predecessor, King Pedro of Portugal, were treated as ruling kings in protocol and were thus symbolically co-rulers with their wives, but both really had only
407-419: Is usually called Mary of Teck , and Queen Maria José, consort of Umberto II of Italy , is usually called Marie José of Belgium ). Queen regnant Philosophers Works A queen regnant ( pl. : queens regnant) is a female monarch , equivalent in rank, title and position to a king . She reigns suo jure (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort , who
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#1732800996752444-687: The Imperial Household Law ( Emperor Naruhito 's daughter Princess Aiko cannot accede to the Chrysanthemum Throne), this has not always been the case; throughout Japanese history, there have been eight empresses regnant. The Japanese imperial succession debate became a significant political issue during the early 2000s, as no male children had been born to the Imperial House of Japan since 1965. Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi pledged to present parliament with
481-788: The Late Middle Ages until the late 20th century was male-preference primogeniture : the order of succession ranked the sons of the monarch in order of their birth, followed by the daughters. Historically, many realms like France and the Holy Roman Empire forbade succession by women or through a female line in accordance with the Salic law , and nine countries still do, such countries being Japan , Morocco , Jordan , Saudi Arabia , Bahrain , Brunei , Liechtenstein , Bhutan . No queen regnant ever ruled France , for example. Only one woman, Maria Theresa , ruled Austria. As noted in
518-565: The United Kingdom amended their laws of succession to absolute primogeniture (in which the children of a monarch or chief have preference in order of birth from eldest to youngest regardless of gender). In some cases, the change does not take effect during the lifetimes of people already in the line of succession at the time the law was passed. In 2011, the United Kingdom and the 15 other Commonwealth realms agreed to remove
555-407: The United Kingdom ; because she insisted that he be given a title identifying his status, he became Albert, Prince Consort . The traditional historiography on queenship has created an image of a queen who is a king's "helpmate" and provider of heirs. They had power within the royal household and partially within the court. Their duty was running the royal household smoothly, such as directing
592-682: The Zulu nation and the various Yoruba polities), the number of the king's wives and their status varies. In Morocco, King Mohammed VI has broken with tradition and given his wife, Lalla Salma , the title of princess; prior to his reign, the Moroccan monarchy had no such title. In Thailand , the king and queen must both be of royal descent ; his other consorts need not be royal before marriage to him but are accorded royal titles that confer status. A Zulu chieftain designates one of his wives as " Great Wife ", an equivalent to queen consort. The situation
629-559: The 16th century by Hurrem Sultan , wife of Suleiman the Magnificent , replacing the previous title of " Baş Kadın ("Head Lady"). The bearer of the title occupied the second most important position in the Ottoman Empire for a female after valide sultan (queen mother). While the wife of a king is usually given the title of queen, there is much less consistency for the husband of a reigning queen . The title of king consort
666-725: The Netherlands) are currently heirs apparent to the thrones of their respective monarchies, along with Leonor, Princess of Asturias , who is the heir presumptive of the throne of Spain. All four are therefore liable to become queens regnant following the end of the current reigns. Because there is no feminine equivalent to king and emperor in East Asian languages, different titles are used for female monarchs and female consorts. The titles of female monarchs in East Asia are translated directly as "female king" or "female emperor" and
703-470: The chief, she is usually a lady courtier in his service who, although not married to him, is expected to lead his female subjects on his behalf. In the Ottoman Empire , haseki sultan ( Ottoman Turkish : حاصكي سلطان ; Ḫāṣekī Sulṭān; Turkish pronunciation: [haseˈci suɫˈtaːn] ) was the title held by the lawful wife and imperial consort of the sultan . The title was first used in
740-538: The children of a monarch or chief have preference in order of birth from eldest to youngest), and ultimogeniture (in which the children have preference in the reverse order of birth from youngest to eldest). The scope of succession may be matrilineal, patrilineal, or both; or, rarely, open to general election when necessary. The right of succession may be open to men and women, or limited to men only or to women only. The most typical succession in European monarchies from
777-570: The children's education, supervising the staff, and managing the private royal treasury. They unofficially acted as hostesses, ensuring the royal family was not involved in scandals and giving gifts to high-ranking officials in a society where this was important to maintain bonds. As a result, consorts were expected to act as wise, loyal, and chaste women. Some royal consorts of foreign origin have served as cultural transmitters. Due to their unique position of being reared in one culture and then, when very young, promised into marriage in another land with
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#1732800996752814-501: The death of the monarch, subject to the rules of male-preference primogeniture. A lot of times, the wife or mother of a childless king were allowed to succeed to the throne as well and allowed to rule as queen regnants in their own right, until their death, after which the throne passed to the next closest relative. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Sweden , Norway , Belgium , the Netherlands , Denmark , Luxembourg and
851-439: The feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but historically she does not formally share the king's political and military powers, unless on occasion acting as regent . In contrast, a queen regnant is a female monarch who rules suo jure (Latin for, "in her own right") and usually becomes queen by inheriting the throne upon the death of the previous monarch. A queen dowager
