The English royal consorts listed here were the spouses of the reigning monarchs of the Kingdom of England, excluding the joint rulers, Mary I and Philip who reigned together in the 16th century, and William III and Mary II who reigned together in the 17th century.
Most of the consorts were women, and enjoyed titles and honours pertaining to a queen consort; some few were men, whose titles were not consistent, depending upon the circumstances of their spouses' reigns. The Kingdom of England merged with the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707, to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. There have thus been no consorts of England since that date.
Picture | Name | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ealhswith of Mercia | Æthelred Mucel | – | 868 | c. 886 (Queen Consort of Wessex from 23 April 871) | – | 26 October 899 | 5 December 902 | New Minster, Winchester, later Hyde Abbey | Alfred the Great | |
Ælfflæd | Æthelhelm (father) | – | 899 | 26 October 899 | – | Late 910s Marriage dissolved | – | – | Edward the Elder | |
Eadgifu of Kent | Sigehelm, Ealdorman of Kent (father) | c. 903 | 919 | – | 17 July 924 | c. 966 | – | |||
Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury | – | – | – | – | 944 | Shaftesbury Abbey | Edmund I the Magnificent | |||
Æthelflæd of Damerham | Ælfgar, Ealdorman of Essex (father) | – | 944 | – | 26 May 946 | between 962 (975) and 991 | – | |||
Ælfgifu | _ | – | 955 | – | 958 Marriage dissolved | September 959 | Winchester Cathedral | Eadwig | ||
Ælfthryth of Devon | Ordgar, Ealdorman of Devon | – | 964/965 | 11 May 973 | 8 July 975 | 17 November 999–1001 | – | Edgar the Peaceful | ||
Ælfgifu of York | Thored, Ealdorman of York | – | – | – | not later than 1002 | – | Ethelred II the Unready | |||
Emma of Normandy | Richard I, Duke of Normandy Gunnor | c. 985 | 1002 | – | 25 December 1013 husband's deposition | 6 March 1052 | Old Minster, Winchester - bones now in Winchester Cathedral |
Picture | Name | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sigrid the Haughty (Dubious authenticity) and/or Świętosława of Poland | 996 | 25 December 1013 | – | 3 February 1014 | Sweyn Forkbeard |
Picture | Name | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emma of Normandy (again) | Richard I, Duke of Normandy Gunnor | c. 985 | 1002 | 3 February 1014 husband's restoration | – | 23 April 1016 husband's death | 6 March 1052 | Old Minster, Winchester - bones now in Winchester Cathedral | Ethelred II the Unready | |
Ealdgyth | – | c. 992 | 1015 | 23 April 1016 | – | 30 November 1016 | Edmund II Ironside |
Picture | Name | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emma of Normandy (again) | Richard I, Duke of Normandy Gunnor | c. 985 | July 1017 | – | 12 November 1035 Husband's death | 6 March 1052 | Old Minster, Winchester - bones now in Winchester Cathedral | Canute the Great | ||
Picture | Name | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edith of Wessex | Godwin, Earl of Wessex Gytha Thorkelsdóttir | 1029 | 23 January 1045 | 4 January 1066 Husband's death | 19 December 1075 | Westminster Abbey | Edward the Confessor | |||
Ealdgyth | Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia Ælfgifu | Unknown, fl. c. 1057 | January 1066 | Not crowned | 14 October 1066 Husband's death | 1066 | Not known | Harold II Godwinson |
In 1066, the Duke of Normandy, William, killed Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, and overthrew the English elite, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. He established himself as king, his wife Matilda as queen consort, and beneficed his faithful vassals from the continent. His dynasty would not, however, outlive his children, becoming defunct with the death of his youngest son, Henry I, in 1135.
Picture | Name | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Matilda of Flanders | Baldwin V, Count of Flanders Adela of France | c. 1031 | 1053 | 25 December 1066 Husband's accession | 11 May 1068 | 2 November 1083 | Abbey of the Holy Trinity, Caen | William the Conqueror | ||
Matilda of Scotland | Malcolm III of Scotland Margaret of Wessex | c. 1080 | 11 November 1100 | 11 (?) November 1100 | 1 May 1118 | Westminster Abbey | Henry I | |||
Adeliza of Louvain | Godfrey I, Count of Leuven Ida of Chiny | c. 1103 | 24 January 1121 | 30 January 1121 | 1 December 1135 Husband's death | 23 April 1151 | Affligem Abbey | |||
Geoffrey V of Anjou | Fulk V of Anjou Ermengarde of Maine | 24 August 1113 | 1128 | 7 April 1141 Wife's accession (disputed) | - | 1148 Wife's deposition | 7 September 1151 | Le Mans Cathedral | Matilda |
In 1135, Stephen of Blois, the son of Henry I's sister Adela, seized the English throne, his cousin Empress Matilda's claims being ignored by the Norman barons. His wife, Matilda of Boulogne, became his Queen consort, but their son Eustace predeceased Stephen, and he was forced to appoint the Empress's son Henry as his successor.
