List of British consorts

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.

See also: List of British monarchs.

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

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 had significant influence over their spouse. Some royal consorts, such as current consort Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, have also helped to enhance the image of the Monarchy by becoming celebrities in their own right.

Since the foundation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, it and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland have had ten royal consorts. Queens between 1727 and 1814 were also Electress of Hanover, as their husbands all held the title of Elector of Hanover. Between 1814 and 1837, queens held the title as Queen of Hanover, as their husbands were Kings 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 be and have been styled as queens consort. However, of the three British male consorts to have existed since 1707, none was considered king consort:

• Prince 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. It was suggested at first that he would in fact become King, but this was decided against by the Government.
• Prince 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 is not styled as Prince Consort.
• Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne likewise never received the official style of Prince Consort, but was raised to the peerage of England as the Duke of Cumberland in 1689, several years before his wife's accession in 1702.

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), and therefore not the wife of a reigning king, 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 and being crowned. This caused public outrage.

Since 1707, only George I of Great Britain and Edward VIII of the United Kingdom have reigned unmarried.

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

Consorts of the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1801) and the United Kingdom (1801–present)

House of Stuart

Picture	Coat of arms	Name	Parents	Birth	Marriage	Became consort	Coronation	Ceased to be consort	Death	Spouse
		Prince George of Denmark and Norway	Father, Frederick III of Denmark Mother, Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg	2 April 1653	28 July 1683	1 May 1707 Creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain	Not crowned	28 October 1708		Anne

House of Hanover

Picture	Coat of arms	Name	Parents	Birth	Marriage	Became consort	Coronation	Ceased to be consort	Death	Spouse
		Margravine Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach	Father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach Mother, Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach	1 March 1683	22 August 1705	11 June 1727 Husband's accession	11 October 1727	20 November 1737		George II
		Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz	Father, Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg Mother, Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen	19 May 1744	8 September 1761		22 September 1761	17 November 1818		George III
		Princess Caroline, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel	Father, Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Mother, Princess Augusta of Great Britain	17 May 1768	8 April 1795	29 January 1820 Husband's accession	Not crowned	7 August 1821		George IV
		Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen	Father, George I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Mother, Princess Louise Eleanore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg	13 August 1792	13 July 1818	26 June 1830 Husband's accession	8 September 1831	20 June 1837 Husband's death	2 December 1849	William IV
		Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha	Father, Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Mother, Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg	26 August 1819	10 February 1840		Not crowned	14 December 1861		Victoria

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, renamed House of Windsor in 1917

Picture	Coat of Arms	Name	Parents	Birth	Marriage	Became consort	Coronation	Ceased to be consort	Death	Spouse
		Princess Alexandra of Denmark	Father, Christian IX of Denmark Mother, Louise of Hesse-Kassel	1 December 1844	10 March 1863	22 January 1901 Husband's accession	9 August 1902	6 May 1910 Husband's death	20 November 1925	Edward VII
		Princess Mary of Teck	Father, Francis, Duke of Teck Mother, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge	26 May 1867	6 July 1893	6 May 1910 Husband's accession	22 June 1911	20 January 1936 Husband's death	24 March 1953	George V
		The Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon	Father, Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Mother, Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck	4 August 1900	26 April 1923	11 December 1936 Husband's accession	12 May 1937	6 February 1952 Husband's death	30 March 2002	George VI
		Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark	Father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark Mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg	10 June 1921	20 November 1947	6 February 1952 Wife's accession	Not crowned	Incumbent		Elizabeth II

References

External links

• www.royalty.nu