A royal consort is the spouse of a reigning monarch. Consorts of British monarchs have no constitutional status or power but many have had significant influence, and support the sovereign in his or her duties.[1] There have been 11 royal consorts since Britain's union of the crowns in 1707, eight women and three men.
Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, is the longest-serving and oldest-ever consort, and served for nearly 70 years until his death in 2021. Since the accession of Charles III on 8 September 2022, his wife Camilla has held the position of queen consort.[2]
Only George I and Edward VIII were unmarried throughout their reigns.[8]
Since 1937, the sovereign's consort and the first four individuals in the line of succession who are over 21 may be appointed counsellors of state. Counsellors of state perform some of the sovereign's duties in the United Kingdom while the sovereign is out of the country or temporarily incapacitated.[9]
Style
Female consorts
The wife of the reigning king as his consort is styled as "Her Majesty The Queen" during her husband's reign and "Her Majesty Queen [first name]" upon her husband's death. The Queen is referred to as "Her Majesty" and addressed as "Your Majesty". Since her coronation in 2023, the current royal consort, Queen Camilla, has also been styled as "Her Majesty The Queen" per tradition. Camilla was styled as "Her Majesty The Queen Consort" preceding the coronation to distinguish her from her then recently deceased mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, who as a queen regnant was also styled as "Her Majesty The Queen".[10][11]
The husband of a reigning queen does not share the regal title and style of his wife, and the three men who served as consort held various titles. The title of “Prince Consort” has only been held by Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, husband of Queen Victoria, did not take a British peerage title but was granted the title of Prince Consort as a distinct title in 1857, the only male consort of the United Kingdom or its predecessor realms to have held the title. Victoria wished to style him as King Consort, but the government would not allow it.
Queens consort participate in the coronation ceremony, undertaking many of the same ceremonies as the monarch. Queens traditionally wear elaborate robes and walk in the procession under a canopy. They have also been anointed with holy oil and been crowned. Traditionally, male consorts are not crowned or anointed during the coronation ceremony.[12]
An unusual case was Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, who had separated from her husband, George IV, before his accession, became queen consort by law but had no position at court and was forcibly barred from attending his coronation and being crowned.[13]
^Tudor and Stuart consorts : power, influence, and dynasty. Aidan Norrie. Cham, Switzerland. 2022. ISBN978-3-030-95197-9. OCLC1336986822.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link); Bogdanor, Vernon (1995). The monarchy and the constitution. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN978-0-19-152089-1. OCLC344061919.; Queens & power in medieval and early modern England. Carole Levin, R. O. Bucholz. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 2009. ISBN978-0-8032-2278-6. OCLC316765760.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)