888-444: The king: Past queens consort : Past empresses consort : Current queens consort : Current empress consort : Current queens consort in federal monarchies 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 ,
925-522: The list below of widely-known ruling queens, many reigned in European monarchies. Male-preference primogeniture was also practised in a lot of the separate kingdoms of the Indian subcontinent from the Middle Ages, until the Indian independence movement. In a lot of these kingdoms, adoption was allowed from a relative if a monarch didn't have children, and the adopted child could succeed to the throne at
962-473: The masculine form of the word in languages that have grammatical gender as a way to classify nouns. The Roman Empress Irene of Athens sometimes titled herself basileus (βασιλεύς), 'emperor', rather than basilissa (βασίλισσα), 'empress', and Mary of Hungary was crowned as Rex Hungariae , King of Hungary in 1382. Among the Davidic Monarchs of the Kingdom of Judah , there is mentioned
999-604: The only remaining female monarch of a sovereign state in the world, until her abdication on 14 January 2024. This made it the first time that no female sovereigns have reigned in over 200 years. On the other hand, there are non-sovereign queens, such as Rain Queen Masalanabo Modjadji VII and Māori Queen Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō , who currently reign. Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden , Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant (monarchy of Belgium), and Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange (monarchy of
1036-402: The opportunities afforded to them. Should a queen consort have had an amiable personality and high intelligence, produced a healthy heir , and gained the favor of the court, then chances were higher she would gain more power over time. Many royal consorts have been shrewd or ambitious stateswomen and, usually (but not always) unofficially, among the monarch's most trusted advisors. In some cases,
1073-536: The queen regnant's rank, title, or sovereignty and usually holds a lower princely title . However, the concept of a king consort is not unheard of in both contemporary and historical periods. A queen dowager or empress dowager is the widow of a king or emperor; a queen mother is a queen dowager who is also the mother of a reigning sovereign. Since the abdication of Margrethe II of Denmark on 14 January 2024, there are currently no female sovereigns in
1110-478: The royal consort has been the chief power behind her husband's throne, e.g., Maria Luisa of Parma , wife of Charles IV of Spain . At other times the consort of a deceased monarch (the dowager queen or queen mother ) has served as regent if her child, the successor to the throne, was still a minor: Similarly, in several cases in Siam (now Thailand ) the queen consort was named regent during an extended absence of
1147-408: The royal titles of East Asia. The title as a queen regnant of Trưng Trắc was Nữ vương ( chữ Hán : 女王, "female king") and the title as an empress regnant of Lý Chiêu Hoàng was Nữ hoàng ( chữ Hán : 女皇, "female emperor"), and they are different from the titles of female consorts. In Japan, the title used for two queens regnant of Yamatai : Himiko and Toyo was joō (女王, "female king") and it
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1184-493: The rule of male-preference primogeniture. Once the necessary legislation was passed, this means that had Prince William had a daughter first, a younger son would not have become heir apparent. In 2015, Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning queen regnant and female head of state in world history. She was the longest serving incumbent head of state and monarch from 2016 until her death on 8 September 2022. Following Elizabeth's death, Margrethe II of Denmark became
1221-435: The same power of a consort and the queen was the real ruler. The title of prince consort for the husband of a reigning queen is more common. The monarchies that adopted this title did so because the title of king is usually historically higher than queen, so when the sovereign is female, her husband should never have a higher title than her. An example is Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . He married Queen Victoria of
1258-498: The title huánghòu (皇后, "emperor's consort") means only an empress consort. The term nǚwáng (女王, "female king") was also used for queens regnant of Eastern Kingdom of Women [ zh ] of the tribe Sumpa and it is different from the title wánghòu (王后, "king's consort") which means a queen consort. In Korea, the term yeowang ( Hangul : 여왕, Hanja : 女王, "female king") was developed to refer to three queens regnant of Silla : Seondeok , Jindeok and Jinseong , because
1295-469: The title wangbi ( Hangul : 왕비, Hanja : 王妃, "king's consort") means only a queen consort. The term yeoje ( Hangul : 여제, Hanja : 女帝, "female emperor") was also used for Yi Hae-won , the titular empress regnant of Korean Empire because the title hwanghu ( Hangul : 황후, Hanja : 皇后, "emperor's consort") means only an empress consort. Although Vietnam is a country in Southeast Asia, it used
1332-468: The titles of female consorts in East Asia are translated directly as "king's consort" or "emperor's consort". So, the titles of female monarchs in East Asia are the same as those of male monarchs, just indicating that they are women. In China the term nǚhuángdì (女皇帝, "female emperor"), abbreviated as nǚhuáng (女皇), has been used for three empresses regnant to assume the title of huángdì : Daughter of Xiaoming , Chen Shuozhen and Wu Zetian , because
1369-491: The world. This is the first time this has been the case in over 200 years. The oldest attested queen regnant was the Pharaoh Sobekneferu from the 18th/17th century BC. In Ancient Africa, Ancient Persia , Asian and Pacific cultures, and in some European countries, female monarchs have been given the title king or its equivalent, such as pharaoh , when gender is irrelevant to the office, or else have used
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