Picture | Name | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Matilda of Boulogne | Eustace III, Count of Boulogne Mary of Scotland | c. 1105 | 1125 | 22 December 1135 Husband's accession | 22 March 1136 | 3 May 1152 | Faversham Abbey (tomb since lost) | Stephen |
Picture | Name | Arms | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eleanor of Aquitaine | William X, Duke of Aquitaine Aenor de Châtellerault | c. 1122 | 18 May 1152 | 19 December 1154 Husband's accession | 19 December 1154 | 6 July 1189 Husband's death | 1 April 1204 | Fontevraud Abbey | Henry II | ||
Margaret of France | Louis VII of France Constance of Castile | 1158 | 1162 | 1170 Husband's accession | 27 August 1172 | 11 June 1183 Husband's death | 1197 | Cathedral of Tyre | Henry the Young King | ||
Berengaria of Navarre | Sancho VI of Navarre Sancha of Castile | Between 1165 and 1170 | 12 May 1191 | 6 April 1199 Husband's death | 23 December 1230 | L'Épau Abbey | Richard I | ||||
Isabella of Angoulême | Aymer of Angoulême Alice of Courtenay | c. 1187 | 24 August 1200 | 8 October 1200 | 18 or 19 October 1216 Husband's death | 31 May 1246 | Fontevraud Abbey | John | |||
Eleanor of Provence | Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence Beatrice of Savoy | c. 1223 | 14 January 1236 | 20 January 1236 | 16 November 1272 Husband's death | 24 June 1291 | Amesbury Abbey | Henry III | |||
Eleanor of Castile | Ferdinand III of Castile Joan, Countess of Ponthieu | 1241 | 1 November 1254 | 20 November 1272 Husband's accession | 19 August 1274 | 28 November 1290 | Westminster Abbey | Edward I | |||
Margaret of France | Philip III of France Marie of Brabant | 1282 | 8 September 1299 | Uncrowned | 7 July 1307 Husband's death | 14 February 1317 | Christ Church Greyfriars | ||||
Isabella of France | Philip IV of France Joan I of Navarre | 1285 | 20 May 1303 (by proxy) 24 January 1308 | 25 February 1308 | 20 January 1327 Husband's deposition | 22 August 1358 | Christ Church Greyfriars | Edward II | |||
Philippa of Hainault | William I, Count of Hainaut Joan of Valois | 24 June 1314 | 24 January 1328 | 18 February 1330 | 15 August 1369 | Westminster Abbey | Edward III | ||||
Anne of Bohemia | Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Elizabeth of Pomerania | 11 May 1366 | 20 January 1382 | 22 January 1382 | 7 June 1394 | Richard II | |||||
Isabella of Valois | Charles VI of France Isabeau of Bavaria | 9 November 1387 | 12 March 1396 (by proxy) 31 October 1396 | 8 January 1397 | 30 September 1399 Husband's deposition | 13 September 1409 | Abbey of St Laumer - later the Convent of the Celestines in Paris |
Picture | Name | Arms | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Joan of Navarre | Charles II of Navarre Joan of Valois | c. 1370 | 7 February 1403 | 26 February 1403 | 20 March 1413 Husband's death | 10 June 1437 | Canterbury Cathedral | Henry IV | |||
Catherine of Valois | Charles VI of France Isabeau of Bavaria | 27 October 1401 | 2 June 1420 | 23 February 1421 | 31 August 1422 Husband's death | 3 January 1437 | Westminster Abbey | Henry V | |||
Margaret of Anjou | René of Anjou Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine | 23 March 1430 | 24 May 1444 (by proxy) 22 April 1445 | 30 May 1445 | 11 April 1471 Husband's deposition [1] | 25 August 1482 | Angers Cathedral | Henry VI |
Picture | Name | Arms | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Elizabeth Woodville | Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers Jacquetta of Luxembourg | c. 1437 | 1 May 1464 [2] | 26 May 1465 | 9 April 1483 Husband's death | 8 June 1492 | St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | Edward IV | |||
Anne Neville | Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick Anne Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick | 11 June 1456 | 12 July 1472 | 26 June 1483 Husband's accession | 6 July 1483 | 16 March 1485 | Westminster Abbey | Richard III |
Picture | Name | Arms | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Elizabeth of York | Edward IV of England Elizabeth Woodville | 11 February 1466 | 25 December 1483 (by proxy) 18 January 1486 | 25 November 1487 | 11 February 1503 | Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey | Henry VII | ||||
Catherine of Aragon | Ferdinand II of Aragon Isabella I of Castile | 16 December 1485 | 11 June 1509 | 24 June 1509 | 23 May 1533 Marriage annulled [3] or 7 January 1536 Death [4] | 7 January 1536 | Peterborough Cathedral | Henry VIII | |||
