List of British consorts

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See also: List of British monarchs.

For the royal consorts of the predecessor realms of Scotland and England, see List of Scottish consorts and List of English consorts.

Caroline of Ansbach, wife of George II of Great Britain, was the first Queen consort (although not the first royal consort) of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Prince Albert was the only male consort to be awarded the title of Prince Consort, compared to the usual custom of raising them to the peerage

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the current royal consort

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 have significant influence over their husband or wife.

Since the foundation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, it and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland has had 9 royal consorts. Queens between 1727 and 1837 were also queens consort of the German Kingdom Hanover, as their husbands all held the title of King of Hanover. The personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837 on the accession of Queen Victoria because the succession laws (Salic Law) in Hanover prevented a female inheriting the title if there was any surviving male heir (in the United Kingdom, a male takes precedence over only his own sisters). In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Hanover was annexed by Prussia and became the Province of Hanover.

All female consorts have had the right to and have held the title of queen consort. However, of the two British male consorts to have existed since 1707, neither has taken the title "King consort":

Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, husband of Queen Victoria, did not take an English peerage title but was granted the title of Prince Consort as a distinct title, in 1857, the only male consort in either the United Kingdom or its predecessor realms to have officially held the title.
Philip of Greece and Denmark, husband of Elizabeth II, already raised to the peerage as Duke of Edinburgh in 1947, was made a Prince of the United Kingdom in 1957. He does not have the title of Prince Consort.

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:

Sophia Dorothea of Celle, wife of George I of Great Britain (as heir to the electorate of Hanover), married 22 November 1682, divorced 28 December 1694, died 13 November 1726.
Maria Anne Fitzherbert, wife of George IV of the United Kingdom (as Prince of Wales), married 1785, marriage declared null, died 1837.
Wallis Warfield Simpson, wife of Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (as Duke of Windsor), married 3 June 1937, died 24 April 1986.

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.

Since 1707, only George I of Great Britain and Edward VIII of the United Kingdom have reigned without spouses.

If Charles, Prince of Wales ascends the throne, his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will automatically take on the title of queen consort unless legislation is passed to the contrary. It has been stated, however, that it is intended that she should be known not as queen consort, but as Princess Consort.^[1]

1 Consorts of the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1801) and the United Kingdom (1801-Present)

[edit] Consorts of the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1801) and the United Kingdom (1801-Present)

[edit] House of Stuart

Picture	Name	House	Birth	Marriage	Became Consort	Coronation	Ceased to be Consort	Death	Spouse
	Prince George of Denmark	Oldenburg	2 April 1653	28 July 1683	1 May 1707 creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain	Not crowned	28 October 1708		Anne of Great Britain

[edit] House of Hanover

Name	House	Birth	Marriage	Became Consort	Coronation	Ceased to be Consort	Death	Spouse
Caroline of Ansbach	Hohenzollern	1 March 1683	22 August 1705	11 June 1727 husband's ascension	11 October 1727	20 November 1737		George II
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz	Mecklenburg	19 May 1744	8 September 1761		22 September 1761	17 November 1818		George III
Caroline of Brunswick	Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Line of the House of Guelph	17 May 1768	8 April 1795	29 January 1820 husband's ascension	19 July 1821	7 August 1821		George IV
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen	Wettin	13 August 1792	13 July 1818	26 June 1830 husband's ascension	8 September 1831	20 June 1837 husband's death	2 December 1849	William IV
Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha	Wettin	26 August 1819	10 February 1840		Not crowned	14 December 1861		Victoria

[edit] House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; renamed House of Windsor

Name	House/Family	Birth	Marriage	Became Consort	Coronation	Ceased to be Consort	Death	Spouse
Alexandra of Denmark	Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Line of the House of Oldenburg	1 December 1844	10 March 1863	22 January 1901 husband's ascension	9 August 1902	6 May 1910 husband's death	20 November 1925	Edward VII
Mary of Teck	Teck Morganatic line of the House of Württemberg	26 May 1867	6 July 1893	6 May 1910 husband's ascension	22 June 1911	20 January 1936 husband's death	24 March 1953	George V
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon	Bowes-Lyon Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne	4 August 1900	26 April 1923	11 December 1936 husband's ascension	12 May 1937	6 February 1952 husband's death	30 March 2002	George VI
HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh	Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Line of the House of Oldenburg	10 June 1921	20 November 1947	6 February 1952 wife's ascension	Not crowned	current Consort		Elizabeth II