List of British royal consorts


A royal consort is the spouse of a ruling king or queen. Consorts of monarchs in the United Kingdom and its predecessors have no constitutional status or power but many had significant influence over their spouse. Some royal consorts, such as current consort Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, have also helped to enhance the image of the Monarchy by becoming celebrities in their own right. Prince Philip is the longest-serving and oldest-ever consort. His mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who died aged 101, lived longer but at the time of her death she did not hold the position of consort, as her husband King George VI died 50 years before her.

History

Since the union of England and Scotland in 1707, there have been ten consorts of the British monarch. Queens between 1727 and 1814 were also Electress of Hanover, as their husbands all held the title of Elector of Hanover. Between 1814 and 1837, queens held the title as Queen of Hanover, as their husbands were Kings of Hanover. The personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837 on the accession of Queen Victoria because the succession laws in Hanover prevented a female inheriting the title if there was any surviving male heir. In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Hanover was annexed by Prussia and became the Province of Hanover.

Exceptions

Not all wives of monarchs have become consorts, as they may have died, been divorced, had their marriage declared invalid prior to their husbands' ascending the throne, or married after abdication. Such cases include:

An unusual case was that of Caroline of Brunswick, who had separated from her husband George IV prior to his accession, and although his consort in law, had no position at court and was forcibly barred from attending George IV's coronation and being crowned. This caused public outrage.
If Charles, Prince of Wales, ascends the throne, his second wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will automatically take on the title and style pertaining to the queen consort unless legislation is passed to the contrary. It has been stated, however, that it is intended that she should be styled not as a queen consort, but as "princess consort" although all references to "princess consort" were removed by both Buckingham Palace and Clarence House on their respective websites by the summer of 2018.
All female consorts have had the right to be and have been styled as queens consort. However, of the three British male consorts to have existed since 1707, none was considered king consort:
Since 1707, only George I and Edward VIII have been unmarried throughout their reigns.

Consorts of the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1801) and the United Kingdom (1801–present)

House of Stuart

House of Hanover

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, renamed House of Windsor in 1917