Queen (playing card)

For the 1966 Greek film, see Queen of Clubs (film).
Queen cards of all four suits in the Rouennais pattern

The Queen is a playing card with a picture of a queen on it. In French playing cards, the usual rank of a queen is as if it were 12, that is, between the King and the Jack. In tarot decks, it outranks the Knight which in turn outranks the Jack.

In the game of Hearts, the Queen of Spades is the major card to avoid, and is called a variety of unsavoury names.

French deck manufacturers assigned each court card a particular historical or mythological personage. The Queens in a French deck have assigned names as follows:[1][2]

Queens in the French national pattern (portrait officiel)
Hearts Diamonds Spades Clubs
Judith,
Biblical figure 		Rachel,
Biblical figure 		Pallas,
another name for the goddess Athena		Argine,
an anagram of Regina (Latin for "queen")

Since both King and Queen in the French language begin with the letter R, French queen cards are called Dame (Lady).

See also

Queen of Flowers from the first printed deck (15th century)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Queens (playing cards).
  1. ↑ "The Four King Truth" at the Urban Legends Reference Pages
  2. ↑ "Courts on playing cards", by David Madore, with illustrations of the Anglo-American and French court cards