Anne Boleyn | Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire Lady Elizabeth Howard | Between 1501 and 1507 |
| 1 June 1533 | 17 May 1536 Marriage annulled | 19 May 1536 Executed | Church of St Peter ad Vincula | ||||
Jane Seymour | Sir John Seymour Margery Wentworth | c.1509 | 20 May 1536 | Uncrowned; Proclaimed Queen 4 June 1536 | 24 October 1537 | St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle | |||||
Anne of Cleves | John III, Duke of Cleves Maria of Jülich-Berg | 28 June or 22 September 1515 | 4 October 1539 (by proxy) 6 January 1540 | Uncrowned | 12 July 1540 Marriage annulled | 16 July 1557 | Westminster Abbey | ||||
Catherine Howard | Lord Edmund Howard Joyce Culpeper | c.1524 | 28 July 1540 | Uncrowned | 13 February 1542 Executed [5] | Church of St Peter ad Vincula | |||||
Catherine Parr | Sir Thomas Parr Maud Green | August 1512 | 12 July 1543 | Uncrowned | 28 January 1547 Husband's death | 7 September 1548 | St. Mary's Chapel, Sudeley Castle |
The husband of Queen Mary I was Philip II of Spain, who became king of England in right of his wife. Therefore he is not regarded as a consort.
Since Lady Jane Grey was briefly queen de facto, her husband, Guildford Dudley, is included here. They were both executed for treason.
Picture | Name | Arms | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lord Guildford Dudley | John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland Jane Guildford | c. 1535 | 25 May 1553 | 10 July 1553 Wife's accession (disputed) | Uncrowned | 19 July 1553 Wife's deposition | 12 February 1554 | Church of St Peter ad Vincula | Jane |
With the death of Elizabeth I, the crown of England passed to her cousin and nearest heir, James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England as well. His dynasty would rule – interrupted by the Interregnum between 1649 and 1660 – until 1714. The Kingdom of England, however, was merged with the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707, to form a new Kingdom, the Kingdom of Great Britain, after which there ceased to be monarchs and consorts of England.
Picture | Name | Arms | Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became consort | Coronation | Ceased to be consort | Death | Resting place | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anne of Denmark | Frederick II of Denmark Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow | 12 December 1574 | 20 August 1589 (by proxy) 23 November 1589 | 24 March 1603 Husband's accession | 25 July 1603 | 4 March 1619 | Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey | James I | |||
Henrietta Maria of France | Henry IV of France Marie de' Medici | 25 November 1609 | 11 May 1625 (by proxy) 13 June 1625 | Uncrowned | 30 January 1649 Husband's death | 10 September 1669 | Basilica of St Denis | Charles I | |||
Catherine of Braganza | John IV of Portugal Luisa de Guzmán | 25 November 1638 | 23 April 1662 (by proxy) 21 May 1662 | Uncrowned | 6 February 1685 Husband's death | 30 November 1705 | Monastery of São Vicente de Fora | Charles II | |||
Mary of Modena | Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena Laura Martinozzi | 5 October 1658 | 30 September 1673 (by proxy) | 6 February 1685 Husband's accession | 23 April 1685 | 11 December 1688 Husband's deposition | 7 May 1718 | Convent of the Visitations, Chaillot | James II | ||
Prince George of Denmark | Frederick III of Denmark Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg | 2 April 1653 | 28 July 1683 | 8 March 1702 Wife's accession | Uncrowned | 1 May 1707 Act of Union 1707; continued as British royal consort | 28 October 1708 | Westminster Abbey | Anne |
This list continues at List of British royal consorts
Stephen, often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne jure uxoris from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 until 1144. His reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda, whose son, Henry II, succeeded Stephen as the first of the Angevin kings of England.
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British Constitution. The term may also refer to the role of the royal family within the UK's broader political structure. The monarch since 8 September 2022 is King Charles III, who ascended the throne on upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II, his mother.
