A prince consort is the husband of a monarch who is not a monarch in his own right. In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal title, such as prince . Most monarchies do not allow the husband of a queen regnant to be titled as a king because it is perceived as a higher title than queen, however, some monarchies use the title of king consort for the role.
31-396: Philosophers Works A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king , and usually shares her spouse's social rank and status. She holds 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
62-451: 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
93-754: A general trend of centralisation of power, so that by the Late Middle Ages there were a number of large and powerful kingdoms in Europe, which would develop into the great powers of Europe in the Early Modern period . By the end of the Middle Ages, the kings of these kingdoms would start to place arches with an orb and cross on top as an Imperial crown , which only the Holy Roman Emperor had had before. This symbolized them holding
124-512: 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 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
155-407: Is an absolute, when he holds the whole legislative , judicial , and executive power , or when the legislative or judicial powers, or both, are vested in other people by the king. Kings are hereditary sovereigns when they hold the powers of government by right of birth or inheritance, and elective when raised to the throne by choice. The term king may also refer to a king consort , a title that
186-468: 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
217-491: Is not crowned and anointed alongside his wife at her coronation. Jacques I became the prince consort of Monaco in 1731 after his wife, Louise Hippolyte , became the sovereign princess. In 2005, Prince Henrik , the husband of Margrethe II of Denmark , was awarded the title. He had requested the title of "king consort" and style of His Majesty but was denied. In 2016, he announced that upon his retirement, he would revert to
248-483: Is of Germanic origin, and historically refers to Germanic kingship , in the pre-Christian period a type of tribal kingship . The monarchies of Europe in the Christian Middle Ages derived their claim from Christianisation and the divine right of kings , partly influenced by the notion of sacral kingship inherited from Germanic antiquity . The Early Middle Ages begin with a fragmentation of
279-703: 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
310-576: Is sometimes given to the husband of a queen regnant , but the title of prince consort is more common. The English term king is derived from the Anglo-Saxon cyning , which in turn is derived from the Common Germanic * kuningaz . The Common Germanic term was borrowed into Estonian and Finnish at an early time, surviving in these languages as kuningas . It is a derivation from the term *kunjom "kin" ( Old English cynn ) by
341-426: Is usually called Mary of Teck , and Queen Maria José, consort of Umberto II of Italy , is usually called Marie José of Belgium ). King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds the powers of government without control, or the entire sovereignty over a nation ; he is a limited monarch if his power is restrained by fixed laws; and he
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#1732772558006372-559: The -inga- suffix. The literal meaning is that of a "scion of the [noble] kin", or perhaps "son or descendant of one of noble birth" ( OED ). The English term translates, and is considered equivalent to, Latin rēx and its equivalents in the various European languages . The Germanic term is notably different from the word for "King" in other Indo-European languages ( *rēks "ruler"; Latin rēx , Sanskrit rājan and Irish rí ; however, see Gothic reiks and, e.g., modern German Reich and modern Dutch rijk ). The English word
403-540: The King of Saudi Arabia , the King of Bahrain and the King of Eswatini . Prince consort In the United Kingdom, the title Prince Consort is unique to Prince Albert , although the term applies as a description to other British princes consort. The title was awarded to him in 1857 by his wife, Queen Victoria . Before Prince Albert, there had only been five English, Scottish or British male consorts, being
434-465: 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
465-537: The imperium and being emperors in their own realm not subject even theoretically anymore to the Holy Roman Emperor. Philosophers Works Currently (as of 2023 ), seventeen kings are recognized as the heads of state of sovereign states (i.e. English king is used as official translation of the respective native titles held by the monarchs). Most of these are heads of state of constitutional monarchies ; kings ruling over absolute monarchies are
496-558: 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
527-470: The British patriarchal hierarchical system. Within this hierarchy, the king holds a higher position in the British social hierarchy than any other, and so more power is attributed to him. When the monarch is female, such as Queen Victoria , who ascended to the throne in 1837, power is attributed to the queen, for she holds the highest position in the absence of a king. Unlike a queen consort, a prince consort
558-585: The Realm" and "Prince of the Commonwealth" (the latter of which was suggested by John Diefenbaker , at the time a member of the Canadian Opposition front bench). In 1957, Elizabeth created Philip a prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , the same title borne by sons of the sovereign. The distinction between the positions of prince consort and king is important in
589-469: 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
620-568: 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
651-590: The consort of Elizabeth II , was made a peer of the United Kingdom in advance of his marriage to then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947. After Elizabeth's accession in 1952, there was debate in royal circles and among senior politicians (both in Britain and in other Commonwealth Realms , particularly Canada ) about her husband's proper title. Some leaders, including the prime minister of the day, Winston Churchill , suggested reviving Prince Albert's title of Prince Consort . Others put forward other styles, including "Prince of
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#1732772558006682-656: The former Western Roman Empire into barbarian kingdoms . In Western Europe, the kingdom of the Franks developed into the Carolingian Empire by the 8th century, and the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England were unified into the kingdom of England by the 10th century. With the breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century, the system of feudalism places kings at the head of a pyramid of relationships between liege lords and vassals, dependent on
713-469: The husband of Mary I of England, was declared king jure uxoris and given powers equal to his wife while she reigned, but Queen Anne's husband Prince George of Denmark received no British titles other than the Dukedom of Cumberland (his princely title being Danish). Meanwhile, the titles of the three husbands of Mary, Queen of Scots , was never fully resolved. At least one ( Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley ),
744-466: The husbands of Mary I of England , Queen Anne , and Mary, Queen of Scots , the last of whom was married three times during her long reign. The remaining queens regnant before Victoria sidestepped the question of the proper title for a male consort, Elizabeth I having never married, and Mary II 's husband William III having been explicitly made king in his own right. The titles of the five pre-Victorian male consorts varied widely. Philip of Spain ,
775-444: 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 ,
806-401: 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,
837-758: The past (such as Morocco and Thailand ), or is practised today (such as 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
868-682: The regional rule of barons , and the intermediate positions of counts (or earls ) and dukes . The core of European feudal manorialism in the High Middle Ages were the territories of the former Carolingian Empire , i.e. the kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire (centered on the nominal kingdoms of Germany and Italy ). In the course of the European Middle Ages, the European kingdoms underwent
899-478: 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
930-435: 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
961-425: Was declared king consort, and both he and his predecessor Francis II of France sought recognition as king jure uxoris (under a proffered theory of the " Crown Matrimonial of Scotland"), but the title and powers of the consort were a constant issue during Mary's reign and remained unresolved when Mary was captured and executed. The only male consort since Prince Albert's death, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh ,