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Jure uxoris (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife") [1] [2] describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title suo jure ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could become the legal possessor of her lands. For example, married women in England and Wales were legally incapable of owning real estate until the Married Women's Property Act 1882.
During the feudal era, the husband's control over his wife's real property, including titles, was substantial. On marriage, the husband gained the right to possess his wife's land during the marriage, including any acquired after the marriage. [3] Whilst he did not gain the formal legal title to the lands, he was able to spend the rents and profits of the land and sell his right, even if the wife protested. [3]
The concept of jure uxoris was standard in the Middle Ages even for queens regnant. In the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Fulk, King of Jerusalem; Guy of Lusignan; Conrad of Montferrat; Henry II, Count of Champagne; and Amalric II of Jerusalem all received their titles as a result of marriage. Another famous instance of jure uxoris occurring was in the case of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, who gained said title via his marriage to Anne Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick, herself a daughter of Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick.
Sigismund of Luxembourg married Queen Mary of Hungary and obtained the crown through her, retaining it after her death in 1395.
A man who held a title jure uxoris could retain it even after the death or divorce of his wife. When the marriage of Marie I of Boulogne and Matthew of Boulogne was annulled in 1170, Marie ceased to be countess, while Matthew I continued to reign until 1173. Likewise, upon the death of Maria, Queen of Sicily in 1401, her widower Martin I of Sicily continued to reign as King until his death in 1409. In some cases, the kingdom could pass to the husband's heirs, even when they were not issue of the wife in question (e.g. Jogaila, who became king by marrying Jadwiga and passed on the kingdom to his children with Sophia of Halshany).
Kings jure uxoris in the medieval era include:
By the time of the Renaissance, laws and customs had changed in some countries: a woman sometimes remained monarch, with only part of her power transferred to her husband. This was usually the case when multiple kingdoms were consolidated, such as when Isabella and Ferdinand shared crowns.
The precedent of jure uxoris complicated the lives of Henry VIII's daughters, both of whom inherited the throne in their own right. The marriage of Mary I to King Philip in 1554 was seen as a political act, as an attempt to bring England and Ireland under the influence of Catholic Spain. Parliament passed the Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain specifically to prevent Philip from seizing power on the basis of jure uxoris. As it turned out, the marriage produced no children, and Mary died in 1558, ending Philip's jure uxoris claims in England and Ireland, as envisaged by the Act, and was followed by the accession of Elizabeth I, who never married.
In Navarre, Jeanne d'Albret had married Antoine of Navarre in 1548, and she became queen regnant at her father's death in 1555. Antoine was crowned co-ruler jure uxoris with Jeanne in August.
In Great Britain,[ clarification needed ] husbands acted on their wives' behalf in the House of Lords, from which women were once barred. These offices were exercised jure uxoris.
When Lady Priscilla Bertie inherited the title Baroness Willougby de Eresby in 1780, she also held the position of Lord Great Chamberlain. However, her husband Sir Peter Gwydyr acted on her behalf in that office instead.
In Portugal, a male consort could not become a king jure uxoris until the queen regnant had a child and royal heir. Although Queen Maria II married her second husband in 1836, Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha did not become King Ferdinand II until 1837, when their first child was born. Queen Maria's first husband, Auguste of Beauharnais, never became monarch, because he died before he could father an heir. The queen's child did not have to be born after her accession. For example, Queen Maria I already had children by her husband when she acceded, so he became King Peter III at the moment of his wife's accession.
Currently in Spain, the husband of a peeress in her own right may use his wife's title socially,[ citation needed ] although he is not technically entitled to it under the law. For example, Jaime de Marichalar was often referred to as the Duke of Lugo during his marriage to Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo. After their divorce, he ceased to use the title. His brother-in-law Iñaki Urdangarin was referred to as the Duke of Palma before corruption allegations prompted the King to take action. Since 12 June 2015, he is no longer referred to as the Duke of Palma de Mallorca, following the removal of that title from his wife, Infanta Cristina.
Guy of Lusignan was a French Poitevin knight who reigned as the king of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla, and King of Cyprus from 1192 to 1194.