Empress Matilda, also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to Germany as a child when she was married to the future Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. She travelled with the emperor to Italy in 1116, was controversially crowned empress in St Peter's Basilica, and acted as the imperial regent in Italy. Matilda and Henry V had no children, and when he died in 1125, the imperial crown was claimed by his rival Lothair of Supplinburg.
Geoffrey V, called the Fair or Plantagenet, was the count of Anjou, Touraine and Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also duke of Normandy by his marriage claim, and conquest, from 1144.
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin who had drowned in the White Ship disaster of 1120. Henry sought to be succeeded by his daughter, known as Empress Matilda, but was only partially successful in convincing the nobility to support her. On Henry's death in 1135, his nephew Stephen of Blois seized the throne, with the help of Stephen's brother Henry of Blois, who was the bishop of Winchester. Stephen's early reign saw fierce fighting with disloyal English barons, rebellious Welsh leaders, and Scottish invaders. Following a major rebellion in the south-west of England, Matilda invaded in 1139 with the help of her half-brother Robert of Gloucester.
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.
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.
William Ætheling (Middle English:[ˈwiliəmˈaðəliŋɡ], Old English:[ˈæðeliŋɡ]; 5 August 1103 – 25 November 1120), commonly called Adelin was the son of Henry I of England by his wife Matilda of Scotland, and was thus heir apparent to the English throne. His early death without issue caused a succession crisis, known in English history as the Anarchy.
Regnal numbers are ordinal numbers used to distinguish among persons with the same name who held the same office. Most importantly, they are used to distinguish monarchs. An ordinal is the number placed after a monarch's regnal name to differentiate between a number of kings, queens or princes reigning the same territory with the same regnal name.
Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, sex, legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701 restrict succession to the throne to the legitimate Protestant descendants of Sophia of Hanover who are in "communion with the Church of England". Spouses of Catholics were disqualified from 1689 until the law was amended in 2015. Protestant descendants of those excluded for being Roman Catholics are eligible.
Matilda was Countess of Boulogne in her own right from 1125 and Queen of England from the accession of her husband, Stephen, in 1135 until her death in 1152. She supported Stephen in his struggle for the English throne against their mutual cousin Empress Matilda. She played an unusually active role for a woman of the period when her husband was captured, and proved herself an effective general who managed to force the Empress to release Stephen. Under the agreement that settled the civil war, the Queen's children did not inherit the English throne; however, her three surviving children ruled Boulogne in turn as Eustace IV, William I, and Marie I.
From the year 1340 to 1802, excluding two brief intervals in the 1360s and the 1420s, the kings and queens of England and Ireland also claimed the throne of France. The claim dates from Edward III, who claimed the French throne in 1340 as the sororal nephew of the last direct Capetian, Charles IV. Edward and his heirs fought the Hundred Years' War to enforce this claim, and were briefly successful in the 1420s under Henry V and Henry VI, but the House of Valois, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty, was ultimately victorious and retained control of France, except for Calais and the Channel Islands. Following the Hundred Years War, English and British monarchs continued to call themselves kings of France, and used the French fleur-de-lis as their coat of arms, quartering the arms of England in positions of secondary honour. This continued until 1802, by which time France no longer had any monarch, having become a republic. The Jacobite claimants, however, did not explicitly relinquish the claim.
Matilda of Scotland, also known as Good Queen Maud, was Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy as the first wife of King Henry I. She acted as regent of England on several occasions during Henry's absences: in 1104, 1107, 1108, and 1111.
The House of Normandy designates the noble family which originates from the Duchy of Normandy and whose members were dukes of Normandy, counts of Rouen, as well as kings of England following the Norman conquest of England. It lasted until Stephen of the French House of Blois seized the Duchy of Normandy in 1135. The house emerged from the union between the Viking Rollo and Poppa of Bayeux, a West Frankish noblewoman. William the Conqueror and his heirs down through 1135 were members of this dynasty.
The history of the monarchy of the United Kingdom and its evolution into a constitutional and ceremonial monarchy is a major theme in the historical development of the British constitution. The British monarchy traces its origins to the petty kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England and early medieval Scotland, which consolidated into the kingdoms of England and Scotland by the 10th century. The Norman and Plantagenet dynasties expanded their authority throughout the British Isles, creating the Lordship of Ireland in 1177 and conquering Wales in 1283. In 1215, King John agreed to limit his own powers over his subjects according to the terms of Magna Carta. To gain the consent of the political community, English kings began summoning Parliaments to approve taxation and to enact statutes. Gradually, Parliament's authority expanded at the expense of royal power.