A royal consort is a person granted official status through an intimate relationship, often through marriage or concubinage, with a monarch. [1] The term originates from the Latin consors, meaning "partner", and can be used in everyday English as a synonym for that word, and as a verb meaning "to associate". [2] As it pertains to royalty, the term "has its roots in seventeenth-century vocabulary in both New England and England", where it was initially used to mean simply a spouse. [3] It has since been extended to encompass similar relationships with other significant figures, such as a head of state.
It has been recently noted that consort, "though literally denoting a partner or spouse, is a heavily loaded term, for a consort is usually implied to be a mere appendage, far inferior in power and status to his or her spouse". [4] In invitations for the 2023 coronation of King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla, for example, the British royal family notably styled Camilla as "The Queen" instead of "Queen Consort". [5] [6]
Uses of the term in royal contexts include:
The spouses of governors-general of some Commonwealth countries, such as Canada, are sometimes referred to as "viceregal consort". [11] [12] [13]
In certain polytheistic religions such as Hinduism, female analogues to the main deities have been described as consorts. [14]