John II, called the Great or the Faithless, was King of Aragon from 1458 until his death in 1479. As the husband of Queen Blanche I of Navarre, he was King of Navarre from 1425 to 1479. John was also King of Sicily from 1458 to 1468.
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.
Henry II of Champagne was Count of Champagne from 1181 to 1197, and King of Jerusalem jure uxoris from 1192 to 1197 by virtue of his marriage to Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem.
The County of Aumale, later elevated to a duchy, was a medieval fief in Normandy, disputed between France and England during parts of the Hundred Years' War.
The king or queen of Jerusalem was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Crusader state founded in Jerusalem by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade, when the city was conquered in 1099. Most of them were men, but there were also five queens regnant of Jerusalem, either reigning alone suo jure, or as co-rulers of husbands who reigned as kings of Jerusalem jure uxoris.
Blanche of Artois was Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne and Brie during her marriage to Henry I of Navarre. After his death she became regent in the name of their infant daughter, Joan I. She passed on the regency of Navarre to Philip III of France, her cousin and her daughter's prospective father-in-law, but retained the administration of Champagne. She later shared the government of Champagne with her second husband, Edmund, until her daughter reached the age of majority.
John III was jure uxoris King of Navarre from 1484 until his death, as husband and co-ruler of Queen Catherine.
Ursula Germaine of Foix was an early modern French noblewoman from the House of Foix. By marriage to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, she was Queen of Aragon, Majorca, Naples, Sardinia, Sicily, and Valencia and Princess of Catalonia from 1505 to 1516 and Queen of Navarre from 1512 to 1516. She was Vicereine of Valencia from 1523 until her death in 1536, jointly with her second and third husbands, respectively Johann of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria. By her third marriage, she was Duchess of Calabria.
Eleanor of Castile was Queen of Navarre by marriage to King Charles III of Navarre. She acted as regent of Navarre during the absence of her spouse in France in 1397–1398, 1403–1406 and 1409–1411.
Juana Enriquez, 5th Lady of Casarrubios del Monte was Queen of Aragon and de facto Queen consort of Navarre as the wife of King John II. Juana Enríquez was the Regent of Navarre during the absence of her husband in the Navarrese Civil War (1451–1455); she also served as Governor of Catalonia in 1462 in the place of her son and, finally, as Regent of Aragon during the absence of her husband in the Catalan Civil War between 1465 and 1468.
Blanche I was Queen of Navarre from the death of her father, King Charles III, in 1425 until her own death. She had been Queen of Sicily from 1402 to 1409 by marriage to King Martin I, serving as regent of Sicily from 1404 to 1405 and from 1408 to 1415.
Suo jure is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especially in England, a man rarely derives any style or title from his wife although this is seen in other countries when a woman is the last heir of her line. It can be used for a male when such male was initially a 'co-lord' with his father or other family member and upon the death of such family member became the sole ruler or holder of the title "in his own right" (alone).
Ferdinand II was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of Castile, he was also King of Castile from 1475 to 1504. He reigned jointly with Isabella over a dynastically unified Spain; together they are known as the Catholic Monarchs. Ferdinand is considered the de facto first king of Spain, and was described as such during his reign, even though, legally, Castile and Aragon remained two separate kingdoms until they were formally united by the Nueva Planta decrees issued between 1707 and 1716.
Alix of Ibelin, was Queen consort of Cyprus and nominal Queen consort of Jerusalem as the second wife of King Hugh IV of Cyprus. She was queen from 31 March 1324 until Hugh's abdication on 24 November 1358. Two of her sons, Peter and James reigned as kings of Cyprus.
Helvis of Brunswick-Grubenhagen was the queen consort of Cyprus and titular queen consort of Armenia as the wife of King James I of Cyprus. She was styled Queen of Cyprus from 1382 to 1398; although at the time of his ascension to the Cypriot throne, she and James were imprisoned in Genoa after they had been captured by the Genoese on the island of Rhodes. Almost all of Helvis 11 children were born to her while she was held prisoner. In 1385, after negotiations and many ruinous concessions to the Genoese, they were released and James was crowned king. In 1393, she became Queen of Armenia.
This is a list of Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from the accession of Ernest I to the throne of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1826. Individuals holding the title of prince will usually also be styled "His Highness" (HH). The wife of a Saxon prince will usually take the title and style of